I imagine that just about now Jim Carrey is feeling a little bit like Jessica Lange did back in 1994 when Blue Sky finally, finally hit theatres after languishing in a vault for years, winning her critical kudos that carried her all the way to an Oscar win for Best Actress. Based on Carrey's performance as the conman Steven Russell in the eagerly anticipated same-sex comedy I Love You Phillip Morris, it's not far-fetched to suggest that Carrey is looking at his best shot at some award attention since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. If nothing else, it's a cinch that Carrey is going to feel validated for making the much-beleaguered movie in the first place.
That goes as well for Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the writers of the movie who are also making their directing debut here. Like Bad Santa, their previous writing project, Phillip Morris is twisted and funny. And the outrageous story has a bonus: It really happened. What's surprising—given the offending, dark tone of Bad Santa—is the light touch the duo bring to the material. Like the title character ( played with an endearing, befuddled innocence by Ewan McGregor ) , Phillip Morris is also sweet, charming and genuinely romantic. It's close to being a modern day screwball comedy and it's only the movie's darker moments that help it miss that mark.
Carrey plays a former straight, born-again Christian who has an ephiphany after a serious car accident that he's gay. Quickly ditching his wife ( Leslie Mann in a nicely understated part ) and kids, moving to Florida and finding a really hot boyfriend ( 300's Rodrigo Santoro ) , Steven declares that "being gay is really expensive"—at least the "gay lifestyle" that he embraces. So he starts conning insurance companies with false personal injury suits and works his way up to impersonating a corporate financial whiz and then, even more improbably, a lawyer able to handle his own defense when caught. In the midst of these shenanigans he goes to jail, where he meets the doe-eyed Phillip. From that point Steven's besotted and nothing will keep him from being with his True Love; not even repeated returns to jail ( where he works out inventive, successful escape plans ) keep the two apart for long.
With Russell, Carrey has found a part that perfectly taps into his goofy, over-the-top talents like nothing since the multiple comedic roles he played in the criminally overlooked Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Carrey brings such sunny self-confidence to Steven's various deceptions—the lawyer, the finance bigwig, the disco dandy—you can see that this is a large part of his turn-on. Like a drag queen at a voguer's ball, Steven is determined to win the prize for "realness," and you instinctively root for him. But it is as a man so head over heels in love—with another man—that is the real acting triumph for Carrey ( and the movie, which doesn't stint on the unabashed passion Russell and Morris have for one another ) .
I Love You Phillip Morris has had one of the most tortuous paths to distribution of just about any movie that I can recall. After being tremendously received at Sundance in early 2009 the movie, even with high-profile stars Carrey and McGregor, left the festival without a distributor and didn't get one for what seemed like ages—apparently because of the film's unapologetic gay content.
It turns out that, although the movie does offer a few scenes of simulated gay sex, it's that "anything for love" plot line that may seem so "daring" for mainstream audiences. Titillating straight audiences with suggestive gay sex scenes for laughs is one thing, but a romantic comedy that embraces the idea of a man doing anything to be with … another man? And no one dies? No one apologizes for being gay? For liking gay sex? For being in love, deeply, with someone of their own gender? Shocking! Horrifying! Catastrophic!
What's perhaps more shocking, horrifying and troubling than this is realizing that it might not be true. In fact, there's already been a great movie based on a gay man doing anything for the love of another man—including committing crimes—and it not only thrilled huge audiences but won critical hosannas and Oscar nominations to boot.
This happened 35 years ago.
That's how far mainstream audiences—or rather, those nervous about mainstream audiences accepting gay themed material—have inexplicably regressed in that time. The movie was Dog Day Afternoon, and in 1975 audiences, critics, studio executives, etc., had no trouble when Al Pacino expressed his love for Chris Sarandon ( albeit without the physicality of Phillip Morris ) and went so far as to rob a bank in order to finance his lover's sex-change operation.
I think Shirley MacLaine hit the nail on the head with regard to this subject when she commented in The Celluloid Closet, "The public is always ahead of us about what they're ready for … and if you do it right, if you piece the heart-truth of what the public is feeling and thinking, you have a hit."
So c'mon Hollywood: Let's have a lot more I Love You Phillip Morris movies—sooner rather than later.
Of related interest: Jim Carrey stars as the holiday's eternal skinflint Ebenezer Scrooge in Robert Zemeckis's 2009 motion-capture version of A Christmas Carol. This lavish version, which features a raft of British actors ( including Colin Firth ) , is now out on DVD and Blu-ray from Walt Disney Studios.
Film note:
—In a very special edition of TCM's "Private Screenings" series, Liza Minnelli sits down with host Robert Osborne Dec. 11 and 15 to discuss the films and careers of her famous parents, actress-singer Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli. The duo's masterpiece, 1944's Meet Me In St. Louis, and highlights from many of their other films are interspersed throughout the interview. Clips from 1976's A Matter of Time, the only time Minnelli was directed by her famous father ( in his final movie ) , are also included. The series is supported by showings of many of the movies discussed, along with a rare television showing of Minnelli's 1991 musical Stepping Out. Complete listings are at www.tcm.com .
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter website.
