The Invention of Lying (2009)

All Critics (181) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (103) | Rotten (77) | DVD (14)

There are cycles of inspiration and rebirth, but the barbed promise of the early going loses its way in choices aimed at sentimentality rather than, as Harvey Kurtzman memorably put it, humor in a jugular vein.

November 22, 2009 Full Review

Jonathan F. Richards

Film.com

Top Critic

It's bogged down in too many squishy romantic-comedy pieties.

October 5, 2009 Full Review

A.O. Scott

At the Movies

Top Critic

I think the first half hour would be almost impossible to sustain because it is so inspired.

October 5, 2009 Full Review

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

The last third of the movie is as bad as anything I've seen this year, with the laughs trailing off, and half of the supporting characters, the zestier ones, being airbrushed from the frame.

October 5, 2009 Full Review

Anthony Lane

New Yorker

Top Critic

That a great comic idea does not necessarily make for a great screen comedy is the lesson for first-time writer-director-star Ricky Gervais as he comes unstuck.

October 4, 2009 Full Review

Trevor Johnston

Time Out

Top Critic

Despite the ambitious scope of its premise, this confounding, disappointing and, in the end, depressing movie is content to devote 80 percent of its screen time to wondering who gets to kiss the girl.

October 2, 2009 Full Review

Dana Stevens

Slate

Top Critic

As mildly amusing as it can be in places, it still won't convince non-fans that Gervais can play anything other than the fool.

September 29, 2012 Full Review

Ali Gray

TheShiznit.co.uk

Gervais' satiric barbs on religion, beauty, disillusionment and the basic human need for hope aim for our comfort zones, and they all hit home.

September 29, 2011 Full Review

Neil Pond

American Profile

The premise is clever but the film is not bold enough

June 29, 2011 Full Review | Comments (2)

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

The comedy is definitely there, but a heavy romantic focus drags it down in parts.

October 29, 2010 Full Review

Katina Vangopoulos

Moviedex

While there is nothing wrong with a comedy engaging in religious satire, neither Gervais nor Robinson seems willing to take on the topic thoughtfully.

October 27, 2010 Full Review

Simon Miraudo

Quickflix

A high-concept, laugh-free over-indulgence that blows up terribly in the face of its smug star.

August 9, 2010 Full Review

Simon Foster

sbs.com.au

Gervais's attempts at ridiculing faith through satire only ends up becoming an offensive caricature backed with atheistic egotism.

July 6, 2010 Full Review

Matthew Pejkovic

Matt's Movie Reviews

There's clear comic potential in the film's high concept, and a fair amount of it is realized.

July 6, 2010 Full Review

Peter Canavese

Palo Alto Weekly

A wry case for atheism, The Invention of Lying would have sent many Americans into an uproar if anyone had bothered to see it.

May 19, 2010 Full Review | Comment (1)

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Gervais has helped craft a funny but inconsistent film, yet I'd be lying if I didn't mention that I appreciate the ambition and humor put into what could have been a one-note premise.

January 31, 2010 Full Review

Mark Pfeiffer

Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

...its weakness is its lack of bite. It's too sweet and gentle for its own good.

January 14, 2010 Full Review | Comments (2)

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

Mr. Gervais... has given us a static, crass Phil Connors to introduce the world to belief in the supernatural. Where are the Ghostbusters when you need them?

December 6, 2009 Full Review

Rubin Safaya

Cinemalogue.com

Fans of Gervais from the classic TV shows Extras and The Office will enjoy the half-sentences, stop-start comic delivery and awkward pauses that have become his trademark.

November 26, 2009 Full Review

Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

The fatal flaw of The Invention of Lying is that the film conspires with the hero -- not against him -- in a way that's ideologically driven and humourless.

November 26, 2009 Full Review | Comment (1)

Jason Di Rosso

MovieTime, ABC Radio National

A high-concept comedy with a low yield of laughs, The Invention of Lying fights a losing battle with what was never a winning idea for a movie.

November 26, 2009 Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Ricky Gervais' new film isn't as out-and-out funny as you might have hoped, but it's still got some funny moments.

November 26, 2009 Full Review

Des Partridge

Courier Mail (Australia)

Light, touching and entertaining, this comedy turns syrupy towards the end but is nonetheless sweetly affecting.

November 24, 2009 Full Review

Andrew Moraitis

FILMINK (Australia)

Ricky Gervais is a brave and creative talent and this subversive, ultimately romantic film about the value of white lies certainly has its moments.

November 22, 2009 Full Review

Margaret Pomeranz

At the Movies (Australia)

The premise allows the filmmakers latitude to invent a scenario that works as irony and satire about our modern world. It shows, humorously, how impossibly confronting it would be if we really didn't lie, flatter and smooth over our social interactions

November 20, 2009 Full Review

Andrew L. Urban

Urban Cinefile

• 1. Mark Bellison: The world is going to end unless we have sex right now.
  – Submitted by xniquet L (18 months ago)
• 1. Greg: If I could do anything? Anything at all? I would touch a girl's boobs.
  – Submitted by xniquet L (18 months ago)
• 1. Bob: Hi, I'm Bob I'm the spokesperson for the Coca-Cola company. I'm here today to ask you to continue buying coke. Sure it's a drink you've been drinking for years, and if you still enjoy it, I'd like to remind you to buy it again sometime soon. It's basically just brown sugar water, we haven't changed the ingredients much lately, so there's nothing new I can tell you about that. We changed the can around a little bit though. See, the colors here are different there, and we added a polar bear so the kids like us. Coke is very high in sugar and like any high calorie soda it can lead to obesity in children and adults who don't sustain a very healthy diet. So that's it, it's coke. It's very famous, everyone knows it. I'm Bob, I work for coke, and I'm asking you to not stop buying coke. That's all.It's a bit sweet. Thank you. Share this quote
  – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)
• 1. Brad Kessler: We both know that one day you're going to lose your looks.
  – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)

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