21 Mar 2010, Posted by admin in Review,Thoughts, No Comments. Tagged film, Review
Sweet Little Lies
Trepidations initially filled my fragile young heart on learning of The Invention of Lying – Ricky Gervais’s new American pet project set in a world where no lie has ever been told. Having seen the trailer I made moves to avoid watching it at the cinema, believing that Ricky was selling out and going ‘Hollywood’. The film highlights the growing trend for our homegrown talents to be poached and given a shot at the big time.
I’m not sure if I should love it or loathe it. On one hand it’s a great opportunity that a British comedian has been given the opportunity to hit the HUGE American market and in the other its almost painful to watch Ricky limp along, never being given the freedom to stretch his wings and really maximise the concept being given to him.
And what a great concept it is. A world in which no lie has ever been told, opens up a whole raft of comedic and plot possibilities. In one such scene where the concept really bears its teeth Ricky arrives early for his date with Jennifer Garner, she opens the door and greets him with ‘You are early. I was masturbating’ he casually replies ‘That makes me horny’. Its lines like these really set the basis of The Invention of Lying above and beyond the typical hum-drum Hollywood comedies.
Everything down to his brown Mr.Bean suit, bland apartment and classic side parting sells sad. A sad little fat man with a stubbed nose. The natural comedic extension of this is cringe, one of Ricky’s strengths that he’s never allowed to fully run with. Why? Because Americans don’t get cringe and cringe doesn’t sell. One need only look at the supporting actors, Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe, Philip Seymour Hoffman, even Edward Norton has a cameo to see how well buffeted Ricky has been against potentially not selling this film. Predictably around the half way point the film falls into the well-worn routine of becoming a formulaic romantic comedy.
How did such a great concept fail to deliver? How to Lose Friends & Alienate People with Simon Pegg immediately springs to mine. Seems the yanks have a penchant for plucking the comedic talent from our drizzly shores and plopping them into big budget films with only one goal, to sell quaint British humour to the famished American hordes of cinemagoers. With one hand tied behind his back Ricky still manages to deliver some belters, and his sad little cheeky chappy routine still titillates but this could have been so much more. And it all started with off with such promise.
The Invention of Lying is out now on DVD.
