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The events occurring in I Love You Phillip Morris are pretty unbelievable, and yet the makers point out that what we saw actually happened. Everybody who went through 22 episodes of the first season of Prison Break will have a hard time comprehending how Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) manages to escape so “easy” multiple times from jail. Going from just dying a costume green so that it resembles an infirmary outfit to faking a lethal disease. In some cases the plans need a whole lot of preparation and knowledge, covering yourself in tattoos isn’t a requirement.
What does puzzle me is how easy he is apprehended after every escape. Surely someone so clever should be able to escape a country as easy as he escapes from jail?
Presented as a comedy the life story of Steven Russell is pretty light weight entertainment and it’s actually sad to see that this movie has had a hard time getting released at all. It stars A-list names Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor but studios deemed the movie to risque to be released. The reason: the main characters are a gay couple.
It’s 2010 people.
But enough about the tolerance level of The United States I have a review to do.
The movie revolves around a closeted homosexual who after a driving incident decides to escape the closet and live life to the fullest. As he points out, being gay is expensive. Well only the way he likes to live it, which is pretty out and proud. To support his lifestyle he turns to a life of crime as a conman and eventually ends up in jail where he finds his true love; the naive Phillip Morris. After they both get released they start a life together but for Steven it’s hard to ignore his second nature as a conman.
I Love You Phillip Morris is a decent comedy but does go for the easy laugh. Jim Carrey is surprisingly restraint with his mimics and relies more on the script than his own touch. His co-star Ewan McGregor is somewhat bland but that is due to the goody two-shoes character he is playing. His Phillip Morris hasn’t got and edge and almost never loses his temper. In some ways he reminded me of his Obi-Wan Kenobi. A guy so calm that no matter what obstacle he faces it never impresses him and he keeps his calm. And even though he does lose his temper somewhat his character is such a wuss it hardly impresses.
The cinematography of the movie was something that drew my attention while watching it. The movie is set in Miami which provides a sunny atmosphere and thus a warm palette of colors. Even the jails have this warm yellow-green palette over them making it look like a place you wouldn’t mind to be.
Unlike Brokeback Mountain the movie doesn’t do much for the gay community, but the gay factor isn’t here for laughs though there are some jokes at its expense. Other than some cuddling and kissing by the two leads the movie isn’t all that gay and pretty funny. It’s unbelievable how Steven got out of jail on multiple occasions, and even more that he got caught so easy everytime.
