The Jim Carrey True Crime Hidden Gem With A Star Wars Icon, Stream Right Now Without Netflix
Everyone knows that Jim Carrey excels at slapstick comedy, like his roles in Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask. But, Carrey is also a natural in black comedies, as evidenced by his roles in The Cable Guy and the underseen 2009 film I Love You Phillip Morris. The latter is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video and some free platforms, and it’s worth your time if you haven’t seen it before.
Jim Carrey And Ewan McGregor Star
I Love You Phillip Morris is based on a true story and follows the con artist and prison escapee Steven Jay Russell (Carrey), who falls in love with fellow inmate Philip Morris (Ewan McGregor). After Morris is released from prison, Russell escapes multiple times to be reunited with him. The film is directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficcarra, who also co-adapted the screenplay from the book I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks.
Along with Jim Carrey and Star Wars icon Ewan McGregor, I Love You Phillip Morris stars Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Antoni Corone, Brennan Browne, Michael Mandell, and Philip Morris himself in a cameo role. The film ended up grossing around $20 million worldwide and was met with positive reviews from critics and audiences. It also nabbed a nomination at the Writer’s Guild of America Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Trouble Pulling It Off
Unfortunately, I Love You Phillip Morris faced some battles in the distribution process. The release of the film was initially postponed indefinitely before Consolidated Pictures Group changed its mind and announced a limited theatrical release before doing a nationwide release a week later. However, the film was delayed due to legal battles and was finally released in October 2009 after Roadside Attractions and Liddell Entertainment acquired the distribution rights.
That’s not even mentioning the fact that I Love You Phillip Morris faced some troubles getting a US distributor in the first place. The film ended up getting re-edits to remove some of the explicit gay sexual content to secure a distributor. Homophobia reared its head again with the Italian distributing company Lucky Red.
Censoring The Film
Lucky Red claimed it purchased a version of I Love You Phillip Morris where many of the intimate scenes between Steve and Philip were removed. Lucky Red was also criticized for minimizing the romantic relationship between the leads in marketing materials to try and appeal to a broader audience. This sort of censorship was an unfortunate trend that other queer films of the era, like Brokeback Mountain and Milk, faced as well.
Jim Carrey Today
In any case, Jim Carrey puts in a great performance in I Love You Phillip Morris, and it’s worth checking out whether you love Carrey or black comedies in general. Carrey has not taken many roles since this film came out in 2009, and it’s very possible that he will retire from acting permanently after his next film, Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In fact, until recently, fans were unsure if he would come back as Dr. Robotnik at all, but it’s a relief to know we have at least one more performance from the multi-faceted actor on the way.
Where To Stream I Love You Phillip Morris
In the meantime, make sure to check out his darkly comedic role in I Love You Phillip Morris. You can stream it now on Prime Video. If you don’t have Prime Video, you can stream it for free on Kanopy (with a library card or university login) or Plex.
