Identity Thief (2013)

I saw through almost an hour of this movie before I couldn't justify wasting my time anymore. I don't think I've laughed once.

From the very beginning, the character Julia is constantly and unceasingly aggravating without redeeming or even laughable qualities. On the other hand, the character Sandy, though understandably a mild-mannered businessman unused to situations like the one he finds himself in, reacts to these situations in a way that makes me believe his core function is to drag the story on for as long as humanly possible. His interactions are frustratingly illogical, do not contribute to building either his or Julia's characters, and above all, ARE NOT FUNNY.

If you're looking for a fun movie, you'd be better off watching Le Mis. I haven't watched a movie this teeth-grindingly bad since No Strings Attached.

Fmovies: Enjoyable romp, bit of fun, never a dull moment, I don't know why so many people have written so many bad reviews but judging from what they write I don't know what they were doing watching it in the first place they obviously can't switch off, sit back and just have a bit of a laugh. That's all there is to this film and there's nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Watch the DVD and avoid the dreadful ant n dec / x factor on a Saturday night!

IMDb insists that my review isn't long enough and I have to add some more lines so here's some padding. The acting is good, the plot is ridiculous and unfeasible but you have to put that aside, after all it's a movie not a documentary or an educational/training video. After reading the negative reviews on here I almost didn't bother watching this but I had already made the purchase and I am glad i did so before looking on here, because it would have put me off bothering!

It's not brilliant, but it isn't bad.

It is deliciously ironic that a movie called Identity Thief has a very tough time building an identity for itself to display to the audience. This movie is a total jumble and lacks enough structure to even attempt to become a decent movie. What saves this movie from being a total disaster are the lead actors which had been on a roll up to this point. For those expecting a deliciously dark follow-up to Horrible Bosses from that same director instead will walk away quite disenchanted and disappointed.

In a nutshell, stressed father and husband Sandy Patterson has his identity stolen resulting in him building up debt that's being accumulated by another person. Desperately in order to save his job and get his life back, he travels down to Florida to find the thief and convince her to return back to Colorado to get things straightened out. This plot is rather ridiculous, which is why it required a screwball or dark comedic taint to remove the absurdity of it all. Unfortunately, despite the trailers and television spots this barely is a dark comedy, and barely works as a comedy to be exact.

Identity Thief is sometimes funny, but never funny enough. It is sometimes dark and twisted, but never truly dark and twisted enough. It's even sometimes emotional and sentimental (very inconsistently I might add), but even that ship sails too soon far too often. Lastly it is sometimes interesting and suspenseful, but, well, you get the point. The intriguing and potentially hilarious premise of a disgruntled victim meeting his money-sucking predator was started by a Floridian teacher, but gets ruined by a bloated and underdeveloped script by Craig Mazin----whom doesn't really have a good repertoire. The mismatched directing of Seth Gordon didn't help either.

It is ultimately the cast that keeps it afloat, even when the script bogs them down. Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy work well together and did a great job despite the circumstances, particularly McCarthy. Then check out the rest of this underused staff: Eric Stonestreet, Robert Patrick, Amanda Peet, Genesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, and John Cho. Plenty of good actors and each with the ability to breathe life into the project, but unfortunately just didn't have enough screen time to make an impact.

Bottom Line: Resembling a weak, watered-down useless version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles instead of the likes of Horrible Bosses and the best of Danny DeVito, Identity Thief struggles to find the right focus and right footing and winds up becoming a movie that isn't funny enough, isn't dramatic enough, isn't wild enough, isn't likable enough, and generally isn't good enough to warrant a second viewing---or a first one. It's one thing to disappoint, but it's a totally different matter when you disappoint underneath so much potential and so much talent at the helm.

Identity Thief fmovies. Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) discovers that his identity has been stolen by Diana (Melissa McCarthy) and goes to where she is in Florida to bring her to justice and get his life back.

The promos did me in again. They were funny and the only things that were funny in this "comedy." When I saw the name Melissa McCarthy I was dreading her spewing off foul and raunchy language for 3-minutes without breathing. She has that shtick judging from earlier movies I have seen of her, but, surprisingly that never happened, thank goodness.

Diana is basically the main character and Sandy just goes along for the ride trying to get his life back. Diana does the silly, stupid, but mandatory things a Hollywood comedy must have and we in the audience cringe a lot. So much for comedy. This could have been good and funny, but those silly, stupid and mandatory things trump everything else that could have been used no matter how good they may have been. So much for any creativity. We get the same things over and over again and timing be damned. After a while it all becomes tedious, bland, and why are we watching?

To be fair Jason Bateman does have good timing and some of his actions inject some humor into this. I wish someone would come up with a script that hi-lites Bateman's talent and not just treat him like a 5th wheel. (Hey, maybe it's him picking these weak, not funny scripts.) HmmmÂ…Â…Â… (3/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: Yes, simulated in a motel room. Nudity: No. Adult sexual Language: Yes. Language, other: Yes, not much surprisingly

I went into the Houston premier of Identity Thief with modest expectations. The movie is more-so about the road trip of the straight and Honest Sandy alongside the Cunning, throat punching Diana. The premise is a recycled one, but is done in a fresh way. While watching, you don't get the "I've seen this before" feeling while watching it. There are plenty of laughs delivered by the hilarious two leading characters. The supporting characters actually are the only disappointments. They seem quite dry with their dialog being rushed and less integral to the humor of the movie. They are more side notes to keep the story rolling, but they do not slow the movie down.

The movie is a good time out and not a waste of money if you paid for tickets. It doesn't break the mold, but it does stand up as a movie you will enjoy and actually leave out of the theater talking about!

Critics i.e. Rex Reed, must really have it out for Melissa McCarthy because the hateful reviews on this movie and her personally are not warranted.

If you like slapstick, raunchy, adult comedies then you will like Identity Thief. McCarthy shines in this movie, her physical comedy talent is right on the mark and she really gives her character a heart and soul. Bateman does well as the straight man caught up in McCarthy's crazy world of con games and identity theft.

This is pure escapism entertainment, you have to suspend your disbelief and just go for the ride. This is not Argo or Lincoln and it's not supposed to be. We saw this 3/9/13 at the Muvico and the theater was packed! Everyone seemed to enjoy the movie and the four of us thought it was hysterical. There are some really good one liners and physical comedy situations here. The box office success of this movie goes to show you that critics don't know bs about what people find funny. I can't wait to see Melissa in her new movie with Sandra Bullock.