Review: I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS

Many films have a difficult time getting to your local cinema. Of course many low budget independent films never make it to theatres outside of LA and NYC. Some head straight to home video and fade away. It’s rare when a film starring starring two actors who’ve been in many recent box office blockbusters sits on the shelf for over a year. This is the case of I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS  with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. It premiered at the Sundance in January of 2009  and aired on Argentinian TV this past February. A few months ago I recall hearing an entertainment reporter saying she had seen the film on a flight to Europe. After several lawsuits and false release dates this romantic comedy, based on a true story, finally arrives in US theatres. I’m not sure if the film itself is as fascinating as it’s history , but it should be interesting to see how Carrey fans react to this offbeat role.

The film is narrated by Carrey as Steven Russell while he lies comatose in a hospital bed. He flashes back to his 1970’s childhood when he learns that he is adopted. We flash forward to his life as a police officer in Virginia. Steven is married to the prim Debbie(Leslie Mann) and has a young daughter. After using police files to track her down, Steven is rejected by his birth mother(“I was her middle child. Why’d she give me away?”). He then decides to leave the force and make a brand new start working for a vegetable distributor. This gives Steven a way to secretly hook up with men. One night he is in a car accident and the trauma causes him to be finally open about his sexuality(he screams”I’m gay!’ to the EMTs). He leaves Debbie , moves to Miami, and meets the gorgeous Jimmy(Rodrigo Santoro). There Steven lives beyond his means(“Being gay is really expansive!”) and is soon committing all sorts of frauds(phony charge cards, faking accidents in stores) to support his opulent lifestyle. After the law catches up to him, Steven is thrown in prison where he soon becomes the guy to see in order to get what you want(booze, drugs, etc.). One day at the prison library Steven meets the blond, dreamy southerner Phillip Morris(McGregor) who’s in for a auto rental crime. After exchanging long notes, Steven is transferred to Phillip”s cell where their romance blossoms. When they are separated Steven is released, poses as Phillip’s lawyer, and is able to get him sprung. They settle in Texas where Steven becomes a financial officer at a medical payment firm. But soon he’s operating another scam in order to return to his lavish lifestyle. Will he be able to get away with it and keep Phillip from finding out?

I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS seems to be two different films that are constantly butting up against each other. On one hand you get to see Carrey pulling off his manic act while trying to talk his way out of being caught in his many scams. This is especially true when Steven represents one of Phillip’s friends in court and has to bluff out of the judge’s chambers. The considerable physical talents of Carrey are on display as he pratfalls in supermarket aisles and escalators, and later as he wears different outrageous fashions. On the other hand you have this tender love story of Carrey’s character’s determined pursuit of the dreamy McGregory who has little to do in the film besides batting his perfect blue eyes and affecting a soft Southern accent. Fans of Carrey’s antic comedies will likely be put off be the love story and some of the very graphic sex scenes. Those sequences might be the reason for the film’s delayed release. I’m guessing that the marketing folks didn’t know what audience to aim for.  It’s a good performance by Carrey, but his character is tough to sympathise with. Though  love is his motive, his constant deceptions(even exploiting terminal illness) get a bit tiresome. It’s good that the film can finally be seen,  to show how the talented Mr. Carrey can almost redeem a very uneven script and direction.

Overall Rating: Three out of Five Stars