Jim Carrey plays real-life con-artist and closeted married man Steven Russell, who had incredible, indefatigable moxie when it came to cutting corners, telling lies and cheating the system--but who was also a crook with no street smarts, leading to numerous incarcerations. Peculiar adaptation of Steven McVicker's book--a dramatized true story penned by the film's two directors, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa--is well-acted by Carrey and Ewan McGregor, but is often agonizing to sit through (Russell's flamboyant but not-thought-through cons are mounted with the kind of precise awkwardness that makes one cringe). Russell makes a heartfelt deathbed promise to his lover that he will take care of his next partner without the artifice, and fails to do so. Is this irony? The film begins as high comedy (pitched too high, perhaps) before working in a more serious undercurrent, which the filmmakers then undercut with more wild behavior (some of it too silly, as with the tag). Carrey has lost his boyish appeal and now appears gaunt, emaciated (even when his character is supposed to be healthy and prosperous). The actor is so ghostly, it takes a while to believe in the love relationship he forges with McGregor's trusting Phillip Morris (who was jailed for "keeping a rental car too long"). The picture does work on occasion, and there are magnificent moments that mix a raucous, crazy-quilt sort of comedy with genuine sweetness (as with the lovers' dance in jail to Johnny Mathis' "Chances Are"). If the movie fails as a whole, it may be due in part to the final sequence of events, which intentionally (but not amusingly) cheat the audience. Steven, in and out of jail before feigning illness, flashes back on a childhood memory and shares a teary phone-farewell with his partner, but these scenes are pointless. They've been designed to give Carrey a hearty moment or two as an actor, and yet the 'cute' twist has no payoff beyond a slap in the face. After investing one's time and interest in these characters, Russell isn't the only one who gets a cold slap. **1/2 from ****
Review of I Love You Phillip Morris
