Con man cons all too well in 'Phillip Morris'
The extent that Jim Carrey's con man character in “I Love You Phillip Morris” connects with its audience ultimately determines how much we are drawn into this peculiar and edgy story of unstoppable, limitless true love.
Of course, this will vary from viewer to viewer. But for me, Carrey's daring, bombastic portrait of a sociopathic homosexual convict who falls for a mild-mannered fellow inmate comes off as insincere, removed and disingenuous.
That's not altogether a bad thing. After all, he's a con man. He's supposed to be insincere and disingenuous.
But Carrey plays Steven Russell with such calculated aloofness, and suppresses so many comic bits threatening to erupt at any moment, I expected him to stop dead in the middle of a major dramatic scene, look at us and shout, “I'm just kiddin' around!”
“Phillip Morris” contains a few heavy dramatic scenes that would benefit from a character who we believe is truly tormented or emotionally distraught.
Carrey can take us just so far down the road to serious Oscar emoting until that twinkle in his eye suggests it's all a put-on. He's conning us, too.
If “I Love You Phillip Morris” had a theme song, it would be “What I Did for Love” from the musical “A Chorus Line.”
What Steven Russell does for love is lie, cheat, steal, run, impersonate, forge, escape from prison and risk death, several times over.
Based on Houston Chronicle investigative reporter Steve McVicker's novel, “Phillip Morris” hits us over the head again and again and again with Russell's voice-over narration that relieves the cast and writers from some of the heavy lifting required to carry the story.
In quick snatches, we see Russell working hard to fit into the role of the perfect man. After finding out he was adopted as a child (one of the film's funniest/saddest parts), Russell grows up to become a trustworthy police officer.
He marries the lovely, conservative Debbie (Leslie Mann) and has two children with her. He plays the organ for the church choir. He seems to be content with the world.
Not quite.
After tracking down his birth mother (Marylouise Burke) and being rejected by her again, poor Russell drives away, only to wind up in a near-fatal car crash that forces him to reassess his life and make him realize that he's gay.
In short order, he dumps Debbie, moves to Florida and becomes a smooth operator on the local gay scene with a partner (Rodrigo Santoro) even more flamboyant than he is. When Russell realizes that “being gay is really expensive!” he resorts to con jobs to make ends meet. And meets his end.
A jail sentence later, Russell runs into the man of his dreams behind bars.
The mild-mannered Phillip Morris (erstwhile Obi-Wan Kenobi Ewan McGregor) is the opposite of the bigger-than-prison-life Russell, who sets out to romance the jailbird. By all indications, it appears to be true love.
Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa also wrote the screenplay, and they wisely treat “Phillip Morris” as a straightforward love story that incidentally happens to be about gay prison guys.
With his unfussy blond hair and big, doe-y eyes, McGregor nails the cute and quiet appeal of Phillip Morris (not to be confused with Philip Morris the cigarette maker) while Russell works up a constant sweat to impress him, and us.
Mann's superlative performance as Russell's standard-issue wife is so spot-on subtle, she could be overlooked as one of the best assets of the movie.
Funny man Carrey has bravely embraced new challenges as an actor, and his high-wire performance in “Phillip Morris” rivals his twisted and obsessed title character in “The Cable Guy” as a creepy fellow who you can't stand not to watch.
“I Love You Phillip Morris”
Rating: ★ ★½
Starring: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Marylouise Burke
Directed by: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Other: A Roadside Attractions release. Opens at the Century Centre in Chicago, the Renaissance Place in Highland Park and the Evanston CineArts 6. Rated R for language and sexual situations. 98 minutes.