Identity Thief Reviews

To be honest, I wasn't  expecting much from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Jason Bateman, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be rather lame, I'm afraid. I mean, identity theft is a rather fascinating subject and I'm rather surprised that they don't try to make more movies about this subject. For some reasons, one of the first major production about this topic turned out to be a comedy and it seemed to be really tricky to try to deliver something funny about something so serious involving some victims whose life can be really shattered about such crimes. And, indeed, the whole thing never worked. I mean, they even ended up with such scenes involving Jason Bateman completely smashing a guitar on Melissa McCarthy. Seriously, that was basically the level of the humor displayed in this movie. To  make things worse, not only the jokes were often cringe-inducing but it was also fairly unconvincing. I mean, of course, they went on a road-trip which must be the most overused gimmick ever but how could they bond like this? Seriously, because of her, the guy had no money left, he will probably loose his job as well but, still, he actually sympathized with her but for what reason exactly? Anyway, eventually, thanks to Bateman and  McCarthy who did what they could with this material, it was still watchable but, even so, I don't think it is really worth a look.

Little fun adventurous popcorn movie. It was an average movie, Melissa
MacCarthy was really good and without her it would have been unworthy
to see or mention. Jason Bateman was only a good man of the story but
Melissa controlled the movie who is actually a thief. Her impressive
acting from the movie 'The Heat' is still fresh in my eyes which made
this movie a bit curious.

Sandy is a married and hard working man but he's struggling to pay to
lead a normal life from his earnings. He did not realize someone is
behind it who stole his identity and spending his money till he was
arrested. When the law gives thumbs down and so his company, he takes
all the risk of his own and go a trip to find the thief. Like a bounty
hunter he finds his man who is actually a lady. To bring her back to
his town, that is where the real problem lies when some strange people
are on their trail for their quest.

From the Director Seth Gordon of recent blockbuster 'Horrible Bosses'
fame. He retained Jason Bateman for this comedy flick but like I said
Melissa MacCarthy steals the show. The fun was not even close like what
the 'Horrible Bosses' though somehow enjoyable. It's supposed to be a
pure fun filled movie but in the second half they began to turn it over
to character sentimental. Sometimes the emotions are very dry which had
no depth of feelings. It won't convince the audience to have a fondness
for characters but well tried. Call it an a simple time pass movie.

6/10

"Friends don't steal friends' identities, do they?"

Identity Thief is neither as gut-bustingly funny as it should have been nor as bad as it's been made out to be. Directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) and written by Craig Mazin (The Hangover: Part II), the movie is fundamentally a comedic showcase for its two leads: sublime straight man Jason Bateman and up-and-coming comedy dynamo Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids). Although the flick has a few good laughs here and there, it's an aggressively forgettable affair, with its simple premise becoming overcomplicated and overextended. It's not that the movie is bad per se; it's just lazy, and flawed scripting often spoils the fun.

A happy family man who finally catches a major career break, Sandy Patterson (Bateman) finds his life turned upside down when his identity is stolen by Florida resident Diana (McCarthy), who racks up thousands of dollars of debt in Sandy's name. When Sandy's job is threatened as a result of Diana's activities, he has no choice but to go after the criminal himself, especially with the police proving to be of little help. Leaving his wife (Amanda Peet) and daughters behind, Sandy flies from his Denver home to Florida, hoping to find the scam artist and convince her to return home with him to face the music. Diana doesn't plan to go down without a fight or three, but she finds herself teaming up with Sandy when she's pursued by a pair of criminal enforcers (Genesis Rodriguez and T.I.) and a skiptracer (Robert Patrick).

Identity Thief runs too long at around 110 minutes, with Mazin and Gordon padding out the simple premise with unnecessary sub-plots that spoil the fun. The story threads of the enforcers and the bounty hunter ultimately lead nowhere, only proving to be a perfunctory obstacle popping up at inconvenient times for the protagonists. Plus, at one stage, Sandy engages in illegal activities with Diana, which takes the story to unnecessarily dark places and puts Sandy in the grey area of morality. The beauty of Planes, Trains & Automobiles is its simplicity and momentum, and it runs a brisk 90 minutes. By comparison, Identity Thief just keeps going and going, and the plot complications cause more frustrations than laughs. It's too callous and heavy-handed. Worse, Mazin's screenplay has no plausible underpinnings supporting it - it presents questionable depictions of how police detectives operate, how the corporate world works, and the operations of credit card agencies. Nothing rings true; it feels like a pure fantasy, and the film assumes we're too ignorant to realise the difference. And Diana steals Sandy's identity using the oldest scam trick in the book; only an idiot would fall for it.

Although there are a few quality laughs here and there, Identity Thief ultimately comes up short in the comedy department. Many of the jokes either fall flat or are completely witless, relying purely on crude dialogue to get laughs. One especially awful recurring joke is characters constantly referencing the fact that Sandy is a woman's name. I guess none of the characters have heard of Sandy Collins or Sandy Koufax. Hence, when everyone makes snide comments about Sandy's name, it seems forced and ignorant. To his credit, Gordon does an admirable job of steering the picture between the comedic and the dramatic, exhibiting a degree of heart that feels surprisingly earned. Nevertheless, the ethics behind Identity Thief are questionable, asking us to sympathise with Diana due to her troubled history. Mazin's script tries to make excuses for blatant criminal behaviour, which doesn't sit right. I mean, Diana's fraudulent activities destroy lives; just because she had a rough upbringing doesn't mean she can be forgiven for stealing thousands upon thousands of dollars.

Although McCarthy has featured in films and television shows for over a decade, her breakout role in 2011's Bridesmaids catapulted the actress into the spotlight. And for good reason; she's on fire here, denoting one of the biggest strengths of Identity Thief that keep the film watchable throughout its rougher patches. She nails the humorous aspects of the character, and she handles the dramatic elements skilfully as well. As for Bateman, he simply plays Jason Bateman, the proverbial straight man. While Bateman doesn't exactly stretch his abilities here, he's always an amiable and believable presence on-screen. The coupling of Bateman and McCarthy is a brilliant one, which is why it's such a shame that the material doesn't serve them better.

With a talented comedic director at the helm and a pair of capable comic leads, Identity Thief had the potential to be the comedy highlight of 2013. Instead, it's mildly amusing from time to time but ultimately underwhelming and rarely outright hilarious. The movie will probably please the target market, though, who come looking for an easy-going, switch-off-your-brain comedy. But it will be forgotten almost immediately, whereas classic comedies like Planes, Trains & Automobiles are still remembered decades on.

5.7/10

I'm going to try to write a review here that stays on target.

This is a good movie, so I'm going to try to.... give it a little, respect or whatever. Not every movie made about the past is really worthy, and not every movie about the simple present is not deserving.

This movie had great character relations. It was a character movie.

But, that's where I have to hold myself, if I'm going to keep this brief.

(9/10)

A slight yet amiable comedy about, what else, redemption. Fairly predictable but I enjoyed Melissa McCarthy. I wouldn't want you to spend your money here, certainly not at an overpriced theater. A simple little time-killer for Netflix streaming or the like. Similar to the conclusion of an Ebert review I read recently, if you go in with low expectations, you should be fairly satisfied.