My Massive Movie Blog

Language: English

Directed by: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson

Written by: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson

Cast: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill

As a movie-watcher, the greatest tragedy is to see a magnificent concept with tremendous potential being miserably wasted on screen or, as in this case, left grossly under-utilised. The Invention of lying takes place in an alternate reality where people are unaware of the concept of lying. As the movie progresses, it is revealed that the ignorance isn't simply restricted to lying but also the concepts of pretending or hiding anything from a fellow human being. So initially it results in quite a few hilarious sequences as our protagonist, screenplay-writer Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) visits his woman of dreams Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner) for taking her out to the 'date of a lifetime'. Anna admits candidly that she dreads going out with him and that Mark has practically no chance with her since mating with the man will most likely produce 'little fat kids with snub-noses.' ("Now, that was extremely funny!" my co-watcher asserts.)

Also heard is this particular dialogue:

Anna: "I was just masturbating"

Mark: "That... makes me think of your vagina"

("Now, that's a little 'eww!'" says my sensitive co-watcher)

Ricky Gervais is good. He near-effortlessly portrays a character that was probably written with Gervais himself in mind. But this sort of a character, termed by the theater-prowling public as 'loser' and which has been recently portrayed by many other actors like Seth Rogen, Steve Carell, Michael Cera, is becoming a rather cliched stock. Gervais, though good, brings nothing new to the table and is the same insecure, not-so-successful, lovelorn fellow so abundantly seen (and loved) in nearly every movie from the 'Judd Apatow' camp ("I hate those movies" my co-watcher groans. I love them!)

The movie takes a fairly interesting turn when Mark becomes the first person in the world to lie. After getting kicked off his job, rejected by Anne and failing to pay his apartment rent, he goes to the bank to withdraw his leftover 300 dollars. The accountant asks him his account balance since the 'computer is down'. In a moment's split decision, Mark makes a momentous alteration to the truth and declares almost surreptitiously, "800 dollars!" Incidentally, the computer comes back to life a second later and the accountant finds out that his balance is only 300 dollars; but since nobody has an idea that a person can speak anything 'other' than the truth, the accountant simply assumes the computer malfunctioned in some way, and gives Mark his 800 dollars.

Mark shoots to fame after he is overheard consoling his dying mother with tall, made-up stories of a magical place after death. People all over the world assume he has 'information of what happens after death' and his made up stories about 'a guy in the sky' deciding people's fates make him an instant celebrity.

The movie does succeed as a partial social commentary and even questions the very basic beliefs of people, especially in the scene where Mark is dressed remarkably like Jesus Christ. It questions the very definition of a 'lie' and makes us wonder, at times, whether we really are aware of what is the truth and what is not! This movie certainly delves deep, but in a very shallow manner. It is funny at places, but somehow viewers are left feeling cheated at the end of the film. A cliched climax scenario doesn't help matters much either, nor do the cameos of stars such as Jason Bateman, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Edward Norton. Jennifer Garner's character is nothing different than any others' in the film and has that funny feeling of being an 'extra', quite like her latest apperance in 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'.

The movie begins promisingly, but fails to cash in on its unique premise. Though entertaining, it leaves one with a feeling that it just could've been so much more better... ("I liked the 'sort of' British-comedy, actually." my co-watcher asserts. "Watch Edgar Wright next time." I advise her)

Rating: 5.5/10

Signing Off,

Jagannath (Jesse)

A biopic about the most prominent female fashion icon of the 20th century isn't the type of movie that you will generally catch me watching. But thanks to all the hype generated in (not just) the fashion circles and the fact that it featured Audrey Tautou, the most prolific French actress of her generation, I finally decided to give Coco Before Chanel a shot.

The film, in its entirety, is a treat to watch. Albeit it's dragging in places, but these sequences are well-compensated by well-constructed witty repartees ("Which weren't very enjoyable thanks to the awful subtitles" my co-watcher adds. "Learn French then!" I ask him!) The cinematography is excellent, with the occasional doses of French countryside dotted into a fairly indoorsy setting. The expensive chateaus are examples of some fine set-designing and the costume designed by Catherine Leterrier (with films such as Joan of Arc and Gorillas in the Mist to her credit) contributes to the early-20th Century feel which is so essential to the story.

A biopic of Coco Chanel would have always been a rather hard thing to achieve. With her tendency of colorfully fabricating her history to alleviate the stigma brought forth by poverty, illegitimacy and orphanhood in late-19th, early 20-th century France, it was left to the biography of Coco authored by Edmonde Charles-Roux to supply the source materials ("Which it somewhat sticks to" my co-watcher asserts. I wouldn't know about that!) for the movie.

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel (Audrey Tautou) takes up a tailoring job after spending nearly her entire childhood with her sister Adrienne (Marie Gillain) at an orphanage in Aubazine, with her father out at work nearly the entire year. At 18, she takes up work at a local tailor's and the two sisters become cabaret singers at night. It is in the bar where the two sisters meet French billionaire Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde), who is neck-deep in race horses and women. Coco and Balsan start having an affair of course, and simultaneously begins her quest of liberating women's fashion from 'fit for male gaze' to 'comfort'. However, Balsan's friend, Arthur 'Boy' Capel (Alessandro Nivola) comes into the picture and Coco falls head-over-heels for him.

Audrey Tautou is fabulous as Coco Chanel. Her slightly subdued act with the occasional bursts of energy and determination artfully hints of the underlying woman who would go on to be the only person from the fashion circles to be included in Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century. ("Coco Chanel was known for her flamboyance and devil-may-care attitude, which the film mostly missed, don't you think?" my co-watcher asserts. I don't know what he's talking about!) Among the male leads, Benoît Poelvoorde steals the show with his 'Balsam' act. His cocktail of lechery, jealousy, kindness and love is an act that will be etched in the viewer's minds for a long time indeed. Nivola is not bad as Capel, but the extreme downplaying of his portrayal fails to pack a punch. ("Both Tautou and Nivola were so downplayed, they were bound to fall for each other!" my co-watcher jokes) Finally, Anne Fontaine mostly impresses as the director and writer. Taking up a story with so many morally gray aspects, cross-dressing agendas and a name as big as the fashion industry itself is an immensely challenging task! And it's safe to say, Anne Fontaine achieves quite a bit in her attempt.

Rating: 7/10

Signing Off,

-Jagannath (Jesse)