I Love You Phillip Morris

I love You Philip Morris is an exceptional film, not because of the script, acting, or filming all of which are above average but simply because it seriously tries to take a homosexual relationship and show it as a heterosexual one and does so without the squirm.

Maybe the world still ain't ready (this is most under-reviewed of any Carey film on IMDb) but it is a good film.

With strong elements of humor, con tricks, prison, and a heart that is genuine, it is a very entertaining film.

Hopefully it is a ground-breaking film. It is enjoyable , has real depth, and you would need to be mean spirited indeed to find it repugnant in any way.

Go see, then complain.

Just when I thought Jim Carrey couldn't surprise me anymore, even if he tried...bang! "I Love You Phillip Morris" Here Jim Carrey creates the most complex and complete character of his career. A bisexual co-man of all things. An amoral guy who finds love and when I say "finds" we see him finding it. The romantic entanglement of Carrey and McGregor is a real first because we, even the ones who don't quite get the same sex thing, gets it. I saw the love between this two men and I believed it. "Brokeback Mountain" was easier to believe because the tragedy filled with deceit and self loathing fit perfectly with what I, and many others I suspect, believe that kind of union may involve. Here I saw romance in Ewan McGregor's eyes. His disbelief that somebody loves him is out of "The Nights Of Cabiria" - I will certainly see this again.

Continuing my MIFF reviews, I saw this last week with a packed house at Greater Union.

Firstly, it has to be said that it's a tragedy that this film's general release has been such a stifled process. The entertainment value of this picture, its expert construction and superb performances cannot be denied.

Carrey turns in what is possibly his best performance in a decade. It's bizarre, the way that his signature antics actually enhance rather than diminish the dramatic aspects of this film, based loosely on real life events. In fact, for me, the movie trumps The Truman Show as Carrey's true coming of age as a performer of depth. Ewan McGregor is equally astonishing as Phillip Morris - you'd swear you were watching the kind of unique romantic chemistry between two actors that arrives very rarely in cinema, and virtually never between two A-listers playing gay lovers; but the love story is only a foundation for what emerges as a kinetic, superbly told comedy-drama about the real life exploits of con man and recidivist prison escapee Steven Jay Russell.

Directors/writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa expertly handle the tensions of comic and dramatic performance and also prove to have a masterly touch with the frenzied action sequences. Bit parts are cast beautifully. You can see the attention to detail and craft in this movie.

It can only be assumed that the gay context of this film has cost it it's commercial potential in the eyes of distributors, because everything else about it spells box office success. Apparently, it will finally have a limited release in the US in October this year, with the potential of expansion.

Without spoiling any of the twists of the film's detailed series of events, the film succeeds at beautifully hijacking audience expectation time and again. Just when you think you've got the film pinned for being predictable, suddenly it flips on you with a wry smile as if to say, "I knew what you were thinking".

I'm not sure how close the producers stuck to the facts, but it scarcely matters. If 5% of this narrative is true, it would be amazing in itself. I would be happy if the film was complete fiction.

It's a wonderful, assured comedy and deserves wide commercial exploitation.

It's more unique than rare that a film affects me this much. The center, the emotional center of Phillip Morris has entered my subconscious in a way that I can't quite describe. It changed my perception of things. This is the first time I see two men kissing that made complete sense. I believe and understood like never before the "normalness" of the feeling. I liked "Brokeback Mountain" too but in that case, the torturous path of self-loathing that the Heath Ledger character goes trough, kept me at the periphery of the story like a sympathetic, moved spectator. Here I was part of it, of them. I'm sure Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor have a lot to do with it. No cheap shots, no low comedy. They are so true that you can't help loving them and rooting for them, flaws and all. I predict "I Love You Phillip Morris" will become the sleeper of 2009.

I Love You Philip Morris is a great movie to watch if your a fan of Jim Carrey's dramatic work! Jim Carrey gives a great performance in this and he has great chemistry with Ewan McGregor, who also gives a great performance in the movie! The movie also has great writing, directing, and keeps you hooked throughout the movie. The movie does have a few problems, but this is still a great movie to watch, and I recommend this movie to anyone who are fans of Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.