Identity Thief

Identity Thief (2013)
Directed by: Seth Gordon
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 24%

First, let me start off by saying that my goal as a reviewer (however small my readership may be) is to inform and educate about the content of the film in which I am speaking. My aim is not to criticize a certain actor or director's personal life or identity. I may comment on their ability to deliver lines or their lack of technical ability when it comes to film making but I do not believe that a person's sex, age, political beliefs, religion (unless it's Tom Cruise), or weight have any effect on the content of the film. I say this because recently Melissa McCarthy was attacked by a scathing review for Identity Thief by notable reviewer Rex Reed. I do not wish to repeat his statements but you can certainly find sources detailing the aspects of his "review". My comment for Rex Reed on the matter is that I wholeheartedly agree with Paul Feig's sentiments: “For his catty and school bully name-calling of the supremely talented Melissa McCarthy, I cordially invite Mr. Rex Reed to go f**k himself.” Now, on to the review!

Identity Thief stars the always talented Jason Bateman as Sandy Bigelow Patterson. His talent is matched by the incredible Melissa McCarthy. Sandy is working a dead end job with a large bank. He has a wife (Amanda Peet) and two children at home Franny (Mary-Charles Jones) and Jessie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones). When Sandy is offered a job with a new firm it seems that his life is about to turn around until it all comes crashing down. Dawn (McCarthy) is a veteran identity thief who has recently acquired Sandy's personal information and has taken out several credit cards in his name. As she spends her way to happiness Sandy's credit and good name are marred. Dawn ends up getting arrested for causing a ruckus at a bar and is given a court date. Dawn has no intention of actually attending the court date because the charges are not in her real name. When Sandy is arrested for skipping his court date he learns that his identity has been stolen and that this woman in Florida is ruining his life. The situation is complicated further by the fact that because Dawn is involved with the Cartel, Sandy's reputation is suspect. This causes his new boss (John Cho) to consider firing him. Sandy then concocts a plan to bring Dawn back to Denver, where he lives, so she can tell his boss that she, in fact, is the source of all the drama. While she is confessing, the police are then to bust in and catch her in the act of confessing. Sounds foolproof, right? Of course not. What follows is one mishap after another. It is reminiscent of the classic Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.


Rotten Tomatoes' score for Identity Thief a 24%. That is "rotten" on their scale. I typically feel like their scores are pretty spot on but I have to disagree here. While Identity Thief isn't doing anything new at least they are doing it well. The two leads in the film are fantastic actors and are able to hold a scene with ease. I wouldn't be surprised if Gordon let them improvise most of their dialogue. Their chemistry feels natural and is completely believable. That being said, there are definite flaws within the plot. As much as I love Jonathan Banks, I feel his role as Paolo was unnecessary. He is uncredited (according to IMDb) so perhaps it was a favor to someone involved in making the film but still, his scenes felt out of place. Half way through the film I completely forgot what the goal of the road trip was because there were so many other crazy things going on that the story gets muddled. This caused the runtime to creep up near two hours and you definitely notice it.

No BS

Identity Thief is a fun time. It is filled with almost incessant hilarity. Bateman and McCarthy (as well as Robert Patrick, Jon Favreau, Ben Falcone and Eric Stonestreet) make this movie worth seeing. It is rated R for quite a bit of language so if you don't want to hear the sweet sweet Melissa McCarthy talk like a sailor then...see this movie anyway because it is funny!

My Score: 7/10