The problem with "based on a true story" movies, especially ones that are based on the lives and times of crooks is that it is never clear wear the "based on" starts and the "true story" ends – or vice versa.. After all, if you're telling the story of a man of lies, then why should you stick to the truth, especially if the material is far-fetched and the main character is a stranger to reality. If the protagonist is a habitual liar then there is everything to gain by making him a lovable scamp who does no real harm and not have him come off as an utterly despicable creep with no respect for the integrity of the trusting fools who cross his path.
And therein lies the central problem with I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS: not only does the film have to sell us a potentially likable ticket-selling hero, but it also wants to serve up a politically correct gay love story which serves as the main motivation for the characters' actions. PHILLIP MORRIS is based on the criminal escapades of Steven Jay Russell, whose activities bounced him in and out of prison for a couple of decades. And it could have just told of his various scams, downplaying all sex entirely. But the film rather pointedly highlights his relationship with Phillip Morris, his mild-mannered cell mate who he drags into his life of crime -- making it play like a gay love story with a criminal subtext. Whether the film is a gay love story, which got made because it has a comic criminal subplot, or was a caper movie that had to have the gay plot included, is irrelevant. But the film is being sold because of its gay element and almost didn't get released because of the romantic plot. Yet when Steve's first wife, an ultra-Christian follower, asks if there is a connection between his being gay and his being a criminal, she is stared at because of her seeming stupidity, even though that seems to be a point the film itself is trying to make. Is it, just as Steve argues, that taking up a life of crime was necessary because being gay is so expensive? So, is there a connection between the two sorts of deviant behaviors? And for that matter, is Phillip really so naive that he fails to realize that Steve is involving him in his scams? And was George W. Bush actually involved in bringing Steve to justice or is that a dimwitted way to pump a bit it heavy-handed politics into the story, a back-handed, last minute attempt at painting a scoundrel like Russell as a victim of homophobia? Little elements pop up throughout the film raising questions as to their own veracity and casting shadows on the honest of the story as a whole.
There is a clear indication that as Steve, Jim Carrey is making a rare attempt at playing a character role and not just hamming it up as a comic character. Yet despite his best effort, his protagonist never quite reflects a reality. His southern accent as Russell isn't too broad and may be even quite realistic, but in the end it seems fake. While on the other hand, Ewan MacGregor's softer, less forced accent may not be as authentic, but his Phillip rings true. The two acting styles don't quite blend convincingly; their love affair does not convince. The film's frequent attempts at comedy don't gel with its obvious attempts at romance and poignancy, so the whole point of the film doesn't come clear. Is there genuine romance in Steve and Phillip's relationships or is Phillip being used as a pawn and being owned as a pretty young object? The scenes that attempt to establish the romance are clearly sincere, but they are undercut by the bumbling tries to make fun of the conman's broadly humorous con jobs. And the melodramatic efforts to play AIDS for both laughs and tears only leave a nasty taste. The various elements and contrasting intents do not blend smoothly, or even try to. Thus, you are left at the end with a curiously unsettling feeling for what the characters had for motives or how you are supposed to feel for them. Is Steve Russell just a career criminal or is he/was he motivated by feelings of abandonment as a child or was he an confused outsider with no real identity because of his homosexuality.
And should we even care? It would seem that the gay angle is little more then an excuse he uses to justify living an amoral life -- just as it is a flimsy excuse for making the movie at all. His targets may seem to be part of the straight world (bigoted businessmen and insurance companies) but he also targets innocent people (gay lovers and his ex-wife and little daughter who he abandons, supposedly to lead a more honest life as a gay man). In the end, he just seems to be a habitual liar with no desire to keep his repeated pledge to lead a decent life. If the film had been played as an out and out comedy -- a typical Jim Carray farce -- it might have worked. But every lie Steve tells is aimed at the audience as well. There are some laughs scattered through out PHILLIP MORRIS, but there is little joy.
And therein lies the central problem with I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS: not only does the film have to sell us a potentially likable ticket-selling hero, but it also wants to serve up a politically correct gay love story which serves as the main motivation for the characters' actions. PHILLIP MORRIS is based on the criminal escapades of Steven Jay Russell, whose activities bounced him in and out of prison for a couple of decades. And it could have just told of his various scams, downplaying all sex entirely. But the film rather pointedly highlights his relationship with Phillip Morris, his mild-mannered cell mate who he drags into his life of crime -- making it play like a gay love story with a criminal subtext. Whether the film is a gay love story, which got made because it has a comic criminal subplot, or was a caper movie that had to have the gay plot included, is irrelevant. But the film is being sold because of its gay element and almost didn't get released because of the romantic plot. Yet when Steve's first wife, an ultra-Christian follower, asks if there is a connection between his being gay and his being a criminal, she is stared at because of her seeming stupidity, even though that seems to be a point the film itself is trying to make. Is it, just as Steve argues, that taking up a life of crime was necessary because being gay is so expensive? So, is there a connection between the two sorts of deviant behaviors? And for that matter, is Phillip really so naive that he fails to realize that Steve is involving him in his scams? And was George W. Bush actually involved in bringing Steve to justice or is that a dimwitted way to pump a bit it heavy-handed politics into the story, a back-handed, last minute attempt at painting a scoundrel like Russell as a victim of homophobia? Little elements pop up throughout the film raising questions as to their own veracity and casting shadows on the honest of the story as a whole.
There is a clear indication that as Steve, Jim Carrey is making a rare attempt at playing a character role and not just hamming it up as a comic character. Yet despite his best effort, his protagonist never quite reflects a reality. His southern accent as Russell isn't too broad and may be even quite realistic, but in the end it seems fake. While on the other hand, Ewan MacGregor's softer, less forced accent may not be as authentic, but his Phillip rings true. The two acting styles don't quite blend convincingly; their love affair does not convince. The film's frequent attempts at comedy don't gel with its obvious attempts at romance and poignancy, so the whole point of the film doesn't come clear. Is there genuine romance in Steve and Phillip's relationships or is Phillip being used as a pawn and being owned as a pretty young object? The scenes that attempt to establish the romance are clearly sincere, but they are undercut by the bumbling tries to make fun of the conman's broadly humorous con jobs. And the melodramatic efforts to play AIDS for both laughs and tears only leave a nasty taste. The various elements and contrasting intents do not blend smoothly, or even try to. Thus, you are left at the end with a curiously unsettling feeling for what the characters had for motives or how you are supposed to feel for them. Is Steve Russell just a career criminal or is he/was he motivated by feelings of abandonment as a child or was he an confused outsider with no real identity because of his homosexuality.
And should we even care? It would seem that the gay angle is little more then an excuse he uses to justify living an amoral life -- just as it is a flimsy excuse for making the movie at all. His targets may seem to be part of the straight world (bigoted businessmen and insurance companies) but he also targets innocent people (gay lovers and his ex-wife and little daughter who he abandons, supposedly to lead a more honest life as a gay man). In the end, he just seems to be a habitual liar with no desire to keep his repeated pledge to lead a decent life. If the film had been played as an out and out comedy -- a typical Jim Carray farce -- it might have worked. But every lie Steve tells is aimed at the audience as well. There are some laughs scattered through out PHILLIP MORRIS, but there is little joy.