Starring: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Rodrigo Santoro and Leslie Mann
Directed By: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Screenplay By: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Based On: the novel I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks by Steve McVicker
Produced By: Andrew Lazar and Far Shariat
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Rating: R, for sexual content including strong dialogue and language.
Running Time: Approximately 98 minutes
Website: phillipmorrismovie.net
Budget: $13 million
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Release Date: January 7, 2011
Oprah Winfrey often espouses that people should aspire to live their best possible lives. A woman actually ripped a page out of Julie Powell’s book (whose year-long mission to make every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook was the basis for the culinary comedy Julie & Julia) and attempted to do just that, only to discover that living one’s best possible life can be very expensive.
This is one of many life lessons that real-life convict Steven Jay Russell learns the hard way in the engaging (and long-delayed) black comedy I Love You Phillip Morris. Adapted from the non-fiction novel I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks by Steve McVicker, the film is finally arriving in local theaters after overcoming a series of legal and distribution issues following its debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The film took the festival – which had a lackluster lineup that year – by storm with its out-of-the-box subject matter and a close-to-epic performance by Jim Carrey.
Carrey stars as Steven, a married father and small-town Georgia police officer who goes out of his way to be the model husband, father, son and man to everyone around him. Steven is married to Debbie (Leslie Mann), a devout and devoted woman, and even sings in the church choir. The thing is, he’s one serious closet case who fools around with men on the down low. However, following a near-fatal car accident, Steven has a “light bulb moment” (one of Oprah’s favorite things!) and decides to live his life as an out and proud gay man.
Steven leaves Debbie and small-town Georgia behind for sunny South Beach and a hunky new boyfriend named Jimmy (Rodrigo Santoro). Happy, and in love, perhaps for the first time in his life, Steven’s determined to live the fierce and fabulous life, even if it means having to bankroll that life by dabbling in credit card scams, insurance fraud and a litany of other illegal activities. Before too long he winds up in jail and meets the love of his life: the Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor) of the film’s title. Phillip is soft-spoken and meek, the polar opposite of Steven. Once released, they move in together. Unfortunately the allure of a quick, easy buck is too enticing for Steven to stay on the straight and narrow and he’s quickly back to his conman ways with Phillip none the wiser, never questioning whether his man is on the up and up.
Rule number one in the romantic comedy handbook is that the audience has to want the two people at the heart of the story to be together, no matter the odds. While it’s easy to see what Steven sees in Phillip and vice versa, the dynamic between Steven and Jimmy is more interesting and makes more sense in the grand scheme (pun intended) of things. Thankfully, Carrey’s manic, yet nuanced and vulnerable work here (arguably the best of his career) and McGregor’s low-key approach does help to camouflage that disparity in an agreeable way.
Carrey has gone on record as saying that like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Truman Show, I Love You Phillip Morris was a film he instantly knew he had to be a part of upon reading the script. And what a marvelous script first-time directors and longtime writing partners Ficarra and Requa have written. As insane as some of Steven’s antics get, especially in the last third when he continually manages to escape from prison, there’s a through line that holds it all together. The actors clearly relish the opportunity to work from a smart script; it’s something of a disappointment that Ficarra and Requa’s direction isn’t as keenly focused throughout.
To think what a talented maverick like Jonathan Demme (Something Wild and Married to the Mob) or Alexander Payne (Election and Sideways) or the late, great likes of Robert Altman (M*A*S*H, The Player) or Michael Ritchie (The Bad News Bears, Fletch) could have done had they gotten their hands on this material! I Love You Phillip Morris would have been EPIC! As it stands, it’s a good first effort with a great script and a near-perfect performance by Hollywood’s reigning court jester.
Grade: 3.5 stars
