Review by Joseph Anthony
When a deceptively devious Diana (Melissa McCarthy) steals
honest family man Sandy’s (Jason Batman) identity over the phone, Sandy sets
out for Florida to get revenge on the thief. The innocent and the guilty clash when
Sandy makes a citizen’s arrests and tries to wrangle his prisoner back to
Colorado. Comedy ensues, but so do car chases, violence, vulgarity and a snake
attack. With each new shift and each new character comes a new flimsy set-up. Unfortunately the result distracts from two good performances and makes the film
feel, well, like a really long road trip with someone you don’t like.
Bateman, who achieved cult fame in television series Arrested Development (which returns for
another series to be released on Netflix in May) has yet to achieve quite the same
success on the silver screen. In spite of his funny, charming performance in IDENTITY THIEF, this isn’t a homerun.
Dark and emotional struggles within the characters in this movie should have added welcome depth and played to Bateman’s indie-type strengths – as in JUNO and UP IN THE AIR – but it turns out forced and unreasonable.
