This is not a love story. This is not a con artist story. This is not a gay story. But it is a true story.

"I Love You Phillip Morris" falls under the category of stranger and more fantastical than fiction. It's a jailbird romp with romance, actors' actors and jaw-dropping plot devices. It's an overall pleasant surprise that eventually peters out to an "oh" in the end.

A pious police officer and church organist, Steve (spasmodic fish out of water Jim Carrey) enjoys a picture-perfect marriage with the devout Debbie (Leslie Mann, a peach as always). But as he studies up on the identity of his birth mother, his fragility grows. Bio-mom ultimately rejects him, and Steve takes it hard. Then a torrential car crash whacks him with an epiphany: Life's too short to live by the numbers. So he outs himself, quits the force and moves to Florida to indulge in his new lifestyle as a free, gay man.

To keep his luscious Latin lover, Jimmy, adorned in fancy watches and niceties, Steve ends up on the other end of the law. Utilizing his above-average IQ, he becomes a one-man crime ring, pulling the wool over the eyes of jewelers, credit card companies and car dealerships. The duo lives large for a while, but authorities are soon on to the phony, and he's tossed in jail for fraud.

There, he acquaints himself with the coy inmate Phillip (Ewan McGregor). Their cutesy-poo flirtation evolves into a tender courtship, leading to one darling scene where a thuggish cellmate blasts ballads to which Steve and Phillip slow-dance together, much to the protests of the other convicts.

Unorthodoxy rules this movie. You never know from vignette to vignette if you're watching a crime drama, a heartwarming tale or a Southern-fried comedy. At times, the zigzagging among genres can aggravate. As do the inconsistent country accents with which Canadian Carrey and Scottish McGregor wrestle.

Whereas McGregor is convincing as a romantic lead (and underused here), rubber-faced Carrey still squawks too much to be believable. The slimier aspects of Steve's personality suit him just fine, but he just can't replicate the rare restraint he showed in the phenomenal "Truman Show" or "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." His zeal in broadcasting Steve's homosexuality is, like so much of Carrey's canon, overacted and manic. It was an interesting choice of casting, but one that detracts from the richness of the real story.

Props, however, are due for writing/directing team Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, notorious for the ribald "Bad Santa." The script for "Phillip Morris," adapted from Steve McVicker's book, is mostly zippy and cleverly edited. From the blocking of the actors to the snarky imagery of childhood pastimes (like seeing bunnies and male genitalia in the clouds), it certainly keeps the viewers on their toes. Though not up to par with groundbreaking gay-issues films such as "Brokeback Mountain" or "Milk," this cinematic snack does spin a good yarn.

Plus, in our world of Wall Street hogwash and fiendish bilking, it's sort of a jovial throwback to heist antiheroes we can cheer and jeer at the same time.

"I Love You Phillip Morris." Rated: R. Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes. 2.5 stars.

To find out more about Melissa Bobbitt and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.