Tagline: “Mark Bellison will discover the truth about lying.â€
Translation: It’s like Liar Liar, only in reverse.
The Verdict: When it comes to Ricky Gervais, we don’t think we’re playing the hyperbole card when we label him a comic genius. After all, Gervais proved his talents as both a creative force and an actor in The Office and Extras, two programs destined to go down as some of the sharpest in the history of television. That said, we’re not entirely sure film is the right medium for him. It’s not that we disliked his first turn as a leading man in last fall’s Ghost Town — or, for that matter, his supporting work in the Night at the Museum films — but to us, what makes him so great are the subtle nuances he’s able to bring to his characters over the course of a television season, versus the grander dramatic gestures film actors specialize in. Just us? Either way, Gervais wrote, directed, and stars in The Invention of Lying, a high-concept film that asks the audience to buy into the idea that human beings never developed the art of lying.