I Love You Phillip Morris

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

This film has nothing to do with tobacco. There... that's out of the way.

Last night was the world premier screening of "I Love You Philip Morris." With both Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor in attendance, this was a close second to the most "Hollywood" screening I've attended this year in terms of screaming fans, red carpets and paparazzi chaos ("Spread" takes first place with Ashton and Demi getting mobbed by a crowd of mostly screaming teenage girls).

So what is this film about? Well, it's an improbable but true story of a spectacularly charismatic and resourceful con-man’s journey from small-town cop to flamboyant white-collar criminal. Created by the guys who brought you Bad Santa, what lands on screen is truly stranger than fiction. It's a comedy. It's a love story. And you never really know where it's going to go next. When a local Texas policeman, Steve Russell (Carrey), turns to cons and fraud to allow him to change his lifestyle, his subsequent stay in the state penitentiary results in his meeting the love of his life, a sensitive fellow inmate named Phillip Morris (McGregor). What ensues can only be described as a relentless quest as Russell attempts escape after escape and executes con after con, all in the name of love. And yes, it features many scenes of Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor making out and otherwise getting it on.

I'll admit I have mixed feelings about this film. I came in with low expectations, primarily because I've been burned far too often by films that bank on people being drawn by the idea of two brand-name male actors humping each other. But the film doesn't use anything like that as a crutch and I found myself genuinely enjoying the film for the most part. I wouldn't say it was way up there on my top films of the fest, but it exceeded expectations and I wouldn't be adverse to watching it again. It does help to be in a theater with 1200 people, most of whom are friends of those involved with the film.