Review of I Love You Phillip Morris (2010) by Kasper K — 02 Oct 2011

The fact that all of this happened for real is just astonishing to me. I think that that's what made this film more interesting than it otherwise would have been. The final scam is a doozy. It may be the greatest one I've ever heard. I think I read somewhere that Steven Russell has an IQ in the 150s or 60s which would explain how he could pull so many of these mind-blowing scams off. No wonder they put him in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. After seeing this movie, though, methinks he could probably get out again if he put his mind to it (and lost all that weight.).

Anyway, it was weird (and mildly disturbing) to see Jim Carrey in a role like this but it still had some of his trademark comical moments. Ewan McGregor is so absolutely adorable and boyishly cute in this movie that I could hardly stand it. Leslie Mann, who played Russell's ex-wife, Debbie, seems really fake in this role. Debbie is very religious but Mann's recitation of her religion-inflected dialogue felt forced and insincere, almost like she was trying not to be sarcastic. And the thing is, Debbie's character is not the stereotypical Christian that Hollywood likes to caricature and pick on. She isn't written as judgmental or hateful. She's actually sweet and maintains a friendship with Steven. Mann's acting was just very unconvincing here.