So, first review on the new blog, and I'm annoyed by it in one way:
I am completely non-plussed by this film.
I wanted something where I could either rail against it or completely embrace it. But, sadly, I just can't. The film is fine yes, but nothing more. My issue is that, on the other hand it's definitely not anything awful either. It just sits there happily in the middle of the road.
I'll start with the good pieces of the film (or slightly less mediocre than the rest). It's based on a true story, which most of the time means that there was either: once a man who owned a chainsaw (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) or a 'film' which is actually more of a documentary, with a lot of the key parts changed (Invictus). However, 'I Love You...' comes with a guarantee at the start of the film that it is: "Based on a true story. No... Really". Lovely. And luckily for us this true story happens to be quite entertaining, for the most part at least.
Another highlight in the sea of mediocre that this film finds it in is the performance of Jim Carrey. Although he's basically become the next George Clooney (playing the same character again and again in every film) he does still entertain. It's a simple humour: he does silly things; we laugh, but it works nonetheless, at least for the most part. He varies it enough from scene to scene so that it doesn't get dull, but with it he keeps a sense of his character. Nicely done. Giving that many scenes are effectively the same (when he gets caught escaping jail repeatedly in the second half of the film).
So, good things, pretty thin on the ground. After those two examples I struggled with finding anything more that stood out. The script was fine, the stylings of it were fine. Everything was just 'fine' but nothing more.
On the downside, I have one large large point. Ewan McGregor.
I have no idea why he took this role. He must have some demand in films, as he is a very competent actor, but maybe things are falling a bit short for him. Spending too much money on bikes? Mortgages may be getting him down. So he took the role of 'Phillip Morris'. This is the main love interest for Jim Carrey in the film, and so it demands a range of emotions. The only emotion that McGregor can play however is: slightly upset stereotypical gay man. Not an emotion you say? Well. I thought that too. But this comes with a variety of emotions within it ie: slightly upset stereotypical gay man laughing. Whatever happens, he's always slightly upset. Hilarity doesn't ensue.
So that's that. A perfectly mediocre film.
The worst thing about the film however was not in the film itself: it was the audience. At the start there's a scene where the protagonist reveals to us that he's gay. This is funny, really funny, because it's so out of the blue. In a nutshell, it's Jim Carrey having anal sex with a guy. At this point (early on in the film) two guys got up and left. They didn't come back. It's like the middle ages. Christ.
Three Stars.
