iVillage Entertainment

It's a good time to be a funny, pudgy guy in the movies. In the past couple of years, Seth Rogan got to hook up with Elizabeth Banks in Zack and Miri; Jack Black scored with Cameron Diaz in Holiday; and even Jonah Hill won over Emma Stone in Superbad. Now in The Invention of Lying, which opens Friday, Ricky Gervais is paired with Jennifer Garner. But will audiences really root for him to get the girl?

Gervais has a solid cult following going for him, thanks to the British Office. And there's that charming accent. But he's got a few strikes against him. For one, he's much older than Rogan et al. He also lacks that aw-shucks quality that makes Rogen (those puppy-dog eyes!) and Black (that sweet smile!) so lovable. Gervais is more of a sly dog than a teddy bear; whenever he says something nice, you always suspect an ulterior motive. Even the sparkle in his eyes seems sarcastic.

He’s a lovable loser, sure, but he’s got a chip on his shoulder that never quite goes away. It served him well as love-to-hate-him boss David Brent in The Office, and as a sad-sack wannabe actor in Extras. But it gets in his way when he tries to be sincere. In the 2008 film Ghost Town, Gervais played a dentist who hates everyone, and finally learns compassion when he begins seeing ghosts. Although the movie was a romantic comedy -- with Tea Leoni as the brainy Egyptologist of his dreams – Gervais never quite sold the falling-in-love bit, and it ended up feeling like an afterthought.

In The Invention of Lying, however, the romance is front-and-center: the entire movie is motivated by Gervais' unrequited feelings for Garner. Lying was written and directed by Gervais, so you can't blame a guy for trying; but unless sparks really fly, expect to see Gervais demoted to funny-sidekick in his next feature film.

Can Ricky Gervais cut it as a romantic lead? Chime in below!