(Movie Review) Identity Thief (2013)

Identity Thief steals a few laughs, but not as many as I hoped it would.

Hollywood has a wonderful way of dropping the ball with almost every rising star that they help create. Not only do they overuse actors to the point of it turning the audience away (Gerard Butler and Sam Worthington are good examples) but they take someone that has experienced a recent upshot in popularity and pair them with a seasoned actor for feature films. I know that this is to help lend some “star power” to the newer actor, and expose the seasoned actor to the new fan base of the newer actor, but it usually turns out to be a bad combination. Look at Hollywood Homicide (Josh Hartnett and Harrison Ford in 2003) or Due Date (Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. in 2010) or anyone else on the laundry list of movies that I could provide that have done this and had bad to mediocre results. That being said, Identity Thief is well above being labeled a mediocre comedy, but it is nowhere near as funny as the previews would lead you to believe.

Storyline: Sandy Patterson (Bateman) is a great guy. Pays his bills, works hard, and loves his family. All of that hard work seems to be paying off when he is given a new position with a much higher pay and with a boss that he can actually get along with. But just when things are looking up for him he finds that his identity has been stolen and the thief (McCarthy) has ruined his credit and left him destitute. Sandy, in order to keep his new job with a financial firm, must find a way to bring this thief in and have her admit to what she has done before he loses everything that he has worked so hard for.

As of right now, this movie barely has a 5 out of 10 rating on IMDB.com and is given a 24% fresh rating on Rottentomatoes.com (by critics) it doesn't look as if I am alone in my criticisms of the film. While there were a few really great laugh-out-loud moments, the movie just doesn't live up to the expectations that I had for it. McCarthy is one of the most talked about comedy actors in the business right now. After her hilarious performances on Bridesmaids, This is 40 and her new series Mike and Molly, it’s no wonder why Hollywood is throwing projects at her. But no matter how hard she tried, this role just didn't work for me. Although I am looking forward to seeing her later this year with Sandra Bullock in The Heat.  And Bateman works better (in my opinion) in dry comedy…not slapstick and gimmicky comedy. 

Worth the admission? Maybe if you catch it on a matinee. Not at full price. It will be worth renting once it is out of the theaters, but that is about all I would recommend. I will give credit to McCarthy for a rarely seen vulnerable side that she shows in a few scenes in this movie. Glad to see she isn't just a one note actor.