If like me you saw last year’s Ghost Town, you may not have been looking forward to Ricky Gervais’ second Hollywood film as a leading man. In this case Gervais is behind the writing desk and the camera as well as being onscreen, so slightly higher expectations were inevitable given his oft proven skills as a craftsman of comedy. The result is a sentimental and safe rom-com which paradoxically criticises the illogical and damaging effects of organised religion. Whilst these issues may seem polemical to an American audience, here in the largely secular UK The Invention of Lying can feel slightly patronising and irrelevant.

What you may have gathered from the trailers is that Gervais plays Mark Bellison, a middle aged loser who lives in a world in which the human race has never evolved the ability to lie. Bellison then discovers that he can in fact bend the truth and consequently shape the world in his own image. Fame and fortune quickly follow, and things are looking up as he courts the previously out of his league Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner). However, what the trailer diplomatically obscures is the theological debate which Gervais introduces in the second half of the film. Bellison’s mother is dying, and on her death bed Bellison weaves a comforting tale about a man in the sky who controls everything and provides mansions for everyone after death. He unwittingly becomes a messianic figure with his invented religion (the rules of which are written on the back of two pizza boxes) and he inevitably gets in over his head.

There is no doubt that it is refreshing and indeed necessary for the atheist/agnostic viewpoint to be aired publicly in such a traditional format. Many people who haven’t read the small print will go in unsuspecting and either be moved, motivated or angered by The Invention of Lying’s critique of Christianity. However, this isn’t exactly The God Delusion and Gervais quickly shelves the subversive sub-plot in favour of a sickly, predictable conclusion. It just doesn’t go far enough, and teases you with the potential of an ideological alternative to the conservative doctrines of traditional Hollywood rom-coms. In the end it turns out to be a damp squib. Do you think Gervais’ unlucky, chubby loser will get the girl in the end? Will he manage to better a much more genetically compatible (read attractive) male rival? Even Karl Pilkington will be able to see this one coming.

Ideological issues aside, the main problem here is that Gervais is pretty much on autopilot. His character may as well be David Brent. Or Andy Millman. Or whatever his characters in Night at the Museum and Ghost Town were called. It is possible to forgive him for being typecast in films written by other people, but when he ends up writing exactly the same roles we must conclude that he is consciously restricting himself to a performance comfort zone.

Another issue is the lack of laughs. Gervais seems to think that plenty of cameos from his celebrity mates constitute jokes. Sadly they don’t. Gervais also seems to revel in the power of celebrity whilst criticising the damaging potential of blind faith and worship of unworthy icons. The two ideologies will seem incompatible to the discerning viewer. It is just a pity that his celeb pals couldn’t contribute some of their fortunes to the production of The Invention of Lying. A little bit more funding would have removed the need for some of the most persistent and overt product placement in any film I’ve ever seen. The whole thing is topped off by a deluge of Americanisms spewing awkwardly from Gervais’ mouth and the Dick Van Dyke mockney drawl of his dying mother which is laughable for all the wrong reasons.

The Invention of Lying has distracted and impressed some reviewers with its progressive potential. However, what could have been an inflammatory critique of America’s religious delusions loses its nerve, my respect and hopefully your custom.