“The Invention of Lying” is a love story set in a different world.

The movie isn’t about aliens, but the concept is quite alien – this is a world where lies just don’t exist.

The opening sequence makes this foreign concept clear. We see Coca-Cola ads proclaiming: “Coke. It’s Very Famous.” A nursing home is referred to as: “A Sad Place Where Homeless Old People Come to Die.”

The main character, Mark (Ricky Gervais), is a writer for a company that produces documentaries on every century (for of course, in a world without lies, there is no fiction).

Mark is unsuccessful with his career, constantly one-upped by co-worker Brad Kessler (Rob Lowe). Within the first 10 minutes, you know that Mark is a “loser,” thanks to his blunt secretary, Shelly (Tina Fey).

We see Mark go on a date with the beautiful Anna (Jennifer Garner).

Anna proceeds to tell Mark that she is not attracted to him. He is too fat and short. He admits he has no money. The waiter tells them that he’s embarrassed to be working there.

Mark’s career takes a turn for the worse when he is fired. His landlord chooses the same day to tell Mark that he’s about to be evicted.

In desperation, Mark goes to the bank to withdraw the last of his money, a measly $300.

When the teller asks him how much is in his account, Mark has a realization – he can lie. He tells her $800, and with that fib he finds his luck begin to grow.

He visits his mother in the hospital, and because she is afraid of death, invents a long lie about what awaits her afterward.

Others hear of the lie, and in one of strangest, but quietly funny, scenes of the movie, Mark informs the world of the Man in the Sky, the man who determines whether you go to the best place ever after you die or whether you go to a very bad place.

The movie’s commentary on religion is philosophical in an amusing way.

Mark fends off question after question on what constitutes a good thing or a bad thing, on why the Man in the Sky makes good and bad things happen to us.

At the same time, Mark must also try to convince Anna – who likes him, but wants someone genetically attractive for her children – that he is the right person for her.

Anna seems cruel and Mark pathetic in his attempt to constantly get her to like him.

Put-down after put-down, Mark still trails behind her. It is sometimes hard to watch his groveling, and her effortless but insidious remarks.

Eventually Anna becomes engaged to Mark’s arch rival Kessler, and the movie evolves into a love story.

“The Invention of Lying” has a great cast. Gervais brings humor and pathos to his role and Garner does a good job capturing all the facets of her character. The movie is written and directed by Gervais and Matthew Robinson. Gervais produces and writes for the television show, “The Office.”

Although the movie seems to bite off more than it can chew (the concept of a lie is quite a large part of our society), it grapples with the implications of lying in a humorous, entertaining way. The result is a funny, mostly happy comedy.

“The Invention of Lying” is theaters now.