The Invention of Lying: Difference between revisions
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== Cast == |
== Cast == |
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* [[Ricky Gervais]] as Mark Bellison |
* [[Ricky Gervais]] as Mark Bellison |
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* [[Jennifer Garner]] as Anna McDoogles |
* [[Jennifer Garner]] as Anna McDoogles |
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* [[Jimmi Simpson]] as Bob Scott |
* [[Jimmi Simpson]] as Bob Scott |
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* [[Fionnula Flanagan]] as Martha Bellison |
* [[Fionnula Flanagan]] as Martha Bellison |
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* [[Shaun Williamson]] as Richard Bellison |
* [[Shaun Williamson]] as Richard Bellison |
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* [[Bobby Moynihan]] as Bellison's Assistant |
* [[Bobby Moynihan]] as Bellison's Assistant |
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* [[Philip Seymour Hoffman]] as Jim The Bartender (cameo) |
* [[Philip Seymour Hoffman]] as Jim The Bartender (cameo) |
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* [[Edward Norton]] as Traffic Cop (cameo) |
* [[Edward Norton]] as Traffic Cop (cameo) |
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== Production == |
== Production == |
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Revision as of 17:37, 1 May 2010
| The Invention of Lying | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ricky Gervais Matthew Robinson |
| Written by | Ricky Gervais Matthew Robinson |
| Produced by | Ricky Gervais Dan Lin Lynda Obst Oly Obst |
| Starring | Ricky Gervais Jennifer Garner Jonah Hill Louis C.K. Christopher Guest Rob Lowe Tina Fey |
| Narrated by | Ricky Gervais |
| Cinematography | Tim Surhstedt |
| Edited by | Chris Gill |
| Music by | Tim Atack |
Production companies | Radar Pictures Media Rights Capital |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures (United States/Canada) Universal Pictures Focus Features(UK/International) |
Release dates | September 14, 2009 (TIFF) October 2, 2009 |
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18.5 million[1] |
| Box office | $32,054,454[2] |
The Invention of Lying (2009) is a high concept romantic comedy, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson.
Plot
The film is set in an alternate reality in which there is no such thing as lying, and everything said is the absolute truth. In this world, people continually blurt out very blunt and sometimes cruel remarks and opinions that people in the real world mostly keep to themselves. The concepts of fiction, imagination, and speculation do not exist, resulting in the movie industry being limited to lecture-style historical readings, television commercials being straightforward, and an absence of religion.
Mark Bellison is an unsuccessful lecture-film writer, who is cursed with having a very "boring" era to write about. One night, he goes out on a date with Anna McDoogles who bluntly states to Mark that she is not attracted to him due to his looks and unsuccessful financial situation, but is going out with him to satisfy her extremely prejudicial mother. After the date, she admits that she had a better time than she thought she would.
The next day Mark is fired from his job due to a lack of viewership interest in his films and his landlord evicts him for being short of rent. Depressed, he goes to the bank in order to close his account and use the money to have his stuff moved out of his apartment. The teller informs him that the computers are down, but since society is one of full disclosure, she asks Mark how much money he has in his account. Mark has an epiphany, and tells the world's first lie, that he has $800 in his account. The computer comes back online and shows his balance is $300, but the teller gives him the full $800 anyway, assuming that the computer made a mistake.
Mark tests his discovery of lying through various means, such as obtaining money at a casino, and helping others feel better about themselves. He then writes a fictitious screenplay and becomes wealthy from its success. He convinces Anna to go out with him again, hoping she will see past his looks and weight now that he is financially secure.
In the middle of their date, Mark's mother has a heart attack and he rushes to the hospital to comfort her. His mother is exceptionally frightened of death, believing she will go into state of nothingness. Mark tearfully makes up a comforting story about a joyful afterlife, and introduces the concept of Heaven to her, and she dies happily. The doctor and nurses who overheard him quickly spread the word and Mark soon receives worldwide attention for his supposed new information about death. Under pressure to satisfy their curiosity, he tells them there is a Man In The Sky whom he talks to and who controls everything, and promises great rewards in the good place after you die.
Meanwhile Mark's film rival Brad Kessler pursues Anna romantically, motivated by spite because of Mark's success. However, Brad's blunt, rude manner makes Anna uncomfortable, though she is still pressured by her mother to continue dating him, which leads to their engagement.
Time passes, and Mark reluctantly attends Anna and Brad's wedding. There, he objects to the marriage. Brad and Anna both ask Mark to ask the Man in the Sky what Anna should do. Mark refuses to say anything and leaves, wanting her to choose for herself. Anna walks out and pleads with him to tell her what The Man In The Sky wants. Mark confesses his ability to lie, and that there is not really a Man In The Sky. Anna struggles to comprehend the concept, and asks why he didn't lie to convince her to marry him; Mark states that it wouldn't be right. Anna confesses that she loves him, and the two kiss.
Years later, Anna and Mark are married with a son, with another child on the way, and their son has inherited Mark's ability to lie.
Cast
- Ricky Gervais as Mark Bellison
- Jennifer Garner as Anna McDoogles
- Rob Lowe as Brad Kessler
- Louis C.K. as Greg Kleinschmidt
- Jonah Hill as Frank Fawcett
- Christopher Guest as Nathan Goldfrappe
- Tina Fey as Shelley Bailey
- Roz Ryan as Nurse Barbara
- Jeffrey Tambor as Anthony James
- Jimmi Simpson as Bob Scott
- Fionnula Flanagan as Martha Bellison
- Shaun Williamson as Richard Bellison
- Bobby Moynihan as Bellison's Assistant
- Martin Starr as Waiter
- Donald Foley as Yelling Man
- John Hodgman as Priest
- Stephanie March as Woman on the Street
- Jason Bateman as Doctor (cameo)
- Stephen Merchant as Home Owner (cameo)
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Jim The Bartender (cameo)
- Edward Norton as Traffic Cop (cameo)
Production
The film was originally being produced under the title This Side of the Truth.[3]
The film was financed by Media Rights Capital and Radar Pictures and filmed primarily in Lowell, Massachusetts; location shoots also took place in Quincy, Andover, North Andover, Sudbury, Tewksbury and Boston, Massachusetts and Haverhill Massachusetts.[citation needed] Principal photography was completed in June 2008.[citation needed]
Release
Warner Bros. owns the rights for the film's North American distribution, while Universal Pictures owns the rights to release the film outside of North America. The film was released in North America on October 2, 2009. Its world premiere occurred two weeks earlier at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2009. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on January 19, 2010.[4]
Gervais himself briefly promoted the DVD during his hosting duty at the 2010 Golden Globe Awards in a joking manner. He later reported on his blog the day after the Globes that the DVD sold 70,000 copies in a couple of hours.
Reception
Reviews
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 57% of 163 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.8 out of 10.[5] Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 50%, based on a sample of 30 reviews.[6] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, the film has a rating score of 58 based on 31 reviews, suggesting "mixed or average reviews".[7]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film the three and a half stars out of four saying "in its amiable, quiet, PG-13 way, [it] is a remarkably radical comedy" while Empire gave the film 1 star out of 5 saying the "ramshackle plot detours into a hideously ill-conceived religious satire". The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops rated The Invention of Lying as "O - morally offensive" calling it venomous and pervasively blasphemous.[8] However, Xan Brooks of The Guardian was more favourable, giving the film four out of five stars, although he was critical of some aspects: "It is slick and it is funny. But it is also too obviously schematic, while that romantic subplot can feel awfully synthetic at times."[9]
Box office
The film opened at #5 with $7,027,472 behind Zombieland, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in its third weekend, the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3-D double feature, and Surrogates in its second weekend.[10] The film has come to gross $18,451,251 in the United States, and $13,461,542 internationally, with a worldwide gross of $31,912,793.[2][11]
References
- ^ "The Invention of Lying: Ricky Gervais". ComingSoon.net. 2009-08-24.
- ^ a b "Movie The Invention of Lying - Box Office Data". The-Numbers. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ^ Gervais, Ricky (2009-03). "Week sixty-three — April 2009". Ricky Gervais... Obviously. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "The Art of Lying". IGN Entertainment. IGN Movies. 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
- ^ "The Invention of Lying". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ^ "The Invention of Lying Reviews: Top Critics". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ^ "The Invention of Lying (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ^ The Invention of Lying review from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
- ^ Invention of Lying review from The Guardian
- ^ Internet Movie Database US film charts 2nd October
- ^ The Invention of Lying from Box Office Mojo