NORMAN — “The Invention of Lying” is a comedy set in a present day much like our own, only the concept of the lie has not yet been conceived. The world is filled with what we would see as brutal honesty; even white lies to make people feel better do not exist.
For example, people call in to work and plainly state that they aren’t coming in because they simply don’t want to. Their version of a movie is someone reading a script of historical events and people. Creative storytelling is seen as another version of a lie.
The main character of the film is Mark, played by British funny man Ricky Gervais. He is a bit overweight, is on the bottom of the totem pole as a writer for films set in the least popular era — the 1300s — and is on the verge of losing his job.
The only thing he seems to have going for him is a blind date set up by a mutual friend so he can go out with the stunning Anna, played by Jennifer Garner who, as his waiter reminds him at the restaurant, is way out of his league.
Things go from bad to worse for poor Mark when he finally loses his job and only has a little time before his landlord is going to evict him.
When he goes to the bank to withdraw his last few hundred dollars — enough to rent a moving truck, as his landlord points out — it occurs to Mark for the first time in the history of the world that he could tell the bank teller that he has more money in his account than he actually does. And, since the world has never experienced lying before, the teller just assumes that their computer has made an error and gives Mark enough money to pay his rent and avoid eviction.
From here, things finally start going well for Mark. He comes up with some genius ideas for films set in the 1300s. He claims that they discovered lost historical scrolls, detailing things like alien battles.
But when Mark’s mother is in the hospital and scared of the nothingness that comes with death, he tells her that there is an afterlife where everyone gets a mansion and gets to hang out with all the people they love.
Other notable cast members include Jonah Hill, who plays Mark’s neighbor Frank, Rob Lowe, who plays Brad, the popular writer at work, and Tina Fey, who plays Mark’s secretary Shelley.
Unfortunately, the distributor of this film only gave Netflix the basic rental disc and not the full disc filled with special features. So, while I can tell you what features can come on this DVD, I have not seen them. There are four behind-the-scenes features, additional scenes and outtakes that didn’t make the film on the full DVD.
For a very funny film with a heart, please watch “The Invention of Lying.” You can find it in your local store’s new releases section.
Send your comments, questions and DVD recommendations to Kelsey at DVDsOnParade@hotmail.com.
