The Invention of Lying

"The Invention of Lying" should be a terrific film. It has a dynamite conceit, an excellent comic star and a cast of ringers. What could go wrong?

The first third of the film flies along with terrific comic energy. Mark Bellison (Gervais) is a fat loser in a world where everyone always tells the absolute truth. As a result, Bellison is frequently told he is a fat loser, in quite funny ways, by a supporting cast that includes Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, and Jonah Hill.

Bellison then discovers how to lie, which naturally leads to certain advantages for him. Things slow in the second third of the film, but then something interesting happens: as Bellison's mother is on her death bed, he tells her there is a heaven. In the universe of the film, this is a lie, but one that naturally draws quite a bit of attention from a populace that accepts everything as truth. Gervais ends up effectively inventing religion along with lying. There are bits of humor here--he writes his version of the Ten Commandments on a pair of pizza boxes. But the film also explores an important challenge for most religions: how do you determine who goes to heaven and who gets sent to hell?

Unfortunately, the momentum comes to a screeching halt in the final third of "Lying". Mark becomes fixated on winning the heart of Anna (Jennifer Garner). Anna likes Mark, but can't get past the fact that he's still, well, fat and ugly. Things devolve into a tedious sermon on inner beauty that would feel cliched to a 15-year-old. Why Mark wants to marry someone who needs this message beaten into her head is a mystery.

Gervais is very, very good at what he does: skewering people's vanity, first and foremost his own. But he isn't good at much else. He can't act in a dramatic scene, he can't write believable characters and he certainly can't direct. His only hope of making a good film is to essentially make a gag reel in the mold of early Woody Allen films. Unfortunately, he keeps flailing to make something more important. It's not a good sign that Stephen Merchant, Gervais' frequent writing partner, recently said they both admire "The Bridges of Madison County".

When I first heard about the sappy final third of "The Invention of Lying," I thought Gervais was making a bid for crossover success with the love story. This seems like a fool's errand: people simply do not flock to see a movie starring Ricky Gervais. He has about a tenth of the charisma and box office potential of Owen Wilson. Much wiser to make a quality film that can find a cult following on DVD, in the mold of "Office Space".

Having seen the film, however, it seems as though Gervais is actually engaging in wish fulfillment. He seems to be speaking to every girl who's rejected him in favor of a better-looking asshole: "WHY WON'T YOU DATE ME?" The reality is that in pursuing an empty-headed pretty girl like Anna, Gervais' character is being just as superficial as the women against whom he's railing. One might expect such hypocrisy and self-pity in a lonely young man; I've been guilty of quite a bit of it myself. But Gervais is nearly friggin' 50. He shouldn't be writing scenes where he laments over his mother's grave, "I'll always be a loser." Get over it.

A Face in the Crowd

"A Face in the Crowd" is justly praised as a classic film. Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes is a two-bit drunk who becomes a massive television star with the help of broadcaster Marica Jeffries. Made in 1957, the film is incredibly prescient on the power of television to create a cult of personality. (Sound familiar?) It also shows how a "down home" personality can help a politician far more than intelligence. (Sound even more familiar?)

"A Face in the Crowd" has other pleasures as well. Andy Griffith offers a remarkably energetic and assured performance as Lonesome in his big screen debut. Director Elia Kazan captures many memorable images: Jeffries buttoning up her blouse upon encountering Lonesome, electric lights demanding "APPLAUSE" as young women embrace Lonesome on air, Jeffries walking down an empty tarmac after being betrayed by Lonesome.

And yet. This is an awfully heavy-handed film. The filmmakers underscore their message in virtually every scene. There is little subtlety, nuance or variation in tone. The film's worst impulses are embodied by a grim-faced Walter Matheau, a disillusioned writer for Lonesome who effectively serves as the mouthpiece for the filmmakers.

In other words, the ideas here are much more interesting than the characters or story. But there is one relationship that saves "A Face in the Crowd" from being a mere polemic. Jeffries is charmed by Lonesome and helps him rise to power, yet she sees the corrupting influence it has on him. Even as he becomes ever more manipulative of his public, she continues to work with him. She seems to still harbor some affection for him, despite his callous behavior towards her. A bit more of this sort of complexity would have turned a very good film into a great one.