By Ed Koch
“The Invention of Lying” (-)
Maybe I missed the point of this alleged parody or perhaps there is no point to it. I thought the film was simply drivel, and I found it hard to stay awake as it rolled on.
Why did I choose to see it? None of the newly-released movies appealed to me. I decided to see this picture, which has been out for several weeks, after reading a description of it in the Daily News. The Times critic Manohla Dargis described the film as “the makings of a classic.” Ridiculous.
Following my Friday night Bloomberg radio program, from 6-7 p.m., 1130 on the a.m. dial., I rushed to the City Cinemas Village East cinema on Second Avenue at 12th Street to make the 7:25 p.m. show. This old theater, where I have seen many good films, was long ago converted into a multiplex. You might rightfully ask why I’m spending so much time on matters unrelated to the film. The answer is that there is very little to say about this one-trick pony.
The movie displays a world where everyone tells the unvarnished truth no matter how painful. The main character, screenwriter Mark (Ricky Gervais), takes out for the first time a young, attractive woman, Anna (Jennifer Garner) — who tells him that he is fat, unattractive, and doesn’t have the genes to father desirable children. She also announces, when she opens her apartment door, that she’s been masturbating.
Brad (Rob Lowe) is Mark’s competitor for Anna’s attention. Halfway through the film Mark, for unknown reasons, begins to tell several lies to advance his own fortunes. He speaks to his dying mother about the man in the sky — God — who will give her great joy in the next world where she will live in her own house.
I kid you not when I say I sat there wondering is there nothing more to this film? Am I overlooking something? I don’t think so, and I couldn’t wait for the lights to go up. Sitting in the theater were no more than a dozen other people who were probably suffering along with me. The performances of the cast were very good insofar as the script allowed them to exhibit their acting abilities.
1hour, 40 minutes. Rated PG-13; Comedy. Now playing at City Cinemas Village East (181 2nd Avenue). For screening times, call 212-529-6799.
