I kind of appreciate that it was trying to take a different take on suicide... Unfortunately, Stephen Mazur's script just doesn't work.

Character development is non-existent, and isolated scenes resonate with occasional whimsy, but they don't add up to a satisfying whole. The adjective that best describes Phil is preposterous.

The movie is about how he learns to love life again by giving himself over to his make-believe alter ego, and if Kinnear had pushed that idea further, it might have jelled.

Phil is not a challenging film but it is funny and often sweet.