If one were to score this movie on a category-by-category basis, some of the categories might be laughability, cinematography, acting performance, direction, originality, script writing and social impact.
Weighting each equally would lead me to give a much lower rating for "The Invention of Lying." 7 for laughability, 4 for cinematography, 5 for acting, mostly for the performances by Gervais and Fey. Some of the other performances including Garner's seemed lacking, but I'm not sure if this was the fault of the actors, the director, the script or all three. Some of the problem with the acting performances might have been an attempt to make the characters purposefully boring and one-dimensional as a result of the environment in which they live.
There were some good laughs, but not nearly the funniest movie I've seen. Although the cinematography was about a 5, it isn't the type of movie that demands extraordinary feats in this department.
9 for originality. Most movies that deal with lying take the opposite approach as in "Liar, Liar." It was the originality of the concept that made me go see the movie. Certainly, the plot of the movie took an approach that caught a lot of the reviewers off guard.
But to me, the parts of the script that dealt with the philosophical ramifications of lying made up for all the weaker aspects of this film. It seemed clear to me that this was the focal point of the movie. Ironically, the trailers don't even hint at this, thus deceiving us into watching a philosophical movie in romantic comedy dressing.
As an atheist, I often am confronted with the argument that even if religion is a lie, the benefits it provides outweigh the negative consequences. I disagree, but understand there is an element of truth to this argument. Gervais explores this aspect more directly than any mainstream treatment I've seen if not in great depth.
To me, the strength of the philosophical treatment is the questions it poses, not the answers it provides. The movie doesn't really provide a lot of answers. When Bellison (Gervais) lies to his mother to give her comfort when she is dying, he has the best of intentions and ends up having to tell huge lies to cover his initial small lie. He attempts to use the utmost care in telling these new lies -- spending so much time concentrating on the exact wording that he grows a beard while doing so. Even so, when he reveals the ten revelations he receives from the "invisible man in the sky," the masses immediately start scrutinizing the rules and reveal weaknesses in them.
Having thought about these issues quite a bit, there was nothing groundbreaking here for me, but it tickles me pink to think this movie might be watched by those who have yet to journey down that path. This alone accounts for 2-3 of my 9 stars.
Weighting each equally would lead me to give a much lower rating for "The Invention of Lying." 7 for laughability, 4 for cinematography, 5 for acting, mostly for the performances by Gervais and Fey. Some of the other performances including Garner's seemed lacking, but I'm not sure if this was the fault of the actors, the director, the script or all three. Some of the problem with the acting performances might have been an attempt to make the characters purposefully boring and one-dimensional as a result of the environment in which they live.
There were some good laughs, but not nearly the funniest movie I've seen. Although the cinematography was about a 5, it isn't the type of movie that demands extraordinary feats in this department.
9 for originality. Most movies that deal with lying take the opposite approach as in "Liar, Liar." It was the originality of the concept that made me go see the movie. Certainly, the plot of the movie took an approach that caught a lot of the reviewers off guard.
But to me, the parts of the script that dealt with the philosophical ramifications of lying made up for all the weaker aspects of this film. It seemed clear to me that this was the focal point of the movie. Ironically, the trailers don't even hint at this, thus deceiving us into watching a philosophical movie in romantic comedy dressing.
As an atheist, I often am confronted with the argument that even if religion is a lie, the benefits it provides outweigh the negative consequences. I disagree, but understand there is an element of truth to this argument. Gervais explores this aspect more directly than any mainstream treatment I've seen if not in great depth.
To me, the strength of the philosophical treatment is the questions it poses, not the answers it provides. The movie doesn't really provide a lot of answers. When Bellison (Gervais) lies to his mother to give her comfort when she is dying, he has the best of intentions and ends up having to tell huge lies to cover his initial small lie. He attempts to use the utmost care in telling these new lies -- spending so much time concentrating on the exact wording that he grows a beard while doing so. Even so, when he reveals the ten revelations he receives from the "invisible man in the sky," the masses immediately start scrutinizing the rules and reveal weaknesses in them.
Having thought about these issues quite a bit, there was nothing groundbreaking here for me, but it tickles me pink to think this movie might be watched by those who have yet to journey down that path. This alone accounts for 2-3 of my 9 stars.