A comedy set in a world where no one has ever lied, until a writer seizes the opportunity for personal gain.A comedy set in a world where no one has ever lied, until a writer seizes the opportunity for personal gain.A comedy set in a world where no one has ever lied, until a writer seizes the opportunity for personal gain.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
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- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen trying to secure Philip Seymour Hoffman for his cameo his agent claimed he was too busy so Ricky Gervais requested his email address and sent him the following: "Dear Philip, will you please appear in my new film? There is very little money involved as I spent the budget on testicular implants, but don't look upon them as my testicles, look at them as our testicles." Phillip Seymour Hoffman couldn't refuse after that.
- GoofsJohn Hodgman, as the "Wedding Overseer" looks to be wearing a crucifix. However, upon close examination, it is actually a likeness of Mark holding the "two pizza boxes", matching the image behind the "Wedding Overseer".
- Quotes
Bob: Hi, I'm Bob I'm the spokesperson for the Coca-Cola company. I'm here today to ask you to continue buying coke. Sure, it's a drink you've been drinking for years, and if you still enjoy it, I'd like to remind you to buy it again sometime soon. It's basically just brown sugar water, we haven't changed the ingredients much lately, so there's nothing new I can tell you about that. We changed the can around a little bit, though. See, the colors here are different there, and we added a polar bear so the kids like us. Coke is very high in sugar and like any high calorie soda it can lead to obesity in children and adults who don't sustain a very healthy diet. So that's it, it's coke. It's very famous, everyone knows it. I'm Bob, I work for coke, and I'm asking you to not stop buying coke. That's all. It's a bit sweet. Thank you.
- ConnectionsEdited into Live Free or Die Hard (Project 12, 8/12) (2011)
- SoundtracksBeer Rally
Courtesy of Killer Tracks
Unfortunately the light at the end of this tunnel is the train coming to run us down.
Like so many "high concept" comedies this is a concept in desperate, futile search of a plot... and some funnier lines.
It's no disaster. There are some funny bits. It starts well (or at least does after a hideously misguided voice-over explanation of the basic plot set-up) but the joke that everyone not only can't lie (lying doesn't exist you see, hence the title - obvious, right? So why the voice over explanation Ricky, why, oh, why!) but volunteers the truth, no matter how harsh, at every occasion quickly wears thin. He gets about 20 minutes out of it and some people handle it better than others. Curiously it is often the straight actors (like Jennifer Garner) that play it better and the comedians (like Tina Fey) who sound too much like they are delivering calculated lines to get a laugh - and therefore don't. I love Fey but every line of hers fell flat for me here while Garner sold the hell out of it. Perhaps it's the less comedic actors lose themselves more in the character and world and aren't trying for the gag, the laugh, just trusting in the script, etc. I don't know but it's noticeable time and again here.
A risky (for some American audiences) plot element involving his inadvertent creation of religion and the spiralling outcome of this is also amusing, but again it's funnier as an idea than in execution. Out-staying its welcome.
There are also some dynamite cameos, including two that had my laughing simply by their presence. A bar tender that joins Gervais and the excellent Louis C.K. in a scene is both funny by presence and in his dynamite delivery. I'm not going to say who plays it because if you're going to watch the film it was one of the highlights for me.
As was another cameo by a usually fairly serious actor (although he has shown a comedic side on occasion) as a traffic cop. Again just his presence is funny from the moment he walks on screen and the voice (cause you won't instantly recognise him) gives him away.
A scene with two Extras regulars is fun but feels out of place in the film, almost playing like an afterthought put in for faithful fans.
Amongst the other leads Garner triumphs, giving it her all and Louis C.K. is very funny, but Jonah Hill is underused and never hits the high notes he achieved in Funny People, while Tina Fey doesn't bring it (and i so wanted her to) and Rob Lowe really fails in an update of his Wayne's World character.
But ultimately this descends into sentiment and lacks resolve or real drama. It often feels like a string of stand-up one-liners extended into plot devices (as there is no lying movies are a guy -nice touch cameo from Christopher Guest as one such - reading a book on camera) that work once but then are repeated over and over, beating the gag into submission. Ideas like the use of lying to make people feel better are similarly used once to affecting and comedic effect but then overplayed.
And before you know it you're bogged down in a film about perception of others and looking beyond the surface that could have been reached by any number of devices, making the lying thing irrelevant!
Like Bruce Almighty the concept can only get the film so far before you notice you have almost no interest in the characters, there is no discernible plot and we're going to descend into sentimentality without passing through palpable drama or achieving any resolve.
Disappointing is the only appropriate word.
- motta80-2
- Oct 1, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
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- Also known as
- This Side of the Truth
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $18,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $18,451,251
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,027,472
- Oct 4, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $32,406,507
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1