I Love You Phillip Morris

          One of the main reasons why I love the movie I Love You Phillip Morris is because of the storyline. I have always been drawn to films that deal with con men and thieves because of their performance and dedication to their “job”. Some of my favorites (along with I Love You Phillip Morris) are 21, Catch Me If You Can, Ocean’s Eleven, and The Town.

          Along with Catch Me If You Can, I Love You Phillip Morris is actually a true story. Steven Jay Russell (Jim Carrey) was an honest man until a car accident forced him to reevaluate his life. It was at this point that he came out as a homosexual and becomes a con man to support his expensive gay lifestyle. Russell ends up in prison where he falls madly in love with a fellow inmate Phillip Morris. Their romance blossoms and the two are released from prison. However Steven falls back into his stealing routine and ends up back in prison. In order to be with Phillip, Steven breaks out of prison multiple times and always ends up back where he started. 

          In addition to the amazing story, the dialogue is absolutely hilarious. Every time I watch I Love You Phillip Morris, I catch new lines that I hadn’t noticed before that are hysterical. Luckily, a lot of the humor fits Jim Carrey’s style. Sadly, most of my favorite lines are not appropriate so I probably shouldn’t repeat them.

          While the real Steven Jay Russell is a chubby, bald man, Jim Carrey played the character perfectly. Carrey and McGregor were consulted by Russell (who was still in prison) about personality traits and how to act. When watching the film later, Russell said, “They’ve got it down. The way they speak, the mannerisms, the clothes - everything. Its surreal.” 

          According to the MPAA, (Motion Picture Association of America) I Love You Phillip Morris is rated R for sexual content including strong dialogue, and language. Within the film, there are a few heterosexual and homosexual sex scenes, but there is no nudity shown. The only nudity is labeled as “non-sexual,” which occurs during a prison shower scene revealing the backsides of a few men. 

          I expected the language of I Love You Phillip Morris to be like many other prison/heist movies. Depending on how you define “swear words,” there were between 75 and 100 explicit words used in the film. About 50 of these were the f-word which is almost never appropriate.

          Surprisingly, there was very little violence in the film, despite a large portion taking place in prison. There is only one remotely violent prison scene where a prisoner is beaten up by an inmate. This scene could easily be in a PG-13 movie because it is not graphic. Additionally, there is a car accident and a man accidentally falls off of a building. Both of these scenes imply some brutality but show none.

          While the film is a bit inappropriate, it definitely has its positive elements. Due to the amazing writing, dialogue, and actors, we begin to love the characters and appreciate the love that they have for each other, despite the fact that they are homosexuals. Seeing a homosexual relationship in a positive light is a wonderful change from the hating, judgmental, people by whom I am usually surrounded.

          Other than the homosexual nature of the film, the only content worthy of discretion is the language. Most of the explicit language is used comedically, but is not really justified in its use. That being said, the film would not be the same if the language was cut out. Imagine what The Hangover would be like if all the swearing was removed. The comedic atmosphere of the film would be nonexistent, thus making the film more of a drama. 

          I can think of many people who would not watch I Love You Phillip Morris because it is about homosexuals, but the film is more than that. It is about two people who meet in prison, fall in love, and do anything to stay together.  Not only is this dramatic comedy incredibly entertaining, but it is also a true story. Anyone who has ever loved, lost, or connected with another person in any way should find this movie both entertaining and relatable. 

The Grey

          To be rather blunt, I found The Grey to be an entertaining waste of my time. I had gone into the film with a friend without knowing much about it which proved to be a grave mistake. What I learned later, is that the premise is that of many other movies such as Buried, The Blair Witch Project, and Apocalypto.  For most films, there is a healthy balance of the pieces of the dramatic structure. Usually, there is an introduction, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution, but The Grey consisted of all rising action. This can make for an entertaining film, but I have realized that these types of movies are only fun to watch once or maybe twice.

          Along with the structure, I found the plot to be unoriginal. The Grey shared a similar plot to many wilderness, plane crash, thriller films. SPOILER ALERT!!! One by one, the characters get picked off by the vicious wolves and Liam Nesson is left alone. Some of the deaths are rather brutal, but none of them are very sad. 

          The main reason I disliked The Grey is because it has an unnecessarily depressing ending. As I said, one by one, the characters get eaten or ripped to shreds by wolves, freeze in the horrific conditions, or drown. Ottway (Liam Nesson) is left screaming at God to show him a sign that He exists, but no sign comes. A few minutes later, it is implied that Nesson gets mauled to death by the alpha wolf and the movie ends. I am not saying that he should have lived, but rather that the ending should be more satisfying. This could have easily been accomplished by having God give Ottway a sign of His existence right before his death. Disappointing to say the least.

          I highly doubt that I will ever watch this movie again because of the ending. However, the rest of the movie was incredibly entertaining!  I regret seeing The Grey in theaters because it seems only worthy of a $1 rental.

Hitch

          Easily one of the most well written romantic comedies that I have ever seen. While the basic storyline is incredibly creative and unique, the dialogue is also phenomenal. Will Smith delivers his bold flirtatious lines flawlessly which makes his character both likable and believable. Kevin James does the exact same thing, but for the completely opposite character. His awkward stuttering and physical demeanor make his character quite lovable.

          However, I must say that the story was a bit cliche in the classic romantic comedy way.  Two single people meet, become a couple, have a terrible break-up where the girl won’t listen to the guy’s perspective, than she finally listens, they get back together and live happily ever after. Sorry if I just ruined the movie for you, but its expected from any Rom-Com. That being said, Hitch did is in a unique way which made the story more interesting than most.  

          One of the key factors to enjoying a movie is having realistic expectations.  For Hitch, I wasn’t expecting an Academy Award winning performance, I wanting to be entertained with a creative flow of comedy and romance. In this sense, Hitch did a wonderful job and on my “Favorite Romantic Comedy” list.

Notting Hill

          Being a person who was born in the 90’s, I was surprised to find that I thoroughly enjoyed Notting Hill. Unlike movies such as Hitch, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and (500) Days of Summer, Notting Hill felt like a pure romance movie instead of a blockbuster, teenage, romantic comedy; not that I have anything against romantic comedies. That being said, Notting Hill successfully delivered its heart-wrenching drama like most romance films. The reason for this is because the film was aimed at an older, more mature audience who would enjoy “classic” films such as Sleepless in Seattle, What Women Want, and When Harry Met Sally. 

          Along with the film in general, the writing was superb. The writer, Richard Curtis, has written other successful films like War Horse, Pirate Radio (The Boat that Rocked), and Four Weddings and A Funeral.  Because of Hugh Grant, Rhys Ifans, and Julia Roberts, the dialogue was a perfect mix between British and American Humor.

          Because of its immense popularity, I feel like I should mention the classic line said by Julia Roberts to Hugh Grant.  After Grant rejects her relationship proposal, she says, “After all... I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” While this quote is spectacularly written, it would be nothing without the stellar acting of Julia Roberts.  Her character, Anna Scott, becomes completely vulnerable to pursue the man she loves and still gets rejected. The reason I love this quote so much is because of her face as she is delivering the line. On the verge of tears, she produces an awkward smile, in order to respect his decision and to keep looking classy. This scene is absolutely heart breaking but it makes the ending even more satisfying.