Are you gay for Phillip Morris?

Based on a true story of Steven Russell, con artist and multiple prison escapee, Jim Carrey’s latest film seems like a sure fire recipe for success. Mixing the conman genre, slapstick comedy and a heart warming romance, and co staring another A-list star in Ewan McGregor, I Love You Phillip Morris should have mass market appeal. And yet the film spent months without a distributor, was facing a direct-to-DVD release in the United States, and despite receiving good reviews at the Sundance Film Festival, has only managed to secure a limited theatrical run thanks to the independent studio Consolidated Pictures Group.

So why does this seemingly profitable film make mainstream distributors run and hide? Perhaps it is because I Love You Phillip Morris is very, very gay.



Okay, so after watching this trailer, I can certainly understand why distributors might have been worried that the movie might not appeal to a mainstream audience. Sure Jim Carrey has a lot of crowd drawing power, but are fans of Ace Ventura or Bruce Almighty really going to be interested in seeing Stanley Ipkiss make sweet love to Obi Wan? Even people who aren’t necessarily homophobic (and for the love of Christ, I do not want to get into a debate about homophobia here) may very well be uncomfortable with such overt homosexuality – Russell isn’t just gay, he’s downright slutty. Some of the early scenes in the above trailer, in which the newly awakened man enjoys the liberation of his sexuality, reminded me of the flamboyant Mr Garrison from South Park.

What’s more, apparently what we see in the trailer is just the tip of a very gay iceberg. The buzz out of Sundance was that I Love You Phillip Morris features an incredibly graphic homosexual sex scene (I’m not sure who between, but I assume Carrey is at least…a player), and that the movie had to be re-edited before it was eventually picked up for distribution. I think it’ll be very interesting to see what classification it receives from the MPAA – something tells me there’s plenty more controversy that has yet to surround this little corner of gay cinema.

Alright, so I’ve talked about why this movie probably isn’t for everyone. Now I think I should clarify and say that I am really interested in seeing it. There are a couple of reasons. Firstly and most obviously, I think the trailer looks pretty good. Not great – some of the early stuff looks like Carrey’s standard shtick – but the romance and the jail escapes seem interesting, and would even if it was about a straight guy. Secondly, because I don’t think I can think of another movie like this one, ever. A gay comedy targeted (to a certain extent) at John Q. Moviegoer? Has this ever happened? The only times I can think of homosexuality featuring in a comedy with such big stars is when it is the punch line of a joke (as in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry).

The third reason I want to support it is because it’s gay. I don’t want to get on any kind of soap box – I understand why people might feel uncomfortable thinking about such overt, flamboyant homosexuality – but at the same time, I think those feelings are utterly unfounded and ridiculous. Personally I think it would be great to see a film with homosexuality as a central theme break out and have mainstream success (but I’m not talking Oscar bait-y, Brokeback Mountain, “lets talk about the issue” success. Why can’t the movie just be gay with it being a big deal?) Of course, I very much doubt this will happen in the near future.

Fourthly, I like to see Carrey take on different roles. I love his more dramatic performances in The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and it’s great to see him continue to take on roles that aren’t just goofy faces and baby talk. And fifthly and finally, I want to see I Love You Phillip Morris because I’m curious (no, not that kind of curious, get your mind out of the gutter!) Even though I just stated that the fact that the movie is gay shouldn’t be a big deal, the truth of the matter is that dealing with homosexuality does give the movie the spotlight, and after hearing all the buzz about the movie (and more specifically, the explicit homosexual sex), I have to admit that I really want to see it, if only to see how much the film-makers got away with (and how far these two big name celebrities were willing to go).

Now I want to here what you guys think. Would you be interested in seeing this movie, or are you uncomfortable with seeing graphic homosexual sex portrayed on screen (and for the record, it is okay for you to have this view). Or, are you simply not interested in seeing it for other reasons (I understand that seeing Jim Carrey fall down the stairs just isn’t funny to some people). Whatever you feel about the movie or about the issue of homosexuality in mainstream cinema, leave your thoughts below.

Gay or not, this poster is terrible

I Love You Phillip Morris will be in cinemas in the US from Valentines Day 2010. An Australian release date has yet to be announced.

Sources: Times Online, Variety, /Film