Identity Thief
Seth Gordon
The story: With a simple phone call, Diana (Melissa McCarthy) steals the identity of accountant Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) from Denver. She goes on a spending spree with his credit card information, lands him in trouble with the law and even jeopardises his new job. With his life spiralling out of control, Sandy has to travel to Florida and bring Diana back with him to clear his name.

Identity theft is committed by people who are actually good at heart, according to the makers of this film. The thieves are just a little bit lost and surely it is not their fault if they had a terrible childhood.
If you buy this, I know a Nigerian bank account you can send some money to in order to claim your lottery winnings.
The problem is not that the film makes light of a serious issue. It is that it does not do it well.
The first act of the film is essentially a convoluted set-up to justify Sandy and Diana travelling together. And in order to get them on a good old-fashioned road trip as opposed to a quick plane ride, some other lame reason is whipped up by screenwriter Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 4, 2006).
Not trusting Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, the Oscar-nominated breakout star of Bridesmaids (2011), to hold your attention, he overcooks the plot by throwing in a bounty hunter (Robert Patrick) and two gang members who are after Diana as well.
There is also an extended and unnecessary interlude with a cowboy character (Eric Stonestreet from sitcom Modern Family) Diana picks up in a bar.
The jokes mostly miss the mark and a lame one about Sandy being a girl’s name is, lamentably, repeated.
Bateman (TV’s Arrested Development, 2003-2006, 2013) and McCarthy are a riot when given good material.
But they struggle here to overcome the thin characterisation: Sandy is mostly mousey as the guy who plays by the rules while Diana is a pathological liar the moviegoer is abruptly asked to feel sympathy for at the end.
Director Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, 2011) has to shoulder some of the blame as well for the film’s uneven tone and problematic pacing. There is even a makeover scene for Diana which is not just cliched but also gratuitous.
The biggest crime this movie is guilty of is stealing your time.
(ST)