"I Love You Phillip Morris" is a heart warm comedy that gives its best to the audience with the funny, usual performance by Jim Carrey and girlish acting by Ian Mcgregor.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Shortly after Tom Hanks was handed the Oscar for Best Actor at the 66th annual Academy Awards, the "Philadelphia" star launched into a hammy, but heartfelt speech that unavoidably, grows cornier and cornier, and less magnanimous with each passing year(wasn't a certain Laker supposed to die?), as the urgency which surrounded AIDS back in 1994, has leveled off considerably. Adrift in a complete state of beatitude, Hanks thanked his high school drama teacher, a man whose sexual orientation he promulgated to "The Pavilion" crowd, and the millions of television viewers around the world, including poor Rawley Farnsworth, Hanks' first acting coach. Hollywood scribe Paul Rudnick was one of those viewers, and in his ensuing screenplay, Cameron Drake(Matt Dillon), likewise, an Oscar winner for a gay-themed drama, does the same thing; he thanks a mentor from his formative years, and outs him. Frank Oz's "In & Out", starring Kevin Kline as Howard Brackett, a closeted educator, made fun of Hanks' speech for Jonathan Demme's "Philadelphia", while maintaining a safe distance from the issue at hand. But in "I Love You, Phillip Morris", all bets are off, as the Demme film itself, is parodied. Playing a gay conman, Jim Carrey, in a sense, channels Andy Kaufman, reprising his role as the performance artist in Milos Forman's "Man on the Moon". Like Kaufman, the rubber-faced Carrey as Steven Russell, never lets on that he's acting, and that the given situation, despite all appearances of being a genuine occurrence, is in actuality, an occasion to laugh. The 2000 biographical film faithfully recreated all of Kaufman's greatest bits, in particular, the feud that he waged against Jerry Lawler, inspired by the professional wrestler's annoyance with Andy's outright mockery of the "sport", in which the seeming misogynist would grapple women, in order to proclaim himself the "World Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion". He even had a belt. During an appearance on the old Letterman show, Kaufman, sporting a neck brace, was slapped out of his chair by Lawler, prompting the knocked down actor to unleash a litany of profanities, which ended with Andy throwing water in the much bigger man's face. Quite a few people took the incident at face value. In "I Love You, Phillip Morris", Steven fakes more than a broken neck; he fakes AIDS, and even though the film plays like a comedy, moviegoers may buy the disease, because they remember than nice Andrew Beckett, the deteriorating lawyer, played by Hanks in "Philadelphia". They accept the abrupt shift in tone; the jarring switch into drama, in what was a satirical comedy that sprightly moved along. In a previous scene, Steven breaks the foil on a lot of pills, and swallows them, causing him to OD, in the backseat of a squad car. If you understand that the pills are laxatives, and that Steven is mimicking the symptoms of the maturing HIV virus, and isn't orchestrating a suicide attempt, then "I Love You, Phillip Morris" has got you in a moral quagmire, because, for all intents and purposes, the filmmaker has got you laughing at AIDS.… Expand

I'm usually a fan of his more "serious" role, but Jim Carrey is not aging well. Although this film is his all the way -- everyone else in it is forgettable -- his character veers between winsome, mistreated loser and pathological, lying con man, neither one generating much empathy. The result is a story that feels like it would've made a better magazine article than a movie.

Jim Carrey's best role and best movie since "Man On The Moon". I love movies that go for broke, and this one is brave enough to work without a safety net the entire running time. From the first shot to the last shot, it's captivates our attention with how alive it is. I think the screenplay is Oscar-worthy, but I think the performances are actually a little too ahead of their time for the Academy to care about. It's a pretty dark black comedy in terms of thematic elements to get much award attention, but Carrey and McGregor, in roles we had never imagined them to play are in top form here. This movie is razor sharp and dazzling, a dark comedy with a lot of soul underneath.… Expand

"I Love You Phillip Morris" had a lot of potential if it hadnt been rushed constantly throughout, but Carreys charm and wit in his performance of the complicated character Stephen Russell can make up a lot of the films flaws.

A fine film not great. It's did'nt live up to how good I thought it would be but still fairly funny in parts I think the quote "Shawshank Redemption with skinnier trousers" is a good one it sums up the film quite well. Carrey and McGregor still include acting. Funny Film but quite easy to lose track of the story. Quite touching as well the extremes Stephen Russell will go through in the name of Love… Expand

In the end I Love You Phillip Morris is an entertaining and lighthearted piece of filmmaking, about one man who constantly made ill-advised decisions for the ones he loved. The film is a tour-de-force of comedic hits mixed with star beaming performances. - Duke & The Movies

http://dukeandthemovies.com/featured/i-love-you-phillip-morris

Not funny, not original. Jim Carrey plays the same character he played twenty years ago in Pet Detective, and it doesn't work anymore. His character is so over the top, it's like a cartoon character who gets run over multiple times and emerges without a scratch. Sad to see that certain actors do not evolve when they get older...
In short, unbearable to watch.

Loved this movie. Carrey is outstanding yet he has a firm grip on McGregor. Ive read theories on why this film didn't get much deserved attention and distribution. I am sure it will appear as gem or research film in both their filmographies. For us that did see it on its 1st theatrical release, I shall say we did enjoy it abundantly. Provocative and good acting. @cinemaquote

This movie is very underrated! I, as alot of people who have seen this movie love Jim Carrey, he's the ultimate funnyman, in my opinion and this doesn't disappoint in terms of comedy! :D People need to give this a chance!

I Love You Phillip Morris is a funny black comedy with some genuinely touching scenes. The performances are excellent and the movie often veers in unexpected directions. My only complaint is that it's hard to truly root for such an unrepentant swine like the movie's lead character.

Hands down, the best gay-themed movie of 2010. Jim Carry and Ewan McGregor are phenomenal, both actors are at the top of their game, and the love their characters show for each other feels real, despite the fact that neither Carry nor McGregor are actually gay in real life. The fact that it is based on a true story makes the whole movie that much more incredible. Even though it's definitely embellished, the key plot points all most certainly actually happened.… Collapse

A terrific movie with excellent acting by Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. Has some salty language in it and not appropriate for teens, but otherwise enjoyable and terrific. Jim Carrey shows what a versatile actor he is.

For a con man genre film, there are a lot of other elements packed in with I Love You Phillip Morris. It is essentially a comedy, but there is enough stop the flow drama between the two main characters that it is not a true comedy or satire. It is also a biopic about Steven Russell because this is based on a true story, but there is so much farce and laughable voiceover so the audience cannot take it too seriously. In short, it is difficult to define exactly what this film is.

Jim Carrey is Steven Russell who begins the movie a family man, a cop, and an all around nice guy. After a serious accident, Steven reveals his true self to be a flaming homosexual who was just repressing himself all along. He receives the â… Expand

I really wanted to like this, but I think this film failed on a few different levels. It didn't really settle on a tone and sometimes I just couldn't tell where the movie was going. It certainly had its strengths and I even really liked some select scenes, but as a whole it didn't come across as a cohesive film. In fact, it came across as quite redundant and sometimes insincere. The one great strength, however, is Carrey's performance. Even when the film felt ingenuine, Carrey pulled through and provided an emotional center to what sometimes felt like emotionless scenes.… Expand

It's interesting to me that this movie, having received such favourable reviews, would have had such a limited release in the theatres. The story is engaging and the acting is superb. I loved the surprise twist in the story, and was left wanting to know more about the real Steven Russell and Phillip Morris. The severity of punishment under the US justice system is astounding! Kudos to both Carrey and McGregor for their realistic portrayals of gay men that does not go to the stereotype.… Expand

This wasn't my first choice for a movie to watch but I am sure glad I watched it. It does start off a little slow. I was also confused at first regarding the direction of the movie. But Jim Carrey's performance really carries the show. I am not one of his biggest fans but he does an outstanding job in this film. Ewan McGregor is absolutely adorable as Phillip Morris. This is the kind of movie that sucks you in before you even realize it.… Expand

Pleasantly surprised.

Granted the role of Steven Russell(Jim Carrey) was totally over-the top, but well... the source IS over the top. He's well.... let's be honest, crazy. Not a sociopath or psychopath, but... kind of amoral, and manic.

I'm not one to beat the retarded drum of the over-hyped manic-depressive mantra (hmm... some people have extremes of emotion, what a shock! We ARE a diversity.) Anyway, what hit home with me most, only because I've met crazy people in positions of... well if not authority, leadership... They just feel crazy and wrong, and yet everyone around goes along with it. I've seen this in RL a few times. So, this movie kind of connected with me at that level, the understanding that most humans are emotionally stupid.... and have horrible gut impressions, which are totally wrong.

Could Steven have sucked me in for a day... prolly. For a week, prolly not. I have a way of stumbling out of delusion, maybe it's genetic -- i don't know. I'm not a follower, so can only take bs so long before my brain revolts.

Anyway, decent flik... def entertaining, worth watching.

DO NOT EMULATE!… Expand

Jim Carrey portrays the manic complexity of Steven Russell well. One part criminal genius, one part devoted partner and one part clown, Russell makes us cheer at his clever crimes and lament the consequences though he certainly has it coming. Leslie Mannâ

A strange movie that is very uneven in tone and direction. The performances from Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey is the redeeming quality that makes up for the movie's many flaws

I've seen a lot of movies about relationships between two males, and I have to say this is the worst. It was so unrealistic, and so offensive as well. It portrays stereotypes that have basically just become assumptions about homosexuals. If you want to watch a good movie about a gay male relationship, go for Brokeback Mountain. It is much more emotional, and much more tolerable as a whole, and it's a whole heck of a lot less offensive. Watching this movie, I have a harder time believing Jim Carrey was a gay man than I did believing he was God, The Grinch, or The Mask. Even Ewan McGregor, who I loved in Moulin Rouge and Trainspotting, was a blatant stereotype. If you ever wonder why homophobes think gays like to talk about the fact that they're gay all the time, they are promiscuous, as well as dirty liars, those homophobes are probably watching movies like this. It was also the least authentic romance movie I've ever seen. This was a less believable couple than Harold and Maude. This is in strong contention for the worst movie I've ever seen.… Expand

Did anybody notice the deliberate mistake on the calender. See if you spot it. The month of March is what your looking for, I've watched it many times but just only noticed it.

Jim has been trying to tickle the academy for a long time and putting it lightly he hasn't really managed. So the opening scene of the movie would be a bit of a put off for anyone who saw his attempts. But this movie is a huge surprise in every way...the story itself is surprising, the character, the love story and the fact that its one of Jim's best performances. Altough McGregor is great its Jim that steals the show. The influence from Bad Santa is also apparent this one having jokes on every corner. Altough the serious moments are not best handled rest assured that the comedy is.… Expand

"I Love You Phillip Morris" is a great, fun and inspirational movie. Please bring me more movies like these! The plot is smart, the acting is great and the humanity is real. Why is only 5% of what Hollywood produces considered art? This movie is a celebration. Yes, Yes and Yes.

Jim Carey does an exceptional job at playing a gay-con artist. He revives a comical sense into an interesting story line. However, I could not bear to watch the ending because it felt like it was dragging Carey into life sentence. Although the escapes were fully amazing, I think some parts could have been cut out to have a bigger impact on the movie's theme, loss of identity.

Whereas the story is quite interesting (though unbelievable) and the execution of it is made well, this short comedy is rather lousy. Everything is so unrealistic and exaggerated and there's no actual connection coming up between the audience and the characters. Overly clichéd and never funny, it's not really a bad picture, but also nothing I'd recommend in any sort.

Good film. It sort of drags a bit in the middle, but the first third and ending were both great. McGregor and Carrey both give really solid performances.