I Love You Phillip Morris
If you’re the type of person who enjoys late-night, true-life tales of conmen and fraudsters, you may find yourself succumbing to Jim Carrey's endless scams and deluded optimism.

Following the award nominations heaped upon Brokeback Mountain and Milk, Hollywood A-listers have wised up to the fact that going gay for pay will usually do their careers no harm whatsoever. Consequently, we now find Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor starring in this puzzling, amusing and, inevitably, divisive little movie, which is based, somewhat incredibly, on a true-life tale.

Carrey plays Steven Russell, a flamboyant conman who leaves his Jesus-loving wife and young daughter when he decides that he can no longer live a lie: he’s gay, and life is too short to pretend otherwise. However, although he decides to be honest about this aspect of his nature, pretty much everything else in his life is a charade. Russell spends his time conning one company after another in order to live way beyond his means – often to the dismay of those close to him.

Eventually, he ends up in jail, which is where he meets the titular Mr Morris (McGregor). The two fall in love, and when Russell is released first, he pretends to be a lawyer to secure early release for his lover. The two set up home, but Russell can’t stop pretending to be something that he’s not, leading to increasingly audacious frauds and deceptions. It’s only a matter of time before the world he attempts to create crumbles around him. Even then, realising that he can’t always lie himself out of a situation is a lesson that continues to elude him; there’s simply nothing he won’t do in an effort to stay with Morris.

I Love You Phillip Morris is pretty much the definition of an oddball romance, and writers/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa play it as a madcap, screwball adventure. In tone, it’s a little bit like the Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona, although without that movie’s visual panache.
Carrey is convincing in the lead role as Russell; a deluded, damaged but charismatic and generous fraudster. McGregor less so as a fey, blonde, blue-eyed Texan hunk. Neither character, in truth, is particularly likeable, which will probably seriously hamper this film’s chances of mainstream success. An early sex scene between Carrey and an anonymous stranger pulls no punches over its gay subject matter, although disappointingly, for two men seemingly in love, there’s little actual kissing between Carrey and McGregor. Truthfully, the fact that the characters are gay is of little relevance to the actual story. At its heart, this is a film about someone who tries to invent a new identity for themselves – and that can afflict people of all persuasions.

Those expecting a typical Jim Carrey vehicle are likely to be disappointed, while some viewers might be taken aback by Russell’s lack of morality. And yet, if you’re the type of person who enjoys late-night, true-life tales of conmen and fraudsters, you may find yourself succumbing to the character’s endless scams and deluded optimism. Yes, he’s a borderline sociopath, but like all sociopaths, it’s fascinating to see him going about his business, seemingly oblivious to the fallibility of his machinations. There’s something both appalling and hideous about the character, but as played by Carrey, he induces enough sympathy to generate genuine outrage at the film’s sobering dénouement.

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