Jim Carrey and 'I Love You Phillip Morris' deserve the love

In summer 2008, on the local set of "I Love You Phillip Morris, " producer Andrew Lazar was struggling to find the right words to describe his movie.

0107 i love you phillip morris 1.JPGRodrigo Santoro, left, and Jim Carrey appear in an image from the comedy 'I Love You Phillip Morris.'

It's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a based-on-real-events escape film -- but none of those standard movie descriptors captured the spirit of the film he was making with directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

"We like to say it's sort of 'Catch Me if You Can' meets 'Brokeback Mountain, ' " Lazar said accurately.

Today, after a long and troubled journey to U.S. theaters -- one delayed in part by its unabashed, unapologetic gay love scenes -- local audiences get a chance to see what Lazar and company have produced.

And? Surprisingly, "I Love You Phillip Morris" is first and foremost a romantic comedy -- and a more effective one than any to hit theaters in 2010.

Its laugh lines are funny (and edgy; Ficarra and Requa made a name for themselves as screenwriters of the dark holiday comedy "Bad Santa, " in whose irreverent mold "Phillip Morris" is built), but more importantly, they make their audience care about their characters and their relationship. That's something that most recent romantic comedies have failed to do.

That the film's two moon-eyed leads are played by Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor also make it more daring than most of the romantic comedies lately.

As the movie starts, Carrey's character is a church-going, milk-drinking Texas police officer named Steven Russell. But he's about to have an epiphany: He realizes he is gay.

0107 i love you phillip morris 2.JPGJim Carrey turns in a great performance -- one demanding both comedy and drama skills -- in 'I Love You Phillip Morris.'

Leaving his old life behind for a new one in Miami, he also quickly realizes that (in his words, delivered in an effete Texas drawl), "being gay is really expensive." That leads to another big change for Steven: He becomes a con man to support his new out-all-night habits. Cue the inevitable arrest, the prison term, and the love-at-first-sight meeting with a soft-spoken fellow inmate played by McGregor.

Unfortunately for them, the Texas prison system has no respect for true love, and pesky administrative circumstances -- prison transfers, paroles, etc. -- conspire to keep them apart. That sends Steven on a series of unbelievable (but true, the opening titles remind us) jailbreaks to reunite with his man.

An argument can be made that the whole thing exists solely to serve the script's big third-act twist. But that twist is a good one, offering far more insight into Carrey's character than the run-of-the-mill third-act gimmick.

It's also one that requires considerable dramatic chops to pull off, which, after the broad, coarse comedy of the preceding hour, makes it feel tailor-made for Carrey's uniquely varied talents. With the film qualifying for February's Academy Awards, his performance here -- a characteristically energetic bit of high-wire work -- stands out as one of the year's best. Unfortunately, it's been largely ignored this awards season. That's a shame, not only because it's so enjoyable, but because it -- and the movie -- are deceptively important.

After all, with few exceptions, the typical Hollywood depiction of gay men in comedies has been solidly one-dimensional, limited to peacocking, preening comic relief. Carrey's character does, indeed, peacock and preen, but there's a beating heart beneath the silliness. It's almost as if Hollywood -- like the U.S. military and the state of Massachusetts -- has realized that gay people are people, capable of real emotion.

"I Love You Phillip Morris" isn't "In the Heat of the Night, " but in its own goofy way, it's a civil-rights movie -- just one that enjoys a good laugh.


3.5 stars, out of 4

Snapshot: A romantic comedy, based on real events, about a Texas con man who launches a series of jailbreaks to reunite with his lover and former cellmate.

What works: Jim Carrey does a great job in the lead role, which showcases his equally impressive comedy and dramatic skills.

What doesn't: It feels as if the whole movie exists solely to serve the big third-act twist.

Starring: Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Rodrigo Santoro, Leslie Mann. Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa. Rating: R, for sexual content, including strong language. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. Where: Canal Place.