The Invention Of Lying

New to DVD, The Invention Of Lying stars Rickey Gervais and Jennifer Garner.  Gervais plays a man named Mark Bellison who is having a terrible time with life in a world where lies do not exist.  So everyone is brutally honest with him and it makes him more depressed.  Down on his luck and having no money, he goes to the bank during a time in which the computer systems are down.  Since lying doesn't exist, the teller asks him how much money he had.  Something comes over him and he lies about it, says he has just a little bit more than he does.  Just then the computer turns on, and says he has a different amount.  Since the teller doesn't know what a lie is, she says its the system's error and gives him the number he said he had.  From there, Mark realizes that he can turn his life around the way he wants it by just saying things are the way he wants it.

This leads him to moral issues as well as some other trouble.  The humor is dry, if that is your type of movie.  Don't expecting huge laughs, however.  Also, what bothered me was the preachiness of the movie. I won't go into details but in a world without lies, people don't really have religion.  Why, I'm not sure... but they don't.  And a lie sparks it up.

That aside, this movie was quite a downer from what I expected, especially with the cast they had.  The movie is also rather long for such a shallow and under-developed plot.  But if you are a huge fan of Gervais, I'd still recommend it, if not... watch at your own risk.

I rate this movie 6.3 out of 10.

Funny People

To start off, Funny People wasn't exactly what I expected. I knew there would be old Adam Sandler clips from when he and Apatow lived together and it would be integrated into his character, including some his old stand up. However, I didn't realize the movie would be about 30% stand up comedy. However, to my surprise, it was awesome. The standu up from Sandler, Jonah Hill, Aziz Ansari, Aubrey Plaza, and even surprisngly Seth Rogen was top notch. The movie really delivered there.

Going with the plot, Jason Schwartzman, Jonah Hill, and Eric Bana really deliver. All 3 of them were great and funny, and had good timing with it.

Basically the movie revolves around struggling comedians trying to make it big and Seth Rogen's character gets lucky even to work with Adam Sandler's character who is a famous comedy actor who's sick. While they both learn from each other, Adam Sandler's character has trouble letting go of his ego, and the drama ensues from there. The chemistry between the two never seems natural, and for once, Rogen actually out acts Sandler as they act side by side.

Overall, the movie had some great standup, some great acting spots, and Jonah Hill was hilarious. But if you are looking for a really good plot, or something as flowingly funny as Apatow's other movies, you probably won't find it. But its a good time, none the less.

I rate this movie 7.2 of 10.