Mr. Gervais... has given us a static, crass Phil Connors to introduce the world to belief in the supernatural. Where are the Ghostbusters when you need them?
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12/06/09
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The Invention of Lying (2009)
57
%
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Reviews Counted:161
Fresh:91
Rotten:70
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: It doesn't quite follow through on its promise, and relies too heavily on shopworn romantic comedy tropes, but The Invention of Lying is uncommonly sly and funny.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating]
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Oct 2, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $18,439,082
Synopsis: From Ricky Gervais, the award-winning creator and star of the original BBC series "The Office" and HBO's "Extras," comes the new romantic comedy "The Invention of Lying." "The Invention of... [More]
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Louis C.K.
Director: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson
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Reviews for The Invention of Lying
Fans of Gervais from the classic TV shows Extras and The Office will enjoy the half-sentences, stop-start comic delivery and awkward pauses that have become his trademark.
11/26/09
The fatal flaw of The Invention of Lying is that the film conspires with the hero -- not against him -- in a way that's ideologically driven and humourless.
11/26/09
A high-concept comedy with a low yield of laughs, The Invention of Lying fights a losing battle with what was never a winning idea for a movie.
11/26/09
Ricky Gervais' new film isn't as out-and-out funny as you might have hoped, but it's still got some funny moments.
11/26/09
Light, touching and entertaining, this comedy turns syrupy towards the end but is nonetheless sweetly affecting.
11/24/09
Ricky Gervais is a brave and creative talent and this subversive, ultimately romantic film about the value of white lies certainly has its moments.
11/22/09
There are cycles of inspiration and rebirth, but the barbed promise of the early going loses its way in choices aimed at sentimentality rather than, as Harvey Kurtzman memorably put it, humor in a jugular vein.
11/22/09
Top CriticThe premise allows the filmmakers latitude to invent a scenario that works as irony and satire about our modern world. It shows, humorously, how impossibly confronting it would be if we really didn't lie, flatter and smooth over our social interactions
11/20/09
A brilliant and original concept, The Invention of Lying is witty, seriously funny and utterly charming. The trick to it all is that Gervais' alternate reality, where there is no deceit, flattery or fiction, is grounded solidly in a credible way
11/20/09
...becomes dizzyingly hilarious, mixed with genuine sympathy, while an amusing and subversive element grows slowly, beginning as fascinating and then stumbling into inevitability.
11/19/09
It's a shame that the air gets let out of this one so suddenly, as if The Invention of Lying's backbone gets ripped out of the film as the final act kicks into gear.
11/17/09
The star cameos in The Invention of Lying are non-stop, distracting, and always blatantly pointed out as if this were a Cannonball Run sequel.
11/09/09
It feels, in spirit, like a fable, in the mold of films like It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street. I just wish it were better.
10/31/09
"The Invention of Lying" is like "Groundhog Day," although not in the way it intends to be. Watching the film feels like you're reliving the same lame scenes over and over, powerless to change what happens in this profoundly disappointing comedy.
10/27/09
All the dazzling, limitless comedic potential here, and we're stuck waiting for the hot younger girl to wise up and learn to love the homely guy who wrote the movie?
10/27/09
Flaccid rom-com uplift and cut-rate snark
10/26/09
One of the best and most thought-provoking American comedies to come along in some considerable time.
10/25/09
"Fun!"
10/23/09
a terribly unwieldy vehicle built on an inherently funny premise that just can't sustain what Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson eventually want to heap on it
10/20/09
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