At the 2009 Cannes filmfest, I chatted with Jim Carrey about the prospects then facing his quirky gay-themed flick, I Love You Phillip Morris. He was cautiously optimistic. But Carrey clearly knew the reality: Distributors were lukewarm and thought audiences would be weirded out. Carrey kissing co-star Ewan McGregor? Simulated sex scenes between men in a mainstream romantic comedy?
Audiences were turned off. Homophobia was a factor. Two years later, and I Love You Phillip Morris barely registered with a meagre $20.7 million in worldwide box office, just $2 million in North America. The film's Oscar campaign failed. For Carrey, it was a disastrous showing. Now there is an opportunity to salvage the film's reputation with this week's DVD and Blu-ray debut.
It is worth the effort. This is a terrific film brimming with pathos and bittersweet humour. Remarkably, it is also a true story that chronicles how married American con-man Steven Jay Russell (Carrey) -- who was a closet homosexual, although that was just one of many lies -- went to prison for fraud. There he fell in crazy-love with fellow convict Phillip Morris (McGregor). Their adventures, including a series of prison breaks, fresh frauds and tragi-comic escapades engineered by Russell, make I Love You Phillip Morris compelling.
The film is also brilliantly acted. You see exactly how first-time co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa pulled this unique project together in the making-of doc. Along with the informative crew commentary, the doc appears on both the DVD and Blu-ray (both also present the film with excellent transfers). You even see behind-the-scenes on Carrey and McGregor's first kiss. And no one needs to be weirded out. I Love You Phillip Morris is very human.
Somewhere
Both beautiful and boring, yet absolutely enthralling, Somewhere is Sofia Coppola's minimalist experimental film. It is 'pure cinema' in a European sense. In this week's DVD and Blu-ray releases, Coppola refers to the film as a mood more than a narrative.
With Stephen Dorff playing a newly famous, self-indulgent but good-hearted Hollywood actor, the film presents a series of routine moments. One day, he's drunk and breaks his wrist. Another day, twin pole dancers do their trashy act in his room at the Chateau Marmont. Then Dorff's ex sends their daughter (Elle Fanning) for an extended visit. The routine must change. Dorff goes through an existential identity crisis.
Some may find it slow (it is) and the ending ambiguous (it is). Yet the film holds our attention and so does Coppola when we meet her in the interesting making-of doc. Her film is neither glossy nor slick. The low-budget production looks decent on both DVD and Blu-ray. I recommend either format -- but only to cinephiles.
Like Dandelion Dust
After seven years in jail for brutal spousal abuse, an Ohio man (Barry Pepper) returns to his wife (Mira Sorvino) to forge a new life. It is time to reclaim their baby son, who had been given up for adoption. But he already has a loving family life in Florida (with Cole Hauser and Kate Levering). The story is a methodical and often heart-breaking account of what happens when each couple fights for custody.
The beats of Jon Gunn's film are predictable yet sobs are inevitable. Especially because Sorvino's performance captures the essence of a loving wife-mother caught in a crushing emotional vice. The film is available on DVD-only with no extras, a shame because the issues surrounding adoption battles of this kind need to be discussed openly.
NEW THIS WEEK: The King's Speech n I Love You Phillip Morris n Somewhere n Like Dandelion Dust n Gulliver's Travels n Glee: Encore.
NEW NEXT WEEK: Human Planet n Looking for Fidel.
COMING SOON: The Illusionist (May 10) n True Grit (June 7).
Long, tough ‘Incredibles’ journey
Out of the mouths of wily veterans: We often only learn the truth of how Hollywood functions long after events take place. So it is with the Pixar animation, The Incredibles, which is a wonderful movie, a box office triumph and a big DVD seller. But the real struggle to make The Incredibles waited until last week's Blu-ray debut to emerge -- and now we know the rest of the story.
Aside from the breathtaking Blu-ray presentation in the new four-disc combo pack -- it looks and sounds better than it did in theatres in 2004 -- now we find out that the movie's prospects were originally grim. The challenge for John Lasseter's Pixar team, with writer-director Brad Bird in the hot seat, was convincing the tyrant then running Walt Disney Studios to back it. Before Pixar and Disney merged, Pixar answered to Disney to get its movies released.
In the 22-minute doc, The Incredibles Revisited, Bird and his producer John Walker are part of a roundtable discussion about the production's history, including the day they pitched Disney mogul Michael Eisner (who is never actually named). Eisner stupidly lectured them on the limits of animation, thinking The Incredibles should be live action.
"He was pretty brutal," Walker recalls, "and I could see you (Bird) steaming and I thought: 'He's gonna hit him, he's gonna hit him! And, if he hits him, that's kind of the end of our jobs!' "
Instead, Bird deferred to Lasseter, who placated Eisner, played politics and eventually got The Incredibles green-lit. It earned $631.4 million in worldwide box office. Eisner was deposed in 2005. Lasseter now runs animation at both Pixar and Disney. And the new Blu-ray combo pack for The Incredibles is not only incredibly entertaining, it is illuminating for animation enthusiasts.
