'Lying' pays off

B ecause I'm a firm believer that there is no time like the present to procrastinate, I did just that this week. What movie to see? For the first time in quite some time there were actually two new movies I had a genuine interest in. "Zombieland," playing downtown, was the more popular movie over the weekend at the box office, but when Ricky Gervais is involved I can't just shrug him off.

Nor can I shrug off the fact that I put off the movie-watching until Tuesday night (the day before this column is due). That meant that the decision ultimately had to be made as I sat at home, "out the road," tired from my day at work and not really loving the idea of driving to town. Gervais is a talented man; his movie, "The Invention of Lying," is also playing in the valley - about half the drive for me. Usually, yes, it is all about me. Tuesday night, though, my lovely mother tipped the scales for Gervais when she had a rare nighttime energy serge and announced she would like to go to the movies too.

Momma Carson and zombies? Ha!

"The Invention of Lying" takes place in a world much like the one we live in (I feel redundant explaining this to you, by the way, because Gervais gives the same explanation via voiceover in the opening frames of "Lying") now except the concept of lying doesn't exist. The word "lying" doesn't exist. Therefore, everybody simply says exactly what they think because it is all they know how to do. Think "Liar Liar" only... it's "Truth Truth" and not just for one guy but for all of humanity. Not surprisingly, there seems to be an inordinate amount of unhappy folks. After all, think how you'd feel if everybody was honest all the time.

Seriously. Think about it. Most of us aren't that nice.

Luckily, Debbie Downer is not the screenwriter here. That would be Gervais, creator of the best show not enough people are watching, NBC's "The Office" (Pam and Jim get married tonight!). Yeah, there is some gloominess in the world of "Lying," but it's mostly funny to watch. Gervais, who also co-directs with Matthew Robinson, plays Mark Bellison, a man very aware of the fact he's a fat loser. How could he not be? Everyone thinks so and they all tell him just that!

We see Mark go on a blind date with a pretty girl (Jennifer Garner) who tells him he has no shot at sleeping with her. We see Mark go to work where his secretary (Tina Fey) tells him he has no messages because she has told everyone not to bother leaving messages since Mark is about to be fired. We see Mark visit his dying mother at the old folk's home which says on the front of the building, "A Sad Place for Hopeless Old People."

Something clicks in Mark's brain, though, and he miraculously is able to lie - or rather, say something that isn't. He's the only one. Just imagine the possibilities! Hopefully you're more creative than the two friends Mark tries to bring in on his discovery (Louis C.K. and Philip Seymour Hoffman); they just want to touch boobs.

I laughed heartily several times during "Lying," and I'd watch it again with pleasure. You're in good hands when Gervais is writing, directing and starring and I double-dare you not to laugh during Edward Norton's fabulous cameo.

That's why I'm willing to forgive "Lying" for slowing too much at the end and finishing on an utterly predictable note.