I Love You Phillip Morris

When upstanding Texas cop Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) realizes he’s gay, he changes his entire life and pulls a series of bold con jobs that lands him jail — where he meets his one true love, cellmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). When Morris is transferred to another prison, lovesick Russell mounts a series of jailbreaks just to be with his beloved soul mate. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa direct this comedy based on a true story.

Lauren
Rating: 8 out of 10

“I Love You Phillip Morris” is only playing in one theater where I live, in Las Vegas, so I’m guessing not a lot of people are going to see it. But, it’s so good I really hope people find their way to the theater.

Jim Carrey is twisted, touching, and funny in this real-life story of con-man Steven Russell, who, after years of marriage, decides he’s gay and starts committing insurance fraud to live a new life in Miami. He gets caught, goes to jail, and that’s where the story really gets started. He falls in love with the sweet, cute inmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). Once out, he pulls a few more successful cons and gets caught and breaks out of jail numerous times – all in the name of love, he says.

The comedy is dark, the sex is explicit, and the story is sort of unbelievable, but it really happened. I looked it up. Even if the story was made up, it’d still be fun to watch.

Amelia

Hilary Swank stars as famed aviator Amelia Earhart in this dramatic biopic that follows the daring pilot’s rise from obscurity in Kansas to her troubled marriage to businessman George Putnam (Richard Gere), who recruited her for her first transatlantic flight. Mira Nair (The Namesake, Vanity Fair) directs; Ewan McGregor, Joe Anderson, Christopher Eccleston and Mia Wasikowska co-star.

Matt
Rating: 4 out of 10

In a word: boring.

Amelia Earhart was a pretty kick-ass chick. I didn’t get any of that from this movie, and the performance by Hilary Swank was drab. Richard Gere delivered a hammy, 1920 public relations man with little spark or chemistry with Swank.

The film is pretty accurate in the historic portrayal of Earhart, but it wasn’t told in a way that kept my interest or gave me any sense of pleasure. The film has some beautiful cinematography in the flight scenes and the decor and wardrobe are that of a high-quality period piece.

For a movie about such a strong and fascinating woman, I was surprised it was so week. It felt more like a Lifetime made-for-TV flick.