For a while there it looked like I Love You Phillip Morris, the very good film where Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor fall in love in prison, would never hit American theaters. The movie played at Sundance, where I really enjoyed it, but no American distributor was coming forward to buy the film. The obvious reason: it’s not just gay-themed but has scenes with the leads being physically affectionate and a scene where Jim Carrey is unmistakeably giving it to another guy in the ass. Homophobia reigns supreme, or at least the fear that Carrey’s usual audience is homophobic.
None of the usual suspects stepped up to the plate, though. Phillip Morris is getting distributed by a company I never heard of: Consolidated Pictures Group, a production company that got into the distrib game by self-distributing their last film, Bottle Shock. Which means that if you live anywhere outside of New York, LA and a couple of other big cities (San Fran for sure, maybe Chicago), you’re not seeing Phillip Morris in theaters. Unless it’s a major hit in those markets.
Still, while I think Phillip Morris could do well on a larger national stage, at least it’s going to get seen. I do wish this movie, starring one of America’s bigger stars, got a chance to put this nation’s homophobia to the test. This is a movie that could possibly do a lot of good.
Via Variety