Carrey Goes Gay

It turns out Jim Carrey's next major role after "Yes Man" will be playing a gay man in "I Love You Phillip Morris." The love interest will be played by the mostly reliable Ewan McGregor. While some people may find this shocking, I'm not too surprised. Jim Carrey is a man whose been wanting to be taken seriously for years. Trouble is, his serious movies rarely match the box office appeal that his comedy films do. So whenever he makes a Carrey-vehicle like "Yes Man," you know that he's only doing it for the paycheck. His next film will always be far, far more ambitious. Don't believe me? Just remember that after he made the highly sucessful comedy "Bruce Almighty" he then moved onto what is arguebly his best role to date: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Of course, Carrey has never been nominated for an Academy Award for any of these serious roles.

On one hand it surprises me, considering he's been in "The Truman Show," "Man on the Moon," "The Majestic," and the aforementioned "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Then I remember that this is the Oscars we're talking about, and there are still many acclaimed actors who have never won an Oscar in actual competition (Peter O'Toole anyone?). Despite this history though, chances are this will be Carrey's first nomination. If for no other reason then the fact that the Academy feels that a straight man playing a gay man is "bold and daring," as if it's really a big stretch for Carrey to be acting flamboyant. I haven't seen the movie yet, and who knows if this is really an Oscar worthy film, but keep an eye on it next year. Something tells me this could really, truly be Carrey's first Academy Award nomination.