David Theiss

Katie and I decided to take a night to ourselves, which for whatever reason, happens less and less these days.  Since we rarely get to spend any meaningful time together, we decided to go to a quick dinner and then see a movie – the former of my choosing and the latter of hers.

The Tremont TapHouse

For dinner, we went to the Tremont TapHouse – a little bar-slash-restaurant situated in the trendy and perpetually up-and-coming Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland.  I went there after a late-night walk in the rain and really enjoyed the beer list and the pierogies I ordered – and since I’m really not into spending a ton of money on dinner with a big fat wedding bill looming later next year, I really dug the prices, as well.

Once we got there we were immediately struck by how crowded it was – bustling I think would be the term.  It was filled with groups of young professionals, all with Blackberry’s in tow, enjoying each other’s company and an end-of-the-week cocktail.  We snagged the last free table near the back and ordered our food.  We both got burgers so I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on that.  They were both really good, the place was great with a fun atmosphere, we both really liked it.

The Invention of Lying

Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe

Directed By: Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson

Next, we shot on over to the glitzy and glamorous Crocker Park Cinema in Manhattan Westlake to see UK Office genius Ricky Gervais‘ new comedy, “The Invention of Lying” – a film which takes place in a world where no one has the ability to lie and everyone tells everyone exactly what they’re feeling.  Gervais plays a frumpy “Lecture Films” writer who, after a horribly deflating date with Jennifer Garner, is fired from his job and learns that virtually no one likes him.  While drowning his sorrows, his brain clicks into gear and he stumbles upon the first lie mankind has ever heard.  Naturally, everyone believes him, and thus begin the shenanigans.

Gervais is his usual brilliant self.  He is self-deprecating, relatable, hysterical, and neurotic all at the same time.  His verbal ticks and subtle traits are in full force and are just as funny as the have always been.  He even gets to display some of his dramatic chops in a pretty touching hospital scene that really serves as the center of the entire film.  He is a natural comic actor and there needs to be more movies that center around him like this film and the extremely underrated “Ghost Town.”

Other than the rock-solid Gervias, the movie is full of surprises.  The first curveball the movie throws is the fact that it’s chock-full of huge movie stars who pop-up in small bit parts.  See if you can spot Edward Norton and Phillip Seymor-Hoffman in quick hitter roles – Johah Hill, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jeffrey Tambour, Jason Bateman, and Gervais’s Office writing partner Steven Merchant all turn up and are all memorable without distracting from the story or the stars.

The second surprise is kind of new age message of the film.  The movie’s plot centers almost entirely around religion and the meaning of life and death.  They movie mocks and derides religion and its social purpose pretty overtly, which could turn some people off (no problem with me, however).  What is disappointing about this is that while death and religion are pretty heady issues to tackle, the movie doesn’t really have anything new or original or clever to say on the subjects and the movie devolves into a predictably  formulaic final reel that mildly disappoints.  In all though, “The Invention of Lying” is a nice little movie.  We both really enjoyed it as well.

In all, it was a lovely, and much needed, night out.

My Grade (for the movie not the entire night): B