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DREA & SAMHonestly, we're just two girls a long way from home trying to get by with a little help from our friends and this blog apparently. Sam, SPARKY, is in Bloomingtom, Indiana for 10 months of the year and Drea, IGOTNOTHING, is in Boston, Mass. for those 10 months but every so often, they find themselves "comfortably" at home in Los Angeles, Ca. We're pretty cool, no lie. |
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Monday, October 26, 2009
Lying is a Gift. Note: Bear with me. Film reviews are ridiculously hard. I struggled with this more than I've ever recalled struggling on something. I'm turning this in today, so if you have critiques, bring em on though it's too late to help my grade. So, job as a film critic? No thank you, I'll pass. We all know a lie is easier to tell than a truth, whether it be for the art of deceit or to be polite or to get out of an unfortunate situation. Now, imagine your life where your ability to lie completely vanished or worse--lying didn’t exist. Beyond the undeniable awkwardness that would be brought to conversation, advertisements could not be as effective and religion could not exist. Woah, woah. Now, that’s a bold statement. Let’s not make this controversial. In The Invention of Lying, Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, co-directors, create a surreal world in which they illustrate how the world would function in the absence of lies. Religion, blatantly, being attacked as a ‘lie’ by Gervais, screenwriter and open-atheist, is one of the main themes in the movie. Gervais’ counteracts the controversial message through his use of comedy. By making the movie light-hearted, Gervais is able to reach a wider audience in conveying his beliefs. This is where I believe the movie is most successful. The movie begins in a very mundane matter. A world without lies is unimaginable, but Gervais hits home in creating a comically blasé atmosphere. Similar to the comedy in The Office, this dry humor, though not belly-aching, is entertainingly original and refreshingly unrealistic. Comments are quick and sharp as everyone gives the term “brutally honest” its full potential. In one of the opening scenes, Mark Bellison (Gervais) meets Anna McDoogles, played by Jennifer Garner. She openly admits to having been masturbating right before he had arrived and he responds that her statement had aroused him. Similar to Juno-esque humor, the film has an unrealistic tone of voice that is consistently entertaining. Gervais as Mark Bellison brings an enjoyable quality to his character. Though Bellison is at first, uptight and unhappy, his first lie transforms him into a relaxed and more relatable character. Gervais, in his acting, converts from a bland, seemingly emotionless character to one with admirable qualities with ease and a way that seems natural. He is fascinatingly pleasant perhaps delivering some of the funniest lines in the movie. Rob Lowe, playing Brad Kessler, is a commendable ‘villain’ in the plot who is arrogant and pompous. His cocky demeanor is effective and successful in making Mark Bellison more pathetic in his shy disposition. Lowe and Gervais work well off of each other though Lowe’s character is not a major one. The rest of the casting failed to spark much interest. Jennifer Garner as Anna McDoogles was respectable. The honesty carried throughout the film calls for bland, mundane characters such as hers as there is no room for body language. While her character demanded somewhat of a doe-eyed expression, Anna appears to be more stupid and lost than present and honest. Her character should have been stronger. Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Philip Seymour Hoffman are prominent names in the comedic genre of film. One would expect a movie where one of them appeared, not to mention all three, to be phenomenal and maybe even hysterical. However, their characters could have been played by any John Doe on the street. In describing the movie, I would not feel obligated to mention them. Their characters were nothing exceptional and almost disappointing. Their presence was more of a way to drop big names than affect the movie in any way. Once Mark tells the first lie in history, he becomes arguably the most genuine character in the film. Everyone is honest in the movie; However, having the ability to lie makes honesty a trait of a good person. Gervais is trying to convey that we need lies to function as a society. Due to the dry, awkward humor, the comedy, where obviously meant to be entertaining, simply misses at times. The movie starts strong but reaches a lull right in the middle. Bellison grows long hair and a mustache and is an obvious representation of Jesus. With Bellison being the only character in the film capable of lying, Gervais is obviously referring to Jesus as a liar. Though I believe Gervais was successful in not being offensive in the movie, I felt the blatant reference was a little much and overdone. However, I would say the overall message regarding religion was the movie’s best trait. The dialogue also leaves no room for flirting. In following Anna and Mark’s romantic--if that is even the correct word-- relationship, there is no playing, no touching, no real sense of a relationship, yet they fall in love. Though the entire movie plays on surrealism, their relationship is unbelievable in a way that seems unauthentic. A concept such as love needs to be conveyed authentically or it feels forced and out of place. Overall, I felt like the movie was well thought-out in creatively blasting religion. Clearly, every scene, direction and dialogue had a specific purpose to the theme of the movie. In theory, the movie makes absolute sense. The direction was noteworthy, but the concept was much more interesting than the actual film. 6:54 AM
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