I Love You Phillip Morris
Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Europa Corp. and Mad Chance
WHEN the opening credits conclude in the biopic I Love You Phillip Morris with the bold announcement “This Really Happened,” one can’t help but speculate that the creators of this recently released movie knew that what was about to unfold onscreen would challenge credibility. What does happen in this based-on-a-true-story tale is that Steven Jay Russell, one of the most elusive con men and escape artists ever known, takes a convoluted journey from average married father to a life of criminality, along the way falling in love with a guy named Phil-lip Morris.
The movie opens with Steven, played by Jim Carrey, taking a stroll down memory lane to revisit the events, starting with childhood, that led him to his current state of incarceration. It is through this device that the movie goes out of its way to establish a measure of audience sympathy for Steven. This is necessary because, had the story just jumped immediately into Steven’s life of antics and lies, it is doubtful that the audience would end up rooting for him, which it does. Steven’s artful dodging of the law makes his crimes appear innocuous even when they’re not. Cheering for a criminal hasn’t been this fun since Catch Me if You Can.
After a life-altering event, Steven has an epiphany that causes him to realize, lo and behold, that he’s gay! Like most of the more poignant moments in I Love You, this revelation is treated with humor and exploited for its shock value, making the rest of the film difficult to take seriously. It doesn’t help matters that the impetus for Steven’s swindling ways is the need to support his stereotypically extravagant gay lifestyle. If we needed a reminder that liberties are often taken when “true stories” are set to fiction, this would be one of them. While a good portion of the movie takes place in prison, I would not call this a prison love story, contrary to the movie’s promotional hype. The hanky-panky between Steven and Phillip cannot be compared, say, to the gritty sex scenes in the television series Oz. Instead, the courtship between Steven and Phillip has a bit of actual romance that stands out against the noisy backdrop of a penitentiary. Jim Carrey’s performance as Steven is spot on, allowing the actor to do what he does best, that quirky, slapstick brand of comedy. But he also proves that he can tug at your heart. Of course, one problem is that you never forget that you’re watching Jim Carrey, which isn’t exactly his fault. Ewan McGregor gives an affable performance as the love of Steven’s life, playing Phillip Morris as a ditzy blond, blue-eyed Southern belle and managing to suppress his Scottish accent while taking on a drawl. I Love You Phillip Morris is a likable and entertaining film with a captivating central character who pulls the rug over the criminal justice system multiple times. While at times we may be laughing at rather than with Steven Russell, it is refreshing that finally a film has arrived in which the gay characters aren’t victims of society but instead get the better of it—except when they’re victims of their own screw-ups. Steven’s life presents one of those madcap stories that you’d never believe if you didn’t know that it (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) really took place. Lerone Landis, a freelance writer on gay culture and politics, has contributed to Dallas Voice, The Texas Triangle, Curve, and others.
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