Review: I Love You, Phillip Morris

One of the few comedies to crack my list of movies I wanted to see over break was I Love You, Phillip Morris starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.  Carrey plays Steven Russel, a man who has a low key life married to his wife Debbie (Leslie Mann) with two kids working as a police officer.  Unbeknownst to Debbie, Steven spends his nights going out and sleeping with other men.  On his way home one night, Steven gets in a terrible accident which causes him to finally come out of the closet.  Shortly afterward he moves to Florida and, because living as a gay man is expensive, starts conning his way through life.  Eventually he is caught, arrested, and sent to prison where he meets Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor) and immediately falls in love.  The rest of the movie follows Carrey as he tries to make a life for him and McGregor, conning various people and corporations to make sure they're living lavishly and, consequently, on the edge.

The movie is based on the real-life story of Steven Russel, a con man in the 1980s and 90s, and is adapted from the book I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks by Steve McVicker.  I Love You, Phillip Morris is definitely one of the best and most enjoyable comedies I've seen in a long time.  Carrey fits the bill to a T and it's hard to imagine anyone but Carrey doing the anticts that Steven Russel went through.  While his signature physical comedy is prevalent in the movie, what is more impressive is his ability to adapt to the character.  While you know it's Jim Carrey you're watching, he is entirely convincing as Steven Russel and this film is undoubtedly one of his best.  Ewan McGregor perhaps fulfills his role the best, portraying a timid, innocent, and shy Phillip Morris.  The relationship between the two is entirely convincing and heat warming; the only way I can seem to describe the bond is cute.

There isn't really much of a plot line in the movie, it's more of a following of Russel's seemingly endless efforts to escape from prison and win the love of Phillip Morris.  At times it seems absurd that Russel could get away with what he did and it seems more like something concocted in the mind of Carrey himself, but other moments, particularly towards the end, the audience will undoubtedly be taken back by not only Russel's devotion to Phillip Morris, but his genius.  Steven Russel may be charming, attractive, witty, and funny, but it is his intelligence that gets him places and why the police can never hold him down.

I Love You, Phillip Morris may be the best comedy I've seen all year.  The relationship between Russel and Morris is convincing and endearing and both actors do a stupendous job at forming a believable romance.  The supporting cast doesn't appear much, but each and every tertiary character fulfills its role well, the standouts being Debbie (Leslie Mann), Jimmy (Carrey's ex played by Rodrigo Santoro), and several of the various prison inmates.  The film is simply just enjoyable to watch, fun, and incredibly light hearted.  So, yes, I've decided: I Love You, Phillip Morris was my favorite comedy of 2010, hands down.