Customer Reviews

I Love You Phillip Morris [DVD]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

To cut to the chase, I really liked this film.

I'm not going to go into massive detail about plot or anything like that, but it's very, very good. It made me laugh, and it made me cry, so it has a lot going for it.

Two things I'd like to make known though to those who might be considering watching this film:

1 - The reviews on the cover that suggest that it's 'Non-stop laughs' or 'hilarious' are way off the mark. In general, I 'laughed out loud' about 6 times throughout the film (that's still pretty good though). It's NOT a comedy film (generally speaking) and is not what you might be expecting if you like other Jim Carey films. It's a love story, and is centered around two gay men. It's one of those film's where you get very attached to the main character, and I found myself getting annoyed with the main characters inability to stay out of prison.

2) Having read the few reviews which didn't think much of this film: The majority of them seem to be mothers who ignored the age warning and then didn't like what they saw, deeming the contents to be inappropriate. The rest seem to be borderline homophobes, who didn't appreciate seeing two men having sex. As others have said, had this been a heterosexual love story I'm sure these reviewers wouldn't have bothered to write such drivel.

I consider 'I Love You, Phillip Morris' almost too good to be true. Stellar leads Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey portray two gay inmates falling head over heels in love with each other. Not letting themselves be hampered by the ever prevalent prison boundaries, they manage to establish a real relationship. Their love encounters highlights as well as mental blows, separations, quarrels and setbacks, both in and out of prison. It is a delight to watch both actors in their gay role. Jim Carrey is the self assured, loud mouthed drama queen, while Ewan Mc Gregor plays a rather introvert, insecure and - a touch - effeminate man. It was with Ewan I sympathised most. I saw Ewan McGregor star in many different roles. Never in a gay one. He deserves 10 out of 10 for his efforts. For me he came out on top. He radiated goodness and comfort in an ugly and unfriendly environment. Please, also note the score. It's as light as a summer breeze. It certainly takes away the roughest edges of the prison-institute.

Following a near-fatal car accident Steve Russell, apparently happily married, re-assesses his life and decides it's about time he got out of the closet and lived his life to the full. Pretty soon though he comes to the painful realisation that 'although nobody talks about it: being gay is pretty expensive!' and turns to a life of petty crime (mainly insurance fraud) to sustain his lifestyle. When reality catches up, he is sent to jail where he falls in love with Phillip Morris.

What could appear at first as just another silly rom-com, really takes another dimension once you know that the story is an accurate depiction of real characters and events. Yes Steve Russel is a con-man with delusion of grandeur and no sense of reality, but he's also a romantic character whose (misguided) determination to live a great love story at all cost is difficult to resist.

Although not a fan of Jim Carrey, I thought he was achieving a good mix of silliness and depth and Ewan McGregor was effortlessly cute and touching, although a bit stretched in scenes that demanded gravitas and heartfelt emotions.

So all in all, this is a charming movie, quite funny at times too, and which is smart enough to treat the homosexuality of the main leads as a mere fact of life rather than some controversial plot device. Well done you.

I Love You Phillip Morris opens with the cheeky preface "This Really Happened" rather than the normal "Based on a True Story" or the standard "Inspired by Actual Events" a creative decision that playfully prepares audiences for the sheer lunacy they're about to witness.

In exploiting the more preposterous aspects of Steve Russell's (Jim Carey) incredible career as a con man, I Love You Phillip Morris the director and screenwriters have created the perfect cinematic vehicle to showcase the diverse talents of comedy icon Carrey, whose flair for drama has been gradually catching up with his killer comic timing ever since he stunned audiences into silence in The Cable Guy back in 1996. Carrey's portrayal of Russell sits so comfortably alongside his previous roles in films like Me, Myself & Irene, Liar Liar, and Yes Man that if it weren't for the fact that the film told you it was a true story at the beginning, the story could easily be believed as a farce.

The film makers seem more interested in milking the story for comedy rather than attempting anything serious or thoughtful with the material, but when dealing with a subject like Russell, absurdity and comedy just seems to be the right way to go. Still, Carrey handles the dramatic beats in I Love You Phillip Morris with enough conviction to hold his own opposite McGregor, who is captivating in his role as the timid inmate who quickly falls for Russell's disarming charisma.

Much like Steve Russell at that crucial crossroads that nudged him into a life of crime, I Love You Phillip Morris never feels like it really knows what it wants to be. But this lack of direction doesn't ruin the film at all because it's Russell's talent for BS and Carrey's ability to play the character so naturally and believably that ensure that our attention stays riveted to the story, even after it becomes apparent that the filmmakers aren't interested in much more than playing Russell's extraordinary life story for laughs. Very enjoyable indeed.

I thought that this was a brilliant film and reminded me of Catch me if you can with an intense homosexual relationship thrown in at no extra charge.
Its based on a true story and their relationship is a major part of that story, overall I thought it was a very upbeat film. The only sad part is that our hero is still in jail for embarassing George Bush (and the state of Texas)Im not sure that they have the right man.

The movie is really good, very very funny, one of those movies that has you laughing and crying and leaving the cinema with a big giddy grin on your face. Jim Carrey overplays it at times, but it's Jim Carrey, so you kinda expect that - and Ewan McGregor is just adorable. I wanted to take him home and stroke him and feed him tea and crumpets he's so cute. And there's a scene near the end, where he's in his cell crying, and oh, he just broke my heart.

And what I really like about it is that it's not a 'gay movie'. I mean, sure, Ewan and Jim Carrey play gay lovers, but it's not about that. It's not like Brokeback Mountain where being gay was the plot. This is a romantic comedy about a con man who just happens to be gay. You could have replaced Ewan with a female lead, and it would have been more or less the same movie, with the same plot and the same message. I like that. It's about bloody time.

This is the best movie I have seen in a long time! And the three times I've seen it at the cinema attest to that! Both Ewan and Carrey were perfect. This movie is about love, and about a man who loves so fiercely, he is willing to do anything. That giddy grin will stay with me for a long time, and I can't wait for this movie to come out on DVD. Bravo to all involved! Watch this movie, buy this movie and enjoy!! x

Ewan McGregor kept me watching this film. An enjoyable account of a true story. The story of two fraudsters in Texas and their stints in and out of prison. The film is quite funny in places and it passed an hour and a half away. Not the best film I've ever seen and not the worst either.

I watched this movie for the first time last night. I thought that, as it was really, really late, that I would probably fall asleep, but I didn't. That's how good the movie is. It's funny for the most part, but I had tears in my eyes towards the end when I found out what sentence the real-life Steven got.

OK, the movie is a little explicit in places, and it does have a lot of swearing in it, but that doesn't matter at all. It's a great movie.

This is the sort of gay movie that has been sorely lacking from mainstream cinema until now. Movies such as Brokeback Mountain, A Single Man and Milk focus on the loneliness, fight for acceptance and struggle against persecution that gay people have and still face in their lives, and while most definitely important and moving movies, you watch them with the knowledge that your heart will break and you will be emotionally exhausted upon movie's end. I Love You Phillip Morris is the antidote! It's a genuinely hilarious romantic comedy that just happens to be between two gay men. It doesn't linger on the fact or make an issue of it, it just gets on with being sweet, charming, heartwarming and romantic.
I never would have imagined that Jim Carrey and Ewen McGregor would make such an adorable on-screen couple, but they had chemistry that most straight rom-coms of late have failed to capture. You will believe in them as a couple and will root for them and their happiness as a result.

As for sexual content, which has been the complaint of some of the commenters here, I personally didn't find this movie particularly shocking, rating considered. There is one brief, visible gay sex scene near the beginning of the movie, but it serves it's purpose at that point in the story and is used for comedic shock value rather that eroticism. There is another scene later on between Jim and Ewen that is heard more than seen and the rest of the movie is simply innuendo, references and romance.

If you're of an open mind I can't see why you wouldn't enjoy this movie! It's brilliant fun, very funny and completely adorable.