'IDENTITY THIEF': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy team up for this road trip/buddy comedy film directed by Seth Gordon (who also directed the hit comedy films 'HORRIBLE BOSSES' and 'FOUR CHRISTMASES'). It was written by Jerry Eeten and Craig Mazin (who also co-wrote 'THE HANGOVER PART II' and 'III' and 'SCARY MOVIE 3' and '4') and tells the story of a man who goes after the woman who stole his identity. He tries to make a citizen's arrest (because the police are useless) and bring her home with him, from Miami to Denver (She of course doesn't want to go peacefully). I went to see this movie with pretty low expectations (having heard a lot of negative reviews on the film, despite it's immense popularity) and was pleasantly surprised.
Bateman plays Sandy Peterson, a businessman in Denver who's struggling to get by and make enough money to support his wife (Amanda Peet) and two daughters (Mary-Charles and Maggie Elizabeth Jones). For multiple years in a row his asshole boss (Jon Favreau) has refused to give his employees bonuses despite the fact that he's getting a huge one himself (Gordon seems to have a big problem with bosses). Peterson's co-workers, lead by Daniel Casey (John Cho), want to leave the company and start their own business because of this. They ask Sandy to join them and he accepts. Things look up for Peterson for once until he finds out that a woman in Miami, Diana (McCarthy), has stolen his identity, ran up a huge amount of debt in his name and gotten him in some legal trouble. Detective Reilly (Morris Chestnut) makes Sandy aware of this but says there's nothing the police can really do about it. So Sandy decides to travel to Miami and bring Diana back to authorities in Denver (by lying to her and saying he just wants to clear things up at his work but won't pursue any legal charges against her). Diana is much more trouble than she appears to be and won't go with Sandy without a fight. They spend the rest of the film on the road together being pursued by two criminals (T.I. and the gorgeous Genesis Rodriguez, one of my new favorites) and a bounty hunter (Robert Patrick), who all want Diana as well. They of course bond in the process.
The movie is a lot funnier than the trailers make it out to be (thanks in large part to Bateman and McCarthy's performances) and the emotional drama of the film is surprisingly effective as well. While there is a fair amount of slapstick and over the top hijinks the characters still seem very real and relatable and by the end of the film you really learn to care for them. I think Jason Bateman has one of the best straight man routines in Hollywood and his delivery here (like always) is perfect. I've never been a big fan of McCarthy's and actually thought this movie looked horrible because of her but she actually gives a really strong and likable performance in it. She is extremely annoying for a lot of the film but she grows on you and gets you to feel for her as well (she's a surprisingly good actress). I was pretty disappointed with Bateman and Gordon's previous collaboration ('HORRIBLE BOSSES') but I went into it with really high expectations (the opposite of this). Still I think this is a much better film, it works on all the levels that 'BOSSES' didn't. Ignore the critics and the haters, this movie is doing huge box office for a good reason; it's actually a good film!
Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy team up for this road trip/buddy comedy film directed by Seth Gordon (who also directed the hit comedy films 'HORRIBLE BOSSES' and 'FOUR CHRISTMASES'). It was written by Jerry Eeten and Craig Mazin (who also co-wrote 'THE HANGOVER PART II' and 'III' and 'SCARY MOVIE 3' and '4') and tells the story of a man who goes after the woman who stole his identity. He tries to make a citizen's arrest (because the police are useless) and bring her home with him, from Miami to Denver (She of course doesn't want to go peacefully). I went to see this movie with pretty low expectations (having heard a lot of negative reviews on the film, despite it's immense popularity) and was pleasantly surprised.
Bateman plays Sandy Peterson, a businessman in Denver who's struggling to get by and make enough money to support his wife (Amanda Peet) and two daughters (Mary-Charles and Maggie Elizabeth Jones). For multiple years in a row his asshole boss (Jon Favreau) has refused to give his employees bonuses despite the fact that he's getting a huge one himself (Gordon seems to have a big problem with bosses). Peterson's co-workers, lead by Daniel Casey (John Cho), want to leave the company and start their own business because of this. They ask Sandy to join them and he accepts. Things look up for Peterson for once until he finds out that a woman in Miami, Diana (McCarthy), has stolen his identity, ran up a huge amount of debt in his name and gotten him in some legal trouble. Detective Reilly (Morris Chestnut) makes Sandy aware of this but says there's nothing the police can really do about it. So Sandy decides to travel to Miami and bring Diana back to authorities in Denver (by lying to her and saying he just wants to clear things up at his work but won't pursue any legal charges against her). Diana is much more trouble than she appears to be and won't go with Sandy without a fight. They spend the rest of the film on the road together being pursued by two criminals (T.I. and the gorgeous Genesis Rodriguez, one of my new favorites) and a bounty hunter (Robert Patrick), who all want Diana as well. They of course bond in the process.
The movie is a lot funnier than the trailers make it out to be (thanks in large part to Bateman and McCarthy's performances) and the emotional drama of the film is surprisingly effective as well. While there is a fair amount of slapstick and over the top hijinks the characters still seem very real and relatable and by the end of the film you really learn to care for them. I think Jason Bateman has one of the best straight man routines in Hollywood and his delivery here (like always) is perfect. I've never been a big fan of McCarthy's and actually thought this movie looked horrible because of her but she actually gives a really strong and likable performance in it. She is extremely annoying for a lot of the film but she grows on you and gets you to feel for her as well (she's a surprisingly good actress). I was pretty disappointed with Bateman and Gordon's previous collaboration ('HORRIBLE BOSSES') but I went into it with really high expectations (the opposite of this). Still I think this is a much better film, it works on all the levels that 'BOSSES' didn't. Ignore the critics and the haters, this movie is doing huge box office for a good reason; it's actually a good film!