About halfway through The Invention of Lying I thought I might be watching one of the most brilliantly funny religious satires ever made; and then, for whatever reason, the film took a turn into the most dreaded of genres: Romantic Comedy; and all was lost. I am both encouraged and concerned about Ricky Gervais as a comic actor and film maker.
There is of course Mr. Gervais' comic genius, when combined with the kind of bravery and insight displayed in the first half of Invention, shows a potential for something great; Woody Allen great; Preston Sturges great. But, ominously lurking in Gervais' work is a fatal flaw that has brought down many a good comic; that flaw is sentimentality (See Robin Williams).
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