Review of Identity Thief (2013) by Sue S — 21 Dec 2013

Melissa McCarthy is one of the funniest females in Hollywood. After wasting her talent for 7 seasons on Gilmore Girls, she finally got her big break and hasn't slowed down since. One of her latest films is Identity Thief, which is also Seth Gordon's follow up to the hit comedy, Horrible Bosses.

Much like his last film, Identity Thief has a whole bunch of funny scenes and outrageous characters, but fails to deliver a solid story to go with it. Sandy Bigelow Patterson (Jason Bateman) is a man with a girls name, making him the prime target for a female (Melissa McCarthy) who makes a living stealing from everyone else.

The laws surrounding identity theft make prosecutions very difficult and it can sometimes take years before everything is straightened out. Patterson, with his new job and home on the line, can't wait for that and decides to confront his assailant.

As I said earlier there are some real funny moments in this film, but the story is sadly extremely predictable. Identity Theft is something that has never really been done in comedy before. With the right story behind it, this really could have been the next Hangover, but sadly, the Hangover it is not.

As usual Bateman and McCarthy are both terrific and to my surprise, had some pretty good chemistry together. Identity Thief is not a movie that sticks with you long after it's over. It is a good way to kill a few hours and good for a few laughs, but not much else.