"The Invention of Lying" Topic

Ricky Gervais gets into a bind and tells the first . . . well, they don't have a word for it in his world.

Looks like a parody of the dis generation, but nothing is said with rancor, just in a very straight-forward way, because no one can . . . er, um.

JW

I usually skip comedies in the theater, but I need to see this one.

Mark Twain has a very good piece about lying, called My First Lie and How I Got Out Of It.

Its been upsetting Christian groups in the US, because he sets up a religeon. Remember this is a reality where fiction does not exist, and apparently he exploits this.

Ricky's an avowed athiest. I liked the film ok but there are at least two errors to the premise:

1) Jonah Hill's character tells Ricky's that it's OK that he won't hang out with him after talking him out of suicide. If he's true to the conceit he should have expressed the obvious disappointment he felt to that response. And

2) there are a few pre-"revelation" establishing shots showing churches in either the foreground or background. If it's to be understood that he invented religion then there wouldn't be houses of worship of any kind. I spose they could be Marrying Houses but I didn't see any sign of that.

Niggly points but there you are.

I am oficially bringing out the pretension bat and SMACKING Flashman upside da heeed.

You get to use the word conceit in that context but ONCE in your stay at TMP, not twice in the same damn day!

So, sit down with your clove cigarettes and go read some Bukowski in the corner.

But kudos for using the word niggly… that's ballsy. So, you get a mulligan.

Last Hussar

Print a list of things that don't upset "Christian" groups.
It won't be very long.

1. . . .

More Christian upset to follow:

This was my favorite part of the whole movie. I saw the pizza boxes coming, and laughed beforetimes.

That's what a parody is all about. Find a subject, point out its inconsistancies, and then watch the people whose whole lives are caught up in those inconsistancies hop up and down.

I know in advance that man is going to be inhuman to his own kind in countless ways, but I'm going to create the whole works, anyway. Hilarious. And the people who believe in me the most are going to be the worst offenders.

The only thing funnier would have been if he had said the man upstairs was only responsible for the good stuff and another man downstairs was responsible for the bad stuff.

Jennifer Garner is terrific as a woman caught between her upbringing and the reality of this great guy who doesn't fit the mold.

JW

Jack- I was very carefully avoiding saying anything that could be DH/BF.

Ramen.

At the risk of closing the Christian debate happy hour..

Is the film as bad as we are being told by all the critics?

Been gone for a while :-) and didn't see your question.

It's not going to win any awards, but it's a light, romantic comedy.

If you like LRC, then, no. If you hate it with a passion, yes.

JW