Co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa also wrote the screenplay. To give you an idea of their sensibility, these are the same guys who wrote Bad Santa. There's a lot of screwing and swearing; there's perhaps an unprecedented number of dick jokes, but there's also an undeniable sweetness. It is a love story, after all--the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride of love stories.
The twists and turns inI Love You Phillip Morris take Carrey from bible-thumping small town cop to the flashy sidewalks of South Beach, from the tour guide of the prison yard to the wood paneled corner office of a swanky financial firm. Carrey moves effortlessly in and out of these very different worlds, his trademark rubber-faced antics softened into an authentic portrayal of this real human being. He hasn't been this good since Eternal Sunshine, I dare say.
Ficarra and Requa pointed out that the movie's humor comes from the absurd situations, not from the sexual orientation of its characters. This is the key difference between a sad, pathetic movie like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larryand a great film like I Love You Phillip Morris: the film doesn't treat it's characters lightly. They aren't the joke, and there's no condescension in sight. It's a movie about real people, not caricatures--and I don't mean that in the sense that the film is based on a true story. Oh, and it's actually funny. REALLY FUNNY.