pelikula: We’re still taking a break from our Women’s Month Feature to bring you another review of a film that’s recently released in Philippine theaters. He Sees Clouds in the Shape of Cock by Jansen Musico I Love You, Phillip Morris (2009) D: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa S: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann George Bush is stupid. This is one of the many things you can deduce after watching I Love You Phillip Morris. It’s a biopic centered on famous American con-artist and prison-escapist Steven Jay Russell, whose shoes are filled by Jim Carrey (I’ll get to him in a bit). Russell’s life had been the center of much interest in the late 90s. His infamous escapes from prison, not to mention the thousands of dollars he embezzled from big-time companies, made him eligible enough to be a subject of documentaries. A criminal track record like his is so amazingly rare that it deserves a movie, right? But then again, it’s been done before with Spielberg’s 2002 flick, Catch Me If You Can. There is an important difference, though: Steven Russell is gay. What better way to way to define this movie than play up that gay angle and turn it into a dramedy? I guess this was the idea producer Luc Besson and company had in mind when they cast Carrey as the lead. Carrey is hilarious. He brings his own brand of comedy and drama which is elevated by the movie’s use of non-linear devices and spot-on cinematography. The only problem with Carrey’s casting, despite his effectiveness, is the fact that we never really get to see much of who Steven Russell really was. Carrey’s performance is more reminiscent of Fletcher Reed in Liar, Liar, only this time, he’s a homosexual with an accent. Ewan McGregor does a good job playing the titular Phillip Morris, Russell’s gay lover. With the bleached blonde hair, flapping wrists, and hips that sway like daffodils in the breeze, he pins down the stereotypical Southern queen. Although his Scottish accent sometimes overpowers his supposed natural twang, he makes it believable. What isn’t as convincing, though, is the connection between Carrey and McGregor. Like their characters, they’re too mismatched. Carrey comes off too manic while McGregor is too soft. The only thing that holds them together is the nicely embellished telling of their see-saw romance. Pink fluff aside, the movie gives its audience this interesting look at the Texas judiciary system and how easy it is for a guy like Russell to maneuver it to his advantage… repeatedly. The system becomes that biting punchline. This, I think, gives the film its fangs and makes it worthy of praise. So far, the film has garnered applause as it makes its way through the international film circuit (minus the USA, which hasn’t screened it nationwide yet). I Love You Phillip Morris is funny, revealing, and worth a glance.

pelikula:

We’re still taking a break from our Women’s Month Feature to bring you another review of a film that’s recently released in Philippine theaters.

He Sees Clouds in the Shape of Cock
by Jansen Musico

I Love You, Phillip Morris (2009)
D: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
S: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann

George Bush is stupid. This is one of the many things you can deduce after watching I Love You Phillip Morris. It’s a biopic centered on famous American con-artist and prison-escapist Steven Jay Russell, whose shoes are filled by Jim Carrey (I’ll get to him in a bit). Russell’s life had been the center of much interest in the late 90s. His infamous escapes from prison, not to mention the thousands of dollars he embezzled from big-time companies, made him eligible enough to be a subject of documentaries. A criminal track record like his is so amazingly rare that it deserves a movie, right? But then again, it’s been done before with Spielberg’s 2002 flick, Catch Me If You Can. There is an important difference, though: Steven Russell is gay.

What better way to way to define this movie than play up that gay angle and turn it into a dramedy? I guess this was the idea producer Luc Besson and company had in mind when they cast Carrey as the lead. Carrey is hilarious. He brings his own brand of comedy and drama which is elevated by the movie’s use of non-linear devices and spot-on cinematography. The only problem with Carrey’s casting, despite his effectiveness, is the fact that we never really get to see much of who Steven Russell really was. Carrey’s performance is more reminiscent of Fletcher Reed in Liar, Liar, only this time, he’s a homosexual with an accent.

Ewan McGregor does a good job playing the titular Phillip Morris, Russell’s gay lover. With the bleached blonde hair, flapping wrists, and hips that sway like daffodils in the breeze, he pins down the stereotypical Southern queen. Although his Scottish accent sometimes overpowers his supposed natural twang, he makes it believable. What isn’t as convincing, though, is the connection between Carrey and McGregor. Like their characters, they’re too mismatched. Carrey comes off too manic while McGregor is too soft. The only thing that holds them together is the nicely embellished telling of their see-saw romance.

Pink fluff aside, the movie gives its audience this interesting look at the Texas judiciary system and how easy it is for a guy like Russell to maneuver it to his advantage… repeatedly. The system becomes that biting punchline. This, I think, gives the film its fangs and makes it worthy of praise. So far, the film has garnered applause as it makes its way through the international film circuit (minus the USA, which hasn’t screened it nationwide yet). I Love You Phillip Morris is funny, revealing, and worth a glance.

Tagged:
pelikula
i love you phillip morris
  1. giselleration reblogged this from pelikula
  2. norwegianelephant reblogged this from pelikula and added:
    film, can’t even explain why.
  3. brownmonkeytheory reblogged this from pelikula and added:
    movie. Too gay. Haha.
  4. pelikula posted this