Review: I Love You Philip Morris (2010)

Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's I Love You Philip Morris is an adaptation of the miraculous real life story of Steven Russell. Steven is allegedly your average individual. He goes to work every morning at the Police department, comes home to his wife, eats dinner, makes love, and (*record scratch*) has sex with men. Following a near-death experience in a car accident, Steven decides to live a lie no more- he decides to come out to the world about his life-long secret and start the life that was always intended for him. Not long after leaving his wife and finding a new lover named Jimmy, Steven comes to the realization that being homosexual is very expensive and the easiest way to support his spending habits is by conning his way through life. This eventually leads Steven through the gates of prison. A diamond in the rough- prison acquaints Steven with the true love of his life- Philip Morris. From the moment they lock eyes Steven is determined to treat Philip like a queen. Whether a sports car or designer clothing, Steven graces Philip with whatever he desires. Deceiving his way into corporate jobs and embezzling massive amounts of dough, Steven is not only lying his was into wealth, but through his relationship as well. Will Steven be able to set aside his addiction and compulsive dishonesty for the one he loves, or is he destined to spend the remainder of his days in a distressing six by eight foot cell? I Love You Philip Morris is much like Birdcage intertwined with Catch Me If You Can. If the passion the two leading characters share is not enough to fuel the audience through the film's 102 minute running time, the aberrance of Steven Russell is. Once again in comparison to Catch Me If You Can, the audience will not only be entirely attached to the film's protagonist, but they will surely ponder whether Russell is stealing with aspirations for those he loves, or simply due to an uncontrollable addiction. Either way the journey is hilarious and thrilling. Philip Morris is filled with absurdity (entertaining, though sometimes a bit too absurd) and hilarity, but there is nothing more magnificent about the film than its casting. Ewan McGregor is spot on as an innocent homosexual that is being dragged through the wreckage of his partner, and Jim Carrey displays his best performance by far since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I Love You Philip Morris is an exceptional depiction of an incredible individual, earning it 3 stars.