I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Directors:

Glenn Ficarra
John Requa

Writers (WGA):

John Requa (written by) &
Glenn Ficarra (written by) ...

Release Date:

12 February 2010 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Steven Russell is happily married to Debbie, and a member of the local police force when a car accident provokes a dramatic reassessment of his life...

Plot Keywords:

Slow Dancing | Embezzlement | Lawyer | Gay Interest | Adopted Child

Cast

Jim Carrey	...	Steven Russell
Ewan McGregor	...	Phillip Morris
Leslie Mann	...	Debbie
Rodrigo Santoro
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nicholas Alexander	...	Steven's Brother
Michael Beasley	...	Prison Release Guard
Tony Bentley	...	Racist client
Allen Boudreaux	...	Harris County Sheriff Deputy
Sean Boyd	...	Policeman
Brennan Brown	...	Larry Bukheim
Marcus Lyle Brown	...	Young Doctor
Marylouise Burke	...	Barbara Bascombe
Beth Burvant	...	Sara
Trey Burvant	...	Blake
Edward D. Caiado	...	Miami Cop
Clay Chamberlin	...	Arnie
Dameon Clarke	...	Houston Lawyer
Ken Clement	...	Corrections Officer
Antoni Corone	...	Lindholm
David Dahlgren	...	Physician
Harrison C. Davies	...	Twink
Tommy Davis	...	Todd
Giovanni Di Pietro	...	Inmate
Kibwe Dorsey	...	Gym Trainer
Lela Edgar	...	Blonde Wife
J.D. Evermore	...	Bossy Guard
Griff Furst	...	Mark
Jeff Galpin	...	Lead Officer
Larry Gamell Jr.	...	Driving Cop
Jim Garrity	...	Night Guard
Geraldine Glenn	...	Mandi / police receptionist
Annie Golden	...	Eudora
Douglas M. Griffin	...	Steven's Attorney
Jessica Heap	...	Secretary
Brent Henry	...	Prison Guard
Randy Herman	...	Steven's Dance Partner
Louis Herthum	...	Doctor
Tim Hickey	...	Blonde Inmate
Keith Hudson	...	Produce Manager
Jaime San Andres	...	Swat
DeVere Jehl	...	Samuel
David Jensen	...	Judge
Kennon Kepper	...	Little Steven
Jacqueline King	...	Lawyer
Elton LeBlanc	...	Fireman #1
Laurie Lee	...	Courtroom Spectator
Sharon K. London	...	Clerk
Audrey Lynn	...	Harried Woman
Marc Macaulay	...	Houston Cop
Reginald Mack	...	Jail Guard
Sammi-Jack Martincak	...	Stephanie @ 12
David Joseph Martinez	...	Harris County Sheriff
James B. McDaniel	...	Prison Inmate
Ann Mckenzie	...	Facelift Wife
Wendy Michaels	...	Housewife
Randall Newsome	...	Cop
Lance E. Nichols	...	Houston Judge
Victor Hugo Palacios	...	S.W.A.T.
Antonino Paone	...	Cab driver
Liann Pattison	...	Mrs. Lindholm
Henry Pelitire	...	Harrison County Sheriff Deputy
Nicholas Rich	...	K-9 cop
Denise Robin	...	Steven's sister
Johnny Rock	...	New Cellmate
Andrew Sensenig	...	Screecher
Morgana Shaw	...	Steven's Mom
Michael Showers	...	Gary
Andy Sims	...	County corrections officer
Lisa Mackel Smith	...	Care Center Rep.
Derek Southers	...	Prisoner
David Stanford	...	Paramedic
Jeremy Dean Turner	...	Aryan Gang Prisoner
Martha Twombly	...	Church member
Deneen Tyler	...	Caretaker
Jake Austin Walker	...	Church Boy
Jaycie Taylor Walker	...	Church Girl
Michael Wozniak	...	Phillip's friend
Jaymon Yates	...	First Prisoner

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content including strong dialogue, and language.

Runtime:

Germany:102 min (European Film Market)

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Czech Republic:15 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:R (certificate #45611) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Europa Corp.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson: (2008-12-22)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Dance Hall Days

Funny, Sad and True! (from May Nashville preview)

There's really only one thing you need to ask yourself before you see this movie: are you prepared to see Jim Carrey getting it on with Ewan MacGregor? If so, you should definitely go.

The movie tells the true story—and trust me, you'll have trouble believing it's true—of Steven Russell, a gay man who just can't stop conning his way through life. He uses his extraordinary abilities to gain a variety of jobs, gets indicted for embezzlement, and wins the love of the titular Phillip Morris while the two are fellow inmates in prison.

"I Love You Phillip Morris" was written and directed by Glen Ficarra and John Requa, the same writing team responsible for "Bad Santa". Like "Bad Santa", this movie effectively balances humor and with some very dark themes, though I would say the overall tone is not nearly as bleak as that of the earlier movie.

The writers told the Nashville audience that when choosing material to include from Steve McVicker's nonfiction book, they decided they primarily wanted to tell the love story. They do so very successfully. You might even call this the perfect romantic comedy for people who hate traditional romantic comedies: it's homo- rather than hetero-oriented, it's non-fiction, and it features a somewhat off-kilter con man as the romantic lead. Sounds bizarre, sure, and yet all these elements come together to make a really entertaining movie.

For the most part Jim Carrey loses himself in the character of Steven Russell, delivering an effectively non-hammy (and non-Carrey) comic performance. MacGregor's Phillip Morris is also believably innocent, Southern, and wide-eyed. Nice supporting performances, such as Leslie Mann's as Russell's ex-wife Deb, round out the movie.

Much of the romance takes place in prison, and this creates many beautifully absurd scenes. The movie also has its fair share of sad moments, and contains a pretty clear message about social justice in Texas -- as did the book-- but this is kept mercifully subtle, underlying rather than overshadowing the story.

The directors said they hoped the movie would make spectators laugh, cry and think, and the Nashville audience seemed to do all three. There were a lot of laughs but some definite sniffles at the appropriate moments. At the Q&A, there was a fair amount of interest in the real story, and Ficarra, McVicker, and Requa were happy to oblige with further information.

Come to think of it, you may not have to worry about seeing the two leads have sex. Although the love scenes were kept technically PG, the directors were expecting a fight with the MPAA because of the homosexual content. That's a real pity, but I hope they win.