Identity Thief

My Grade:  B-

I have to start this out by saying that Jason Batman cracks me up in pretty much everything he does. So, despite trying to come at this thing free of personal bias, I’m coming at it as a big fan of Mr. Bateman. I want you to keep that in mind since you are probably going to decide whether or not to see this film based solely on this review.

Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) is a complete and utter cliche. He’s a good father, he works a not-very-glamorous job but is great at it, and he has a wife and two kids. He also has another kid on the way and is not sure how they are going to afford another kid... I’m sure you’ve heard of that character before. He’s a good dude, which is why it sucks so bad when his identity gets stolen by the rude, crude Diana (Melissa McCarthy).

Since the local cops apparently can’t handle a situation like this (she has stolen his identity in Florida while he’s in Colorado), Sandy is forced to take his fate into his own hands and bring her back to Colorado so the law can deal with her and he can get his life back. Does that seem a bit ridiculous to you? Good, because it is. The FBI or some sort of federal agency probably handles this kind of thing and, if Sandy can find her, the FBI surely can.

Absurdly ridiculous plots aren’t uncommon in comedies, so I am okay with that aspect, but there are also drug dealers and some sort of bounty hunter coming after them. These bad guys are purely motivated by greed (Diana has a 50,000 dollar price on her head). Needless to say, they are very flimsy, one dimensional characters.

The most astonishing thing about this film, however, is not the absurd plot, the paper-thin bad guys, or the repetitive jokes that circle around Diana being overweight. It’s the fact that Identity Thief is hands-down the most emotionally manipulative comedy I have ever seen. Diana has such a pitiful background story that the writer (Craig Mazin of The Hangover II) is trying to shame you into believing that it’s almost okay that she has committed multiple felonies. She eventually gets Sandy on her side, so why shouldn’t we (the audience) be on her side? Because she’s a HORRIBLE PERSON!

Now that I have sufficiently covered almost everything that is wrong with this film (other than the fact that it’s unashamedly predictable and far too long), I have to say that I did enjoy watching it. This film provides enough laughs to be tolerable and Melissa McCarthy puts on a seriously impressive performance. She’s expectedly funny but surprisingly good in the emotionally manipulative parts. She’s a big part as to why the film successfully manipulates your emotions. Kudos to her.

Overall, Identity Thief is rife with problems but good enough to get out of Redbox one night when you have a free rental code and want some mindless, intermittently funny entertainment... especially if you like Jason Bateman, like I do.