I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS
4 out of 5 stars

i can’t believe this was based on a true story! stephen russell really existed! who was he, you ask? he was a gay cop turned con artist who broke out of prison like 4X to be with his gay lover, whom he met in prison... WOW, that’s a mouthful! :P

like i said, based on the true story of one stephen russell (jim carey doing a great job as a character actor), a once law abiding cop living as a hetero christian with a wife and a daughter. he decides to seek out his real mother, but when she rejects him, he decides to move his family to texas. because deep in the heart of TX, everyone is accepted, right? hehe... anyway, one rainy night, he gets into a horrible car accident, then the gay “switch” kicks in... he decides he’s going to come clean and be gay and happy! he decides to move again to miami, FL, where he meets and lives with his BF jimmy (a gay rodrigo santoro), and then he soon begins to concoct these insurance scams to pay off the bills of his newfound expensive lifestyle. this lands stephen in jail, and one day, during a fight in the prison cafeteria, he spots beautiful and blond phillip morris standing there. thus, love at first sight... ;)

it’s a cute and unconventional love story about a guy who falls for an innocent and idealistic man, but stephen russell is a real slick jerk, who doesn’t want to spend a day in jail for his wrongdoings. he’s clever, very charming, and extremely slick! (LOL, the scenes where he concocts ways to break free from prison are priceless...esp. the last one!) jim carey does a great job as the con artist stephen, and ewan mcgregor is also great as innocent phillip. this is one movie that plays with your emotions, but ain’t that why love is sometimes a real bitch? overall, a great story about the one man who couldn’t stay in jail, and it’s great to see jim carey back to his ol’ tricks doing an array of characters again. LOVED it... ;)