Don't Think Too Hard

"Much more than 'Liar, Liar' and other comedies about the hazards of telling the truth, 'The Invention of Lying' forces audiences to see how much lying permeates social life. In the movie's first scene, Mark shows up for a first date with Anna (Jennifer Garner), who tells him that she has no intention of ever going to bed with him. He reacts by announcing that he's about to get fired from his job and that he's not sure that the restaurant he's chosen is any good. And on and on. The audience laughs, recognizing that the outrageous things being said could easily form the undertone of any first date.

When Mark soon develops the ability to lie, Gervais invites us to consider the kindly aspect of lying - of telling people what they want to hear. In its comic way, the movie demonstrates how lies feed the imaginations and in some cases make life bearable. At the same time, lies can be self-serving and dangerous. To see 'The Invention of Lying' is to think about the degree to which lies run the world.

Just that would have been enough to form the intellectual backdrop for a serious-minded comedy. But Gervais and co-writer and director Matthew Robinson are also interested in religion. Gervais, who has talked about his atheism in his other work as a comedian, sees religion as a kind of ultimate lie, one that has been used for good and ill."

-- Mick LaSalle, making me wonder if he's telling the truth - I'm lying - because, now'a'days, you never know what you'll get in The San Francisco Chronicle.