2009 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 40 min
Director: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey
Cameos by: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton
To be fair, this movie seems to take a gimmick (a world where no one can lie) and really run with it. Squeezing an entire plot out of one man's sudden discovery that he can, in fact, tell lies. Oops!
The saving grace is that the movie resists the temptation to dissolve into a series of scenes where said lying character goes totally off the deep end and lies all over the place just to get what he wants -- the girl included. Where would be the fun in that? I guess of all the people who could've learned to lie, he's the least abusive of the new skill. Kinda.
See, he accidentally creates religion. I don't have a problem with the implication that there's no religion in a world where no one lies because there aren't any lies, but we start hitting on territory that's off-centered from what's really happening here. It's funny, it's good for a laugh, but I feel like it detracts from the main character's journey and, ultimately, the romantic aspect of the movie. Other opinions?
I tried but I find I have a very limited tolerance for Ricky Gervais. His humor is often mean spirited and he has a rather severe air of superiority about him that bus me the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad too, because he CAN be hysterical. His stand up is pretty good. It's when he's interacting with others that he becomes mean, I think.
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