Opening 29 Apr 2010
Directed by:
Glenn Ficarra
Writing credits:
John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Steve McVicker
Principal actors:
Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro
As a young boy Steven Russell learns that he was adopted straight out of the hospital,
abandoned by his mother, who even refuses to acknowledge him later upon
adulthood. As a grown man, he is a policeman married to a conservative
Christian woman. He fakes being the perfect husband and father to his young
daughter. He is too good to be true – and is. Late nights at work are actually
opportunities to meet gay partners. A serious traffic accident opens his eyes
to his “true” feelings, and he becomes flamingly gay but retains a friendly
relationship with wife and daughter. “Being gay is really expensive,” but money
is not a problem for Steven. Attired in suit and tie, he assumes the role of a
hot-shot financial manager, directs the company’s
money to his own account and grows enormously rich, much to the delight of his
boyfriend Jimmy. It all collapses, as
it must, and he demonstrates his ability to adjust to all walks of life,
including prison. Here he meets the great love of his life, Phillip Morris.
Upon his release he once again metamorphoses into the person most needed: in
this case, a lawyer who gains freedom for Phillip.
Steven’s
insecurity in the real world supposedly originates from the rejection by his
birth mother. Chameleon-like he changes colors so
often that even he wonders who he really is; Phillip wants the real Steven to
step forward. As the situation becomes more complicated and after many dead
ends, an older and wearier Steven wonders “How can a person who doesn’t exist
continue to exist? I enjoyed his various personas, and once he even fooled me
with his act. The gay/prison/imposter idea is not new to cinema. This is a kind
of a potpourri of The Kiss of the Spider
Woman, The Shawshank
Redemption, Catch Me if You Can
and Brüno. Steven
gains your sympathy. I bet you, too, would believe his stories and open your
pocketbooks.
I Love You Phillip Morris is based on the book of the same
name by Steve McVicker.
It is supposed to be a true story about a real man who served, and still is
serving, time in a Texas prison. Names and some facts were
changed, and it would be interesting to know what is actually true and what
stems from the fantasy of McVicker and the film
directors/screenplay writers Glenn Ficarra and John
Requa. True or not, it is still a good story. The
best part is the interaction between Jim
Carrey as Steven and Ewan McGregor as
Phillip, the former with dyed black hair, the later blond and very cute – a
real “boy” in the gay sense. I agree with my colleague, Sam Geller, that we should
see the film again, this time in English instead of German, just to appreciate
McGregor’s accent in this role. McGregor certainly can’t complain about too
much free time: he also just appeared in Men
Who Stare at Goats and was truly wonderful in Roman Polanski’s
The Ghostwriter,
which showed at the 2010 Berlinale. (Becky Tan)
