America just refuses to make Ricky Gervais a movie star. Last year's Ghost Town was a great little comedy that nobody saw. This year's The Invention of Lying bested Ghost Town's opening box office but still didn't make much of an impact. Sadly, people seem to prefer their comedy stupid and starring Will Farrell, but hopefully Lying will gain a following when it hits Blu-ray and DVD this January. Ricky Gervais gave us The Office, people; the least you could do is help pay his bills.

In Lying, Gervais stars as Mark Bellison, a writer in universe where lying was never invented. People are all tactlessly blunt about everything with each other, from their blind date's chances of getting any to their own impending plans for suicide. After Bellison is fired from his job scripting dry retellings of historical events -- since the concept of "fiction" is unheard of, there's nothing else to write about -- he soon discovers that a small deception at the bank can help solve his financial problems. As a liar surrounded by the completely trusting, the world is Mark's oyster. And if he told them the world actually was an oyster, they'd believe him. Mark's abuse of his newfound power brings him fame, wealth, and even the woman he always wanted, but when all his small lies are eclipsed by one big one, Mark finds himself an unlikely holy figure, whether he wants to be or not.

There are some great moments in Lying, but it's not surprising that it didn't win over audiences. This is a comedy that is tragic as often as it's funny, and the ideas it plays with are not the sort of ideas most people want to think about on a Friday night -- the nature of faith and the afterlife, for example. It's telling that the best scene in this so-called comedy centers on an uncharacteristically heartbreaking performance by Gervais, and even the funniest bits tend to come wrapped in pain and disappointment. As a thought exercise in "What would a world without lies be like," it has its share of thought-provoking and insightful moments, but as a comedy...well, most people don't want to walk out of a comedy feeling introspective and depressed. Recommended for Gervais fans, but expect this one to be divisive.

The Invention of Lying will run you $35.99 on Blu-ray or $28.98 on DVD. Here's the special-features line-up:

• More Laughter: Corpsing and Outtakes
• Prequel: The Dawn of Lying
• Meet Karl Pilkington
• A Truly “Honest” Making of Featurette with Ricky Gervais
• Ricky and Matt's Video Podcasts
• Deleted Scenes
• Digital Copy