I enjoyed Ricky Gervais in "Ghost Town" so I had more hope for this film which became a waste of my time. I have never been impressed with Jennifer Garner, but my wife fell in love with the TV series, Alias. She tried to enjoy the movie because of the cast, but I was offended by the concept.
In a nutshell the premise of the movie is that the truth sucks so lying is good because it makes people happy. Fortunately, Ricky Gervais did not make the movie that simplistic and shows consequences to lying that the main character, Mark, did not want to live with.
It grieved me to think that so many people are disillusioned with their lives. The candor of their disillusionments, pride, ego and carnality is supposed to be the truth. But truth is not our perceptions but what is real. Believing one is a loser is not the truth only their belief. The cynicism of the movie's portrayal of truth is actually a lie in of itself.
When Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) first lies, the assumption is that everyone will believe it because a lie had never been told before. So in effect Gervais is saying that the state of innocence is one of cruel candor and self absorption. But everyone knows that is not true, so instead of us believing that they are innocently accepting the lie, we see all the characters as stupid idiots that no one cared about. Even Adam and Eve in the Bible did not immediately accept the lie of Satan, but questioned him further.
Surprisingly, as a Christian, I was not offended by the slam on faith in God when Mark makes up the "lie" of the Man in the Sky to comfort his dying mother. The statement the film is making is that there really is no hope after death, but how comforting it is to believe a lie instead. Instead of being offended I was saddened by all those who believe the lie that there is no God. I was also bothered by the inconsistencies of using Christian symbolism in a world where apparently there was no belief in God in the first place.
The movie is a complete waste of money, unless you are a cynic and believe the message given. Then you will no doubt think it is wonderful. But for those of us who know that life is good yet it has the sin of selfishness in mankind bringing misery, and know that God is greater than all of this, will find the film itself to be a lie.
In a nutshell the premise of the movie is that the truth sucks so lying is good because it makes people happy. Fortunately, Ricky Gervais did not make the movie that simplistic and shows consequences to lying that the main character, Mark, did not want to live with.
It grieved me to think that so many people are disillusioned with their lives. The candor of their disillusionments, pride, ego and carnality is supposed to be the truth. But truth is not our perceptions but what is real. Believing one is a loser is not the truth only their belief. The cynicism of the movie's portrayal of truth is actually a lie in of itself.
When Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) first lies, the assumption is that everyone will believe it because a lie had never been told before. So in effect Gervais is saying that the state of innocence is one of cruel candor and self absorption. But everyone knows that is not true, so instead of us believing that they are innocently accepting the lie, we see all the characters as stupid idiots that no one cared about. Even Adam and Eve in the Bible did not immediately accept the lie of Satan, but questioned him further.
Surprisingly, as a Christian, I was not offended by the slam on faith in God when Mark makes up the "lie" of the Man in the Sky to comfort his dying mother. The statement the film is making is that there really is no hope after death, but how comforting it is to believe a lie instead. Instead of being offended I was saddened by all those who believe the lie that there is no God. I was also bothered by the inconsistencies of using Christian symbolism in a world where apparently there was no belief in God in the first place.
The movie is a complete waste of money, unless you are a cynic and believe the message given. Then you will no doubt think it is wonderful. But for those of us who know that life is good yet it has the sin of selfishness in mankind bringing misery, and know that God is greater than all of this, will find the film itself to be a lie.