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The Invention of Lying poster

Movies that feel likeThe Invention of Lying (2009)

Set in a world where the concept of lying doesn't exist, a loser changes his lot when he invents lying and uses it to get ahead.

If you loved The Invention of Lying, the closest films we have are The Mermaid (2016), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) and Bruce Almighty (2003). All three share The Invention of Lying's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

🍅 56% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Ricky Gervaiswittyplayfuldreamlikeromantic
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If The Invention of Lying hit the spot, these will too

The Mermaid poster
The Mermaid
2016 · dir. Stephen Chow
🍅 95%★ 6.2comedy · fantasy · romance

Witty where it counts, playful underneath

The difference: Reviewed even better

When Xuan's real estate project threatens the home of mermaids, Shan is sent to stop him. When they fall in love, he is encouraged to cancel the project. However, he must save them from bigger danger.

The Purple Rose of Cairo poster
The Purple Rose of Cairo
1985 · dir. Woody Allen
🍅 93%★ 7.6fantasy · comedy · romance

Dreamlike and romantic in the same breath

The difference: 24 years apart, and the 1980s show

Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.

Bruce Almighty poster
Bruce Almighty
2003 · dir. Tom Shadyac
🍅 48%★ 6.8fantasy · comedy

One thread runs through both: religion

Bruce Nolan toils as a "human interest" television reporter in Buffalo, NY, but despite his high ratings and the love of his beautiful girlfriend, Bruce remains unfulfilled. At the end of the worst day in his life, he angrily ridicules God — and the Almighty responds, endowing Bruce with all of His divine powers.

The Man from the Future poster
The Man from the Future
2011 · dir. Cláudio Torres
★ 7comedy · fantasy · science fiction

Witty comedy in both cases

The difference: Leans harder into science fiction than The Invention of Lying does

Zero is a brilliant scientist. However, 20 years ago, he was publicly humiliated when he lost Helena, the love of his life. One day, an accidental experience with one of his inventions causes him to travel back in time to 1991. Having taken the opportunity to change history, Zero returns to own time to find totally changed.

Bedazzled poster
Bedazzled
1967 · dir. Stanley Donen
🍅 74%★ 6.7fantasy · comedy · romance

Fantasy built on play, twice over

A hapless loser sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams.

Isn't It Romantic poster
Isn't It Romantic
2019 · dir. Todd Strauss-Schulson
🍅 70%★ 5.9comedy · fantasy · romance

The same two preoccupations: romcom, and romance

For a long time, Natalie, an Australian architect living in New York City, had always believed that what she had seen in rom-coms is all fantasy. But after thwarting a mugger at a subway station only to be knocked out while fleeing, Natalie wakes up and discovers that her life has suddenly become her worst nightmare—a romantic comedy—and she is the leading lady.

When We First Met poster
When We First Met
2018 · dir. Ari Sandel
🍅 45%★ 6.4comedy · romance · fantasyNetflix

Romance with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

Using a magical photo booth that sends him back in time, Noah relives the night he met Avery over and over, trying to persuade her to fall for him.

Practical Magic poster
Practical Magic
1998 · dir. Griffin Dunne
🍅 31%★ 6.4romance · fantasy · comedyMax

Both lean on romance more than on comedy

Sally and Gillian Owens, born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.

Shallow Hal poster
Shallow Hal
2001 · dir. Peter Farrelly
🍅 49%★ 6comedy · fantasy · romance

Witty fantasy, and it commits to that

After taking his dying father's advice, Hal dates only the embodiments of female physical perfection. But that all changes after Hal has an unexpected run-in with self-help guru Tony Robbins. Intrigued by Hal's shallowness, Robbins hypnotizes him into seeing the beauty that exists even in the least physically appealing women. Hal soon falls for Rosemary, but he doesn't realize that his gorgeous girlfriend is actually a 300-pound-not-so-hottie.

Dark Shadows poster
Dark Shadows
2012 · dir. Tim Burton
🍅 35%★ 6.2comedy · fantasy

Playful romance in both cases

Vampire Barnabas Collins is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate and family have fallen into ruin.

Rich in Love poster
Rich in Love
2020 · dir. Bruno Garotti
★ 6romance · comedyNetflix

Common ground: romance

The difference: Trades the dream logic of The Invention of Lying for an angle of its own

Working incognito at his rich dad's company to test his own merits, Teto falls for Paula and tells her he grew up poor, a lie that spins out of control.

Beauty and the Beast poster
Beauty and the Beast
2014 · dir. Christophe Gans
🍅 41%★ 6.4fantasy · romancePrime Video

Fantasy built on dream logic, twice over

Forced to face the cruel side of life, a devastated, bankrupt merchant chances upon the enchanted castle of a hideous creature, the mere sight of it chills the bone to the marrow. There, a fate worse than death awaits the poor father-of-six, who, after plucking a sweet-scented rose from the repulsive master's verdant garden, must do the impossible: permit his compassionate daughter, Belle, to take his place and pay for the sins of her parent. Now, an impenetrable mystery shrouds the haunted mansion, and, as repugnance gradually turns into affection, only true love could break the spell.

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