I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) Reviews

• A Brilliant And Courageous Departure For Jim Carrey

  marcosaguado2009-07-11

  A packed screening at the Sunset 5 in Hollywood. The audience rewarded it with a heartfelt applause and me among them. A stunning surprise. The film starts by telling us the story is true, really, really true and that adds to the already enormous surprise. A con man in the vein of Leonardo Di Caprio in "Catch Me As You Can" that deep down is overwhelmingly honest. After years of being a wonderful father and husband he confesses to his wife that he's gay. He remains friends and close to his family. Ends up in jail and meets the love of his life. The love story between Jim Carrey and the astonishing Ewan McGregor is a first for the screen. Miles away from the wonderful Brokeback Mountain because here their love is public without borders. I totally believe in the flame that both of them ignite looking into each other's eyes. It is so intimate and real that I realized I had never seen it quite like this on the screen before. The fact that this film couldn't get a distribution is beyond me. I'm certain it's going to be one of the hits of 2009 and Jim Carrey as well as Ewan McGregor will get Oscar nominations. I saw the film on the 8th, 4 days ago and I've been craving to see it again ever since. Look at McGregor's face when he realizes this man really loves him. The tenderness is nothing short of breathtaking. As if all of the above wasn't enough "I Love You Phillip Morris" is hysterically funny. Highly and warmly recommended.

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• Carrey and McGregor create a first.

  lifeinmovies-912-7873192010-12-01

  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.

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• The Power Of The Truth

  the-ppfitzgeralds2009-07-13

  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.

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• Funny, Sad and True! (from May Nashville preview)

  amanda-6942009-05-31

  There's really only one thing you need to ask yourself before you see this movie: are you prepared to see Jim Carrey getting it on with Ewan MacGregor? If so, you should definitely go. The movie tells the true story—and trust me, you'll have trouble believing it's true—of Steven Russell, a gay man who just can't stop conning his way through life. He uses his extraordinary abilities to gain a variety of jobs, gets indicted for embezzlement, and wins the love of the titular Phillip Morris while the two are fellow inmates in prison. "I Love You Phillip Morris" was written and directed by Glen Ficarra and John Requa, the same writing team responsible for "Bad Santa". Like "Bad Santa", this movie effectively balances humor and with some very dark themes, though I would say the overall tone is not nearly as bleak as that of the earlier movie. The writers told the Nashville audience that when choosing material to include from Steve McVicker's nonfiction book, they decided they primarily wanted to tell the love story. They do so very successfully. You might even call this the perfect romantic comedy for people who hate traditional romantic comedies: it's homo- rather than hetero-oriented, it's non-fiction, and it features a somewhat off-kilter con man as the romantic lead. Sounds bizarre, sure, and yet all these elements come together to make a really entertaining movie. For the most part Jim Carrey loses himself in the character of Steven Russell, delivering an effectively non-hammy (and non-Carrey) comic performance. MacGregor's Phillip Morris is also believably innocent, Southern, and wide-eyed. Nice supporting performances, such as Leslie Mann's as Russell's ex-wife Deb, round out the movie. Much of the romance takes place in prison, and this creates many beautifully absurd scenes. The movie also has its fair share of sad moments, and contains a pretty clear message about social justice in Texas -- as did the book-- but this is kept mercifully subtle, underlying rather than overshadowing the story. The directors said they hoped the movie would make spectators laugh, cry and think, and the Nashville audience seemed to do all three. There were a lot of laughs but some definite sniffles at the appropriate moments. At the Q&A, there was a fair amount of interest in the real story, and Ficarra, McVicker, and Requa were happy to oblige with further information. Come to think of it, you may not have to worry about seeing the two leads have sex. Although the love scenes were kept technically PG, the directors were expecting a fight with the MPAA because of the homosexual content. That's a real pity, but I hope they win.

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• Stranger (And More Human) Than Fiction

  totalwonder2009-07-15

  Certain images and moments of this stunning surprise come to visit me in the middle of my day. Phillip Morris has become someone to me. Someone I crave to revisit. Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor create, not merely a novelty but a revolution of sorts. They took what is still a taboo and gave it a human, a truly human face. The story seems a recreation of Spielberg's "Catch me if you Can" or Robert Mulligan's "The Great Impostor" but "I love You Philip Morris" has a life all of its own. Jim Carrey uses what made him famous to present us with a unique, true character, in all its complexities, contradictions and depth. It is a staggering performance that will make me look at this actor from now own under a new light and with oodles of renewed respect. Ewan McGregor comes back to renew his early promise with a character of such tender honesty that I'm sure will re-open the book of his career with a brand new, brilliant chapter.

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