I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS

RYAN: I Love You Phillip Morris is the film that almost wasn’t. It’s been around for a couple of years and couldn’t get a distributor and its release date kept moving, etc etc. Let’s be honest, it’s hard to get a movie about a gay couple made in Hollywood, and they had to cut some of the sex scenes to get distribution.

CAROLINE: Everyone knows this movie as the one where Jim Carrey plays gay, and we’ve been wanting to see it for a while.

RYAN: And it’s got Ewan McGregor, my very most favorite actor.

CAROLINE: The trailer for this movie disappointed me immensely, so I went into the screening with pretty low expectations.

RYAN: Me too. Luckily though, this is a case of bad trailer/good movie. I had been so excited for this movie until I saw the trailer, and then feared I would hate it; but after about 20 minutes, we knew it was good.

CAROLINE: I thoroughly enjoyed it and really liked Jim Carrey’s performance as a con artist. The story is crazy and fascinating, and even though you know it’s based on a true story, it’s still hard to believe.

RYAN: What Jim Carrey’s character gets away with is amazing. At first, part of me was wondering why this story got the big screen treatment. I mean, lots of people are con artists and their stories are never told. But I think what’s unique to this movie is the love story.

CAROLINE: True, but this guy was a con artist extraordinaire. What he was able to pull off was insane! He got away with things you’ve never even conceived of. For me this movie was all about Jim Carrey. He’s so talented.

RYAN: He is good, and he seemed to get down to my goal weight for this role. He’s very thin. But I can’t take away from Ewan, who gives an amazingly heartfelt performance as Phillip Morris. His Southern accent confused me for a bit, but he plays a very gentle gay man who I would like to have in my life. Ewan, call me.

CAROLINE: [laughs’ I enjoy Ewan but the American accent always seems to elude him, so it didn’t shock me that his accent was iffy in this. Leslie Mann aka Judd Apatow’s wife also has a supporting role, and she’s great and hilarious as always.

RYAN: This movie is very well written and well paced. It’s a small movie, but it doesn’t feel too indie.

CAROLINE: It felt pretty indie to me, though not in a cheap way or anything. It definitely evokes another era in that it takes place in the late ’80s/early ’90s. There are some great costumes. But honestly, even after reading what happens to each of the characters at the end of the movie, I still can’t believe what this guy got away with. I’m sure some of it was made up for the movie, but a lot of it really happened and it’s incredible.

— BOTTOM LINE —

RYAN: I think this is one of the best casts of the year, and the soundtrack is really quirky and fun. Don’t be fooled by the trailer because the movie is actually much better than it looks. It’s a great look at a gay relationship with A-list actors on the big screen, which we don’t get to see often. Granted, a great deal of their romance happens in a jail cell, but still.

CAROLINE: The trailer does a huge disservice to the movie so I’m not sure what they were going for there. It’s a good little movie that’s both funny and kind of sad and pathetic. You almost have to applaud Jim Carrey’s character for the scams he pulls off because it’s pretty genius. At the end of the day, this movie isn’t going to see a wide release, and I think it can be enjoyed just as well as a rental as it could on the big screen.

— RATING —