Another kind of love story

MANILA, Philippines – Film review: I Love You Phillip Morris

All my life, I have had gay best buddies and I would say that in my colorful circle of friends, they tend to be the most talented, the most intelligent, the most candid (or frank, if you may), and the most fiercely loyal. You mess with me, you deal with them. While phony girl BFFs (Best Friends Forever) would loudly flatter me at how wonderful I looked but secretly wished I would instantly gain a hundred pounds and a thousand pimples, my gay friends would give me a severe scolding and punish me with salad-with-vinaigrette-dressing-only dinners once they see that my waistline has gotten any half-centimeter wider, and hurriedly hie me over to dermatologist Dr. Isabel Nazal for a mere zit, as if my life depended on it. Because they have so much passion in life, they tend to be the best in whatever field they are in. And being such driven persons, when they think that they have found the love of their life, they give the relationship their all, forgetting what is best for themselves. This is the gist of I Love You Phillip Morris, an incredibly romantic movie.

Let me tell you that when I entered the cinema with my gay friends Manolo and Noel, I only thought of seeing another comedy movie from my favorite comedian Jim Carrey. Farthest from my expectations was to be deeply touched by the fascinating story of two men who in real life (and against all odds) fell very much in love with each other.

Steve Russell (Carrey) knew even as a boy that he was gay. Yet, he kept this to himself, getting married to a lovely woman and even having a daughter with her. When he meets a terrible car accident, he decides to be his true self and be openly gay (which reminds me of the very recent coming out of Ricky Martin, whom I knew way, way, back from the way he sexily gyrated his hips, didn’t you?). But going gay, Steve finds out later on, entails having to scrounge around for the means to maintain the gay lifestyle that he wanted; hence, the start of a life of lies, cheating, getting caught, escaping and getting caught again. It was while in prison for one of his capers that he meets Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor) a shy, blond blue-eyed man any gay for that matter would easily get attracted to. Having realized his talent for conning people, Steve manages to escape the prison four times in five years. He would have been able to be on the lam for good were it not for his deep love for Phillip, to whom he always went back and promised to be with and to protect, forever.

Manolo, Noel and I found it very hard to believe that the story of the movie was not fiction at all. First was the name Phillip Morris. Second was the incredible and brazen manner, as depicted in the movie, by which Steve managed to escape from jail in all those four occasions. Truly highly improbable! Yet, a research on the matter revealed that the real Steve actually did embarrass the US prison authorities when he did manage to escape on all those occasions by sheer ingenuity, and the knack for impersonating other people. (The real Steve had 14 aliases and in various instances successfully led people to believe he was a lawyer, a doctor, a judge, and a chief financial officer, among others.)

It is for this reason that Carrey fit the role of Steve Russell to a T. Who else among all Hollywood actors could easily change voices, accents and faces in an instant and do contortions and acrobatics so naturally? As for McGregor, he convincingly acted the part of a love-struck homosexual with the sparkle of his eyes, the way he moved his hands, and even the way he ran and jumped into Carrey’s arms. The chemistry between Carrey and McGregor was so amazing I completely forgot the comedian (Carrey) and the actor (McGregor, who allegedly had a torrid forbidden love affair with Nicole Kidman) and only saw two men very much in love.

I applaud the directors/scriptwriters of the movie for being true to the story of Steve yet giving more focus on his love for Phillip, thus allowing us to see the beauty in their relationship and making us not only laugh but also cry for the two star-crossed lovers. I salute Carrey for deciding to take on a role that will not pay but which definitely provided him new challenges as a serious actor, and hopefully, an acting award. My hats off, too, to McGregor for preparing for his role very well, even spending a couple of days with the real Phillip Morris. And lastly, kudos to the producer of the film for being brave enough to come up with a risky and non-commercial venture that tackles a very sensitive issue, knowing beforehand that it would have very limited distribution around the world.

For these reasons and several more, I wish for nothing but success for this wonderfully romantic and true-to-life movie.

(E-mail me at [email protected] or text 0927-5000833. Help build houses for the poor through the Gawad Kalinga by calling 718-1738 to 41 or text 0917-5239777.)