"The Invention of Lying" - a different kind of "What If?" movie

The Invention of Lying is a fantasy comedy film. It is set in a world where no one can lie or even withhold anything true; there is no fiction. All the signs say things like "Restaurant: Where People Go To Eat" and all "films" are merely documentaries. The story centers around Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais, The Office (UK), Extras, Night at the Museum, Stardust) who is a screenwriter for the company "Lecture Films". He is assigned to do a film about the 13th century, but not much happened back then besides the Black Plague, which few people are interested in. As a result, he is fired. On top of it all, his blind date Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner, Juno, 13 Going on 30, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Catch Me If You Can, and Dude, Where's My Car?) bluntly tells him that he is out of her league because of his looks and financial situation. The rent collector tells him he has one day to pay his $800 rent bill or he will be evicted. He goes to the bank to withdraw the $300 he has left to move his stuff out of his house, but the systems are down. Just then, something in his mind tells him to lie and say that he has $800 in his account. The bank teller buys this, even when the systems go back online, and gives him $800. Since no one has ever lied before, everyone seems to believe everything he says, so he uses this not only to try to win Anna back, but also to help people, such as trying to convince his neighbor Frank (Jonah Hill, Superbad, Funny People, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) not to commit suicide, as well as calming down his terminally ill mother Martha (Fionnula Flanagan, Yes Man, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Star Trek: The Next Generation), but this is the first time anyone's mentioned an afterlife. When the doctors overhear this, word gets out about this, and Mark is forced to make up a story about "the man in the sky" and the afterlife.

Also starring in this film are Tina Fey (Baby Mama, Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Mean Girls, Ponyo) as Mark's assistant Shelley, Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, The Hangover, Monsters vs. Aliens) as Mark's boss Anthony James, Rob Lowe (The West Wing, Brothers & Sisters, The Outsiders) as Mark's rival at work, Brad Kessler, and Louis C.K. (Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kennel Live) as Mark's best friend Greg.

Unfortunately, I got to the theater a few minutes late, so I missed the first part of it (when I arrived, Mark was on the date with Anna). However, what I saw of the film was pretty funny. In the title, I called it "a different kind of 'What If?'" because it is the answer to the question "What if lying, the afterlife, and fiction were all invented in modern times?" It opened my mind to how people viewed the world in ancient times, and made me wonder how the first lie or piece of fiction came into play, and if people bought it or not. The film's message seemed to be "make your own choices instead of believing others" and I think it delivered the message quite well - it didn't beat it into the viewer's heads, not even at the end. My favorite thing about the film was just how deep Mark was going with his lies - it seemed as though he was just digging himself deeper with each one, especially the part about the afterlife. Even the old cliché "Look over there!" gag seemed like it was fresh and new in this film. Another thing I liked was the fact that when he found out anyone believed anything he said, he used it more to help people than for power or money (well, he did cheat in a bet at a casino, but it was because his friends suggested it, and he later used the money to help a homeless man).

The film scored a PG-13 rating, mainly due to drinking and sexual content. A lot of social drinking occurs throughout the film, usually at bars or restaurants, though in one scene Greg drives while intoxicated, and is then pulled over by a cop (Edward Norton, Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk) (who wants a $5400 bribe to fuel his cocaine addiction). Greg blows into a breathalyzer, and the cop says it's "off the charts". As for sexual content, when Mark finds out that anyone believes anything he says, he asks Greg and the bartender (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt, The Big Lebowski, Mission: Impossible III) what they would want more than anything else, and they say "to touch a girl's boobs" and maybe to have sex. This prompts Mark to go out on the street, where he meets a woman (Stephanie March, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Head of State) who says that she is not attracted to him, but he tells her that the world will end if she does not have sex with him soon (she buys it and we later see them in a motel, she takes her belt off and asks Mark to undo her dress, and though she panics, they don't actually have sex). Mark also forbids Anna from having sex with Brad because he wants her to avoid pre-marital sex, but this makes her birthday present to Mark - a "sex coupon" - useless. Anna considers dating Brad so their kids will look better, so Mark calls Brad a "sperm donor". A waitress at the bar says she wanted to be a stripper, but she's not attractive enough. There is minimal violence in the film, such as a hit during the aforementioned pullover scene (played for laughs) as well as Martha's death, and Anna mentions her father died of a heart attack. Someone else in a crowd mentions her mother had cancer, and someone else mentions his boat was capsized on a boating trip (Mark says "the man in the sky" is responsible for all this). There's also a scene where two bullies push another kid's ice cream onto his shirt. There is some mild profanity as well.

While it may not be the best film of the year, personally I thought it is by far the best film of the year to go see if you are going to the theater looking for a 90-minute escape from reality (my previous choice was Shorts) as the thought of imagining everyone listening to you might be enticing. If you're a fan of fantasy comedy or anyone in the cast, I say it is definitely the film for you, but as per the film's message, don't see it just because I told you to - make the decision yourself.