Apparently, the word lying in The Invention of Lying describes the film's title as well as its supposed subject matter: If the title of Ricky Gervais' latest romantic comedy were to actually describe what the film was about, it would instead be The Invention of a Film Starring Characters Who Do Not Know When to Shut the Hell Up.After a brief description of the film's plot by the movie's main character (Mark, played by Gervais himself), Lying drops you into a world where "incapable of lying" apparently translates to "saying every little thing that ever comes to mind." Now, maybe I'm imposing on the film to an extreme degree my own standard of "truth," but this habit of Lying's inhabitants became so irritating so quickly that I just feel the need to verbally beat this plot point to death.

To elaborate: Characters in Lying, even when not prompted by a question, will blurt out random details of their lives and their opinions on occasionally unrelated topics. Personally, I do not understand "incapable of lying" to mean "lacking a mental filter." I can refrain from being dishonest even if I do not inform customers at my restaurant that I took a sip of their drink (unless, of course, said customers asked me if I had done so, but in Lying a waiter will simply volunteer this information without provocation), and I can continue to refrain from being dishonest without informing patrons of my business that I find them intimidating, as one minor Lying player does (also without provocation). The fact of the matter is that Lying takes honesty to an extreme degree in which people are unnecessarily tactless, and the entire gimmick feels incredibly forced.

That being said, the film doesn't improve much with the introduction of lying. Mark, who discovers dishonesty, turns from a relatable loser into a wretched beast the moment he finds the world is his for the manipulating. For instance, shortly after "inventing" lying, Mark tells a woman on the street that they have to have sex that instant or the world will end. And in the next scene, we're transported to a motel, where Mark appears to be ready to take advantage of the woman's tearful belief that what he has said is true. Granted, Mark cancels the sex session before it takes place and the time spent at the motel is very brief, but the moment is so uncomfortable and vaguely akin to rape that I can't imagine how anyone thought the premise for the scene was a good idea.

The other characters aren't much more appealing; everyone, on account of the aforementioned lack of tact, comes off as either horribly insecure or just cruel. And for some reason, everyone seems to have an obsession with finding romantic partners who are "genetically compatible" with them. Over the course of the film, Mark's romantic interest, Anna (Jennifer Garner), explains to Mark approximately one hundred million times that she cannot be with him because their children would be "fat kids with snub noses." The worst part, though, is that everyone else agrees and uses the same phrase to describe why an otherwise ideal relationship shouldn't be formed. Apparently, "incapable of lying" also means "excessively shallow."

However, in retrospect, I believe this (vaguely creepy) aspect of the film is meant to be part of a larger, incomprehensible social commentary by Lying's creators. For, in another portion of the film, a police officer informs Mark and his friend that he is glad they "aren't black, as that would increase the probability that I would shoot you." Evidently, Lying is attempting to make a statement, but good luck deciphering what that statement actually is.

Portions of the film, in addition to being garbled, are also at times downright depressing. Jonah Hill's character, Frank (hurr hurr, puns), describes in great detail his forthcoming suicide when asked questions pertaining to what he has planned for his evening, and the doctor caring for Mark's mother spouts off in her presence a diagnosis so grim that it invites the creation of the saying, "If the disease doesn't get you, the stress produced by hearing your diagnosis will."

Could you say that the Invention of Lying is worth seeing? Sure, if we were living a world that was the polar opposite of Mark's; unfortunately, Gervais' latest work is just too full of liars, elitists and losers to be truly enjoyable.