Reel Critics:

“The Invention of Lying” offers a hilarious look at a world where no one ever tells a lie. The first 30 minutes offers a rapid fire look at how modern society might function with this fact in place. Changes in the way we would work, date and advertise products come in for special attention.

Imagine a Pepsi ad saying their soda is just brown sugar water, but begging you to try it anyway. Friends and loved ones saying exactly what they think of you on a daily basis. A secretary saying she didn’t bother to take messages for you because everyone knows you’re getting fired soon. The blunt comments are not really mean spirited because everyone accepts them as normal behavior.

Ricky Gervais plays a chubby little loser who gets his share of these remarks. A blind date played with deadpan wit by Jennifer Garner provides a lot of laughs with her frank account of every aspect of their time together. Then a brain quirk gives Ricky’s character the sudden idea to say something that isn’t true. The world changes when he realizes that people will still believe what he says, no matter how outrageous.

This is a really a great comedy premise that is fully realized for about half of its running time. The amusing and imaginative parts are interspersed with standard bits of romantic comedy formula, but it’s still worth a look.

Feeling ‘Love’ in all the wrong places

No matter what you may think of documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, the man knows how to put together an intelligent film in an entertaining yet thought-provoking way.

Never one to soft-pedal his viewpoint, Moore presents a convincing portrait of an America that has gone to the dogs — in this case, a greedy pack of dogs that have recklessly undercut our economic system.

His evidence is hard to refute, given the spate of corporate and financial institutions that have gone under or “needed” a bailout. There are some jaw-dropping revelations – one is a “dead peasant insurance” where companies take out policies against their own rank-and-file employees and rake in profits when they die, unbeknownst to their struggling families. It may be legal, but is it right?

Moore is good at stirring things up, and, yes, sometimes for his own benefit. Yet he cares deeply about his country, and wants to get us thinking and talking about the problems and possible solutions. The time for sitting on the sidelines is over.

The richest 1% of Americans have more wealth than the bottom 95% combined. Perhaps the movie’s title refers to that elite group, as it doesn’t seem like much of the rest of the country is feeling the love these days.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.