The Invention of Lying is a small comedy with big things on its mind. A modern morality fable, at its core beats an almost Capra-esque heart. The premise of the film is both original and beguiling, but its reach exceeds its grasp and unfortunately, it fizzles in the end, falling far short of its lofty goals. Is the film a funny, even sweetly persuasive argument against the existence of God or a blasphemous take on Jesus Christ as an unabashed con artist? The answer is yes.

Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais who also co-wrote and co-directed) lives in a world identical to our own except for one, critical distinction: people there can only tell the truth. It is, as Mark tells us in the opening narration, a world without “deception, flattery or fiction” of any kind. This honesty manifests itself in brutally frank commentary, the sort children deliver but without the cruelty. People in Mark’s world never had any mothers tell them that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

“Hi, I’m threatened by you,” one character says to another upon an initial meeting. “I’m very embarrassed that I work here,” confesses a waiter in the same breath as his initial greeting. “You’re overweight, you have a pug nose, and no job. You’re not good enough for me,” is the reason another character gives for the lack of a second date.

Nursing homes in Mark’s world are called “A Sad Place for Hopeless Old People,” newspapers are simply “Printed Publications” and while Coke’s slogan is “It’s very famous,” Pepsi’s rebuttal is, “For when they don’t have Coke.”

Mark, who works as a screenwriter at a movie studio (readers rather than actors deliver fact-based lectures about historical events since acting, after all, is a lie), is fired near the film’s opening, just about the time he also falls in love with Anna (Jennifer Garner), a woman far out of his league. The aforementioned, aborted second date was supposed to be his. Mere hours away from being evicted from his apartment, the forlorn Mark goes to the bank to withdraw what little money he has left. And that’s when it happens: Mark tells the world’s first lie. Informing the teller that he has more money than the bank’s computers register, the teller naturally believes her computer is in error and hands over all the money, no questions asked.

Mark is thrilled with his newfound power and begins using it for fun and profit. When a beautiful woman passes him on the sidewalk, Mark tells her that the world is about to end and the only way to stop it is if she’ll have sex with him. He doesn’t go through with it, even though the terrified woman is naturally willing. The truth is, Mark is a very good hearted man and we especially see this when he is at the bedside of his dying mother who is terrified of the eternity of nothingness that waits for her beyond the grave. Agonized over her pain, Mark invents a story on the spot about a “Man in the Sky” who will lovingly welcome her into a paradise filled with mansions populated by everyone she’s ever loved. Seeing how much his lie meant to his mother before her peaceful end, Mark begins using his powers for good, stopping random strangers to give them hopeful (if entirely fabricated) words of encouragement. Soon, people are lining up by the thousands to hear what Mark has to say.

It is a truth universally recognized that Ricky Gervais is one of the funniest people alive. (While Gervais and the radiant Garner steal the lead spots, the film is filled with delicious cameos from Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Edward Norton, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Bateman, John Hodgman, Nathan Corddry and Christopher Guest.) The Invention of Lying could have found its center reflecting its hilarious but more malicious cousins like Liar, Liar and even Yes Man, but instead continues Gervais’ Ghost Town tradition of surprising sweetness and notable thoughtfulness. Given the above synopsis, you’d expect the film to be an icy, hard-edged atheist screed (Gervais is, after all, an admitted atheist) but, in fact, it attacks Christianity (and religion writ large) with a feather-soft mallet. Unfortunately, what’s good for those who might take offense at such posturing is bad for the overall structural integrity of the film. In its inability to decide whether it wants to be a fiery condemnation of religion or a huggable romcom, The Invention of Lying instead becomes a one-note joke held over for far too long.

As The Invention of Lying progressed, it became less about Mark and the ramifications of his actions and more about a blossoming love affair between him and Anna. The statements about religion were suddenly brushed aside. The comically dramatic tension created early on doesn’t simply fizzle, it vanishes altogether. Mark never has to account for his actions even though he eventually confesses to Anna. We are never told if he informs the world of his lies or lets them carry on believing in the Man in the Sky. The film hopes you are too busy ahhhhhing over the love story to recognize that the spilt can of worms was never cleared. If only The Invention of Lying had found a way to resolve its sweeping indictment with the same wit, suppleness and conviviality with which it introduced it.

© Copyright 2009 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.