He might not exactly be comedy flavour of the year, but Jim Carrey can still get work when he needs to. And it looks like he’s headed back into healthily dark shades of comedy.

Carrey has agreed to star in I Love You Phillip Morris, an odd, fact-based tale of a man named Steven Russell, a married father who falls madly in love with his cellmate while locked up in a Texas prison. When the titular jail buddy is set free, Russell escapes – not once, but four times to attempt to be with the person he loves.

It won’t surprise you to learn that the script – adapted from a book by journalist Steve McVicker – has been written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the twisted minds behind Bad Santa. Morris will seem them directing for the first time.

Now all they have to do is push Carrey to pick it next, since he’s already considering the likes of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not (back on after a re-write) and Me Time.