Movie #389 - The Invention of Lying

The Invention of Lying
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?

Movie #150 - Date Night

Date Night
Twentieth Century Fox
2010 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 28 min
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Steve Carrell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, Wiliiam Fichtner, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, James Franco, Mila Kunis

Finally... something with a budget!

I love this movie.  Mostly, I love the things in this movie.  Steve Carrell. Check. Tina Fey. Check. Mark Wahlberg's abs. Check!  There's lots of cameos too and tons of awkward situations that make you just uncomfortable enough to laugh.

This was one of the movies we saw when our daughter was still in the hospital, so since it made me laugh then, it will always hold a special place in my heart. And on the movie wall.

I won't ruin it, just suffice it to say that no one does ordinary-suburban-couple-thrown-into-extreme-and-dire-circumstances quite like these two.  And there are moments when I see flashes of my own future while watching this.  Hey, if that means our life is going to be this funny, so be it.

Movie #45 - Baby Mama

Baby Mama
Universal Pictures
2008 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 39 min
Director: Michael McCullers
Starring: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Greg Kinnear, Dax Sheppard, Romany Malco, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin, Maura Tierney


Two movies in a row about women preparing for babies! Weird.


Anyway, this movie is pure insanity, mostly because of Amy Poehler and Dax Sheppard. Tina Fey plays her typical character - work-driven, wants to become a late in life mother, hopelessly awkward in a social setting, wears glasses. Poehler does the same, but with some extra spunk. She takes "crazed white trash" to a whole new level. And then sells it to you.


If you watch this movie, you're mostly watching it for the two of them and their priceless interactions. Romany Malco is pretty funny as Oscar, the doorman. And Greg Kinnear is his usual handsome, chipper self. The plot is fairly predictable and has a nice neat ending, where everyone gets something. Don't watch it to analyze, just watch it to laugh,

And don't be surprised if you find yourself quoting it later.

Hey... "I don't know your life!" Ok?