Seth Gordon is an interesting director. He rotates evenly between television, documentaries and comedic features, though he excels at some way more than others. The Horrible Bosses director’s new film, Identity Thief, re-teams him with Jason Bateman and the hilarious Melissa McCarthy in a road trip crime comedy about, well, Identity theft.
Jason Bateman plays Sandy Patterson or, as I like to call him, the same exact semi pushover character he plays in every single movie and TV show that he’s ever been in. Anyway, Sandy’s a businessman whose identity has been stolen by the glamorous Diana and, after being arrested and his job put on the line, he decides to travel from Denver to Florida in order to capture and bring back the criminal who stole his identity. Things obviously don’t go according to plan and the ride is extremely far from smooth, but the two eventually have to work together in order to avoid capture by both a bounty hunter (Robert Patrick) and two other criminals (T.I. and Genesis Rodriguez).
There are a lot of very funny moments throughout Identity Thief, most of which originates from Melissa McCarthy’s ridiculous dialogue and repetitive, yet always funny, physical humor. Bateman has a couple moments himself but this is clearly Melissa’s show and some of the supporting cast contributes a bit as well. That being said, the movie is comically patchy, meaning that while there are plenty of laugh out loud moments, there is also a ton of long, humorless dry spells as a result of an identity crises, attempted character building drama and sometimes, just missed shots at humor. It’s the feeling of a constant lull in humor that degrades the film from your average road trip comedy to an under par one that’s worth watching at home but not necessarily in a theater.
SPOILER The one thing that bugged me most about the movie was the ending. Identity Thief’s ending almost falls into completely predictable territory but thankfully writer Craig Mazin diverted it slightly. The issue with the ending is more of the fact that somehow, after one night of dinner and playing, Melissa McCarthy somehow becomes an Aunt of sort to Sandy’s kids and his wife ends up teaching her economic
s. I know there are forgiving people out there in the world but I have trouble believing that they could forgive someone so quickly for nearly ruining their lives. I just don’t buy it. This is one of those feel good moments where a victim decides to give the criminal a chance at redemption and, thought it may be touching, it came off as more awkward to me due to the events that take place in the prison. END SPOILER
Identity Thief reminds me a lot of Due Date except not necessarily as funny. There is a ton of soul searching for one of the characters, it’s clear that there is constant tension between the unlikely car poolers and both end in standard Hollywood fashion.
Basically, if you’re looking for something lighthearted and you want to laugh then this is your best option this weekend. It’s not a comical riot and it’s not low grade trash, so if that’s not a problem for you and you don’t mind spending money on a mediocre comedy then go check out Identity Thief, it won’t be the worst decision you ever make.
Rating: A problematic but sometimes very enjoyable sub-par comedy (5/10)
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