(PG-13)

Going into Ricky Gervais’ new movie, The Invention of Lying, I was expecting a light, slapstick comedy—something Jim Carrey would feel at home in. I was way off in my expectations. [Spoilers below.]

In the world of the movie, everyone everywhere always tells the truth. Advertisements even follow this rule, as Pepsi’s slogan is, “When they don’t have Coke.”

What’s odd is that not only do they tell the truth, but they’re compelled to tell the truth. For instance, when Gervais and his date (Jennifer Garner) enter a restaurant, the hostess immediately says she’s threatened by Garner’s beauty. And when Gervais arrives at Garner’s apartment for the date, she tells him she’s been busy having sex. With herself. Rather than being funny, the never-ending flow of these affectations merely makes you uncomfortable. But I suppose there wouldn’t be much of a movie if people could simply keep their truths to themselves.

But one day, Gervais inexplicably gains the ability to lie. He’s the only one on the planet who can and he attempts to make the most of it. (Where this differs from a Jim Carrey movie is that while he convinces a beautiful woman to have sex with him, he can’t bring himself to go through with it.) He does use the ability to become rich, powerful, and very successful at his job.

But what really makes the film head off in a different direction is halfway through, when Gervais’ mother is about to die, and is lamenting the fact that she’ll go into a bleak nothingness. He utilizes his newfound ability to tell her about a wonderful place where she’ll have a huge mansion, and where she’ll see all of her loved ones. The hospital staff believes him utterly—since as far as they know everyone tells the truth—so they grill him for more details. Soon the world is camped out on his lawn, searching for answers. So he spends a night creating a fake truth—which he writes out on two “tablets” made from Pizza Hut boxes. It’s unfunny and feels terribly forced.

The “truth” he reveals is that there’s a “man in the sky” who is responsible for what happens in the world. “Did he kill my dad with that heart attack?” one person asks. Gervais says yes, which upsets people. But Gervais also says that he’s responsible for the good things that happen. “So the man in the sky saved my life when my boat capsized?” “Yes.” “But he caused the boat to capsize?” “Yes.”

In addition to this twisting of God’s role in hardships, Gervais reveals that we can go to this wonderful place in the sky, but only if we do three or fewer bad things in life. There’s even a point in the film where Gervais has let himself go, and his bearded, long-haired visage reminds us of Jesus. I’m not sure why, as nothing is done with the “joke.” It just seems like another odd, forced stretch.

So is the movie a jab at Christianity? Yes. It’s just not a very good one. Nothing Gervais tries rings true for me as a Christian. But teenagers might start thinking that God “killed their dad with that heart attack.” Or wonder why an idea such as heaven can only come about once someone learns to lie. We can counter Gervais’ lies with God’s strong truth. 

Rated PG-13 for language including some sexual material and a drug reference.

Discussion Questions:

• Would you want to live in a world where no one could tell a lie? Why or why not?
• What would you do if you found out you were the only person on Earth who could tell a lie?
• Why do you think the main character only starting caring about his suicidal friend after he learned to lie?
• Why do you think he was the only person able to see past physical appearances? What does that have to do with lying?
• Do you think heaven is just a nice idea thought up to make death easier to swallow? Why or why not?
• Do you think God causes bad things to happen? Explain.
• Does he cause good things to happen? Explain.
• How can we know that the Bible is accurate, and not just something made up?

Scott Firestone IV is the associate editor for Group Magazine, online editor for youthministry.com, and a huge fan of music and movies.

This review first appeared on ministryandmedia.com. Go there. Take the tour. Sign up.