I would add a caveat to the above - I was eager to see the film despite the fact it starred Jim Carrey. I'm not really a fan of his OTT comedy schtick. He's great in The Truman Show, all restrained, and I quite liked The Cable Guy, but Ace Ventura is hard going (I've not seen The Mask) and he ruins Batman Forever, so I was dubious. However, Carrey's performance as Russell was more Truman than Ace, more serious, but with a great comedy edge. And this was a good thing, since Carrey is rarely off the screen in this compelling, laugh-out-loud hilarious, and surprisingly moving film.
When Steven Russell eventually comes out, he realises that being gay is expensive, so he resorts to pulling cons to make money, and he eventually ends up in prison. This is where he meets Phillip Morris and falls in love, and pulls out all the stops to make sure the two stay together either in prison or out. If I hadn't read the article beforehand I'm not sure I would've believed half the things Russell did to survive - including faking his death from AIDs, a very delicate issue to bring into such a broad comedy. The writer/directors (of the deliciously black Bad Santa) handle the changes in tone wonderfully, although they're particularly adept at the comedy, as of course is Jim Carrey.
As good as Carrey is, the stand out in the movie is the Phillip Morris of the title, played with such warmth and heart by Ewan McGregor, who has never looked more beautiful, and who never lets his portrayal fall into parody (though neither does Carrey). There's a real spark between the actors that makes their on-screen relationship so believable, you really want them to be able to run off together. Which makes the inevitable real-life ending (which of course I already knew) so much more upsetting and feels like a massive injustice. Yes, Russell embarrassed the prison authorities and stole money, but he never killed or even hurt anyone, yet he's languishing in 23 hour solitary confinement for life. The movie hasn't been released in America yet, due to the 'explicit' content, and cos they're so repressed. There is one moment that could be a bit too explicit for a cinema screen, when Carrey is seen having doggie-style sex with a sweaty man in his coming out scene - it's shocking to see how comfortable Carrey is with the role - imagine an A-list actor doing such a role 10 years ago in a 'slight' comedy such as this - but there's nothing to compare in the rest of the movie. Even Ewan 'Get my cock out in every other movie I do' McGregor keeps it in his pants, and his and Carrey's sex scenes take place below camera and only feature oral intercourse. At no point in the film is the fact that any character is gay a joke, the jokes happen anyway, the romantic leads here just happen to be gay (though it would be pretty hard to have the same film with a hetero couple - they wouldn't be in the same prison for a start). One of the few niggles I had was that Carrey's ex dies of AIDs, which smacks of gay cliché, but since this really happened, it's no such thing, and it is integral to a later con.
It's a shame that the US is proving resistant to I Love You Phillip Morris as the movie is a winning portrayal of gay love, and it also happens to be downright hilarious to boot.
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