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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 10/09/2009 : 17:01:01
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The conceit by Ricky Gervais and first-time co-writer/director Matthew Robinson is that the world of a parallel universe has not come up with the power of people to lie. Not just that, but they must say anything and everything that pops into their heads no matter how emotionally hurtful it may be. Why the kids on this world aren't a perennial bag of nerves is anyone's guess.
Anyway, into the scenario comes Gervais who does nothing more nor less than invent lying. He does this for his own personal gain and proceeds to manipulate everyone around him to enrich his life in every way.
As comedy premises go, this has wonderful possibilities. And I can't say Gervais and Robinson don't take advantage of some of them. When they do there are some genuinely funny moments.
But Gervais has publicly admitted the change in tone in the film from funny first bit to the rest was deliberate because he has a message. I warn you it's a pretty simplistic message, though it is undoubtedly twanging the heartstrings of his new found home America. Think fluffy puppy dogs and Hallmark cards.
Gervais is already trailing his next film Cemetary Junction. Maybe he needed the LA street cred of this one to get funding for that one. We'll have to wait and see.
I do want to highlight the small roles and cameos in Lying - of the latter, absolutely brilliant are Philip Seymour Hoffman and a near-unrecognizable Edward Norton. Jason Bateman and Christopher Guest also score bigtime. But it's Rob Lowe whose subtle vicious work-rival shakes the comedy gods.
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 03/15/2010 : 19:04:31
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| I pretty much agree: it was just hilarious until it went all soft in the third act. Don't forget Tina Fey and the always-dependable Jeffrey Tambor. |
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MisterBadIdea 
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 03/17/2010 : 02:56:19
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I already heard about the fact that it tackles religion before I saw it. If I hadn't, I might have been like everyone else and felt appreciation and shock and its sheer ballsiness.
As it is, I just identified a movie that was in wayyyyyyyyyy over its head. It hasn't really thought about the implications of an atheist universe, even trying to roll with the film's logic. I wasn't a fan of Idiocracy, but Idiocracy thought a lot more and tried a lot harder. |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 03/17/2010 : 21:26:59
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quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
I already heard about the fact that it tackles religion before I saw it. If I hadn't, I might have been like everyone else and felt appreciation and shock and its sheer ballsiness.
As it is, I just identified a movie that was in wayyyyyyyyyy over its head. It hasn't really thought about the implications of an atheist universe, even trying to roll with the film's logic. I wasn't a fan of Idiocracy, but Idiocracy thought a lot more and tried a lot harder.
Yep, that's me, all I knew going in was the central concept. Thank, er, God? Think you're judging it too harshly, but then it does fall apart like divinity [the recipe, not the omnipotency] in the third act. I'm a *huge* unabashed fan of IDIOCRACY. I think it's one of our underrated gems. But aren't you the guy who TALKS IN THE MOVIES? You probably missed a little bit... |
Edited by - randall on 03/17/2010 21:31:15 |
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The Invention of Lying
