and Genesis Rodriguez as two criminals after her for reasons that have slipped my mind, or weren’t clearly explained in the first place (Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad‘s Mike Ehrmantraut, shows up uncredited as their boss.) That’s a good-enough starting off point, and Identity Thief spices things up with a talented cast that includes Jon Favreau as Sandy’s ex-boss, John Cho as his current boss, Amanda Peet as his wife, Robert Patrick as a bounty hunter on Diane’s trail, and T.I. You’d think that would be enough for him to turn her in and clear his name, but complex (and credibility-stretching, but let’s go with it) plot mechanics require Sandy to travel to Miami himself and haul Diane back to Denver, saving his job and turning her into Denver P.D. By the time Sandy realizes what’s going on, he’s been arrested and is about to lose his job.īut Diane’s not too careful about leaving traces of her actions, and Sandy knows exactly where she is. The name also serves as the plot’s jumping off point, allowing Miami conwoman Diane (Melissa McCarthy) to steal Sandy’s identity, empty his accounts, and accrue thousands of dollars of debt in his name. Jason Bateman stars as Denver-based businessman Sandy Patterson, and oh boy, I hope you find the ‘unisex’ name Sandy just hilarious that’s where most of the humor in this film begins and ends. It’s Midnight Run meets Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but I’d recommend rewatching either of those instead. But Identity Thief just doesn’t have the laughs, and I’m not sure there’s a single scripted joke in the entire film Craig Mazin’s screenplay may as well have been conceived as a drama which has just been played loud and broad. Great premise, good performers, solid direction…where did Identity Thief go wrong? This is one of those films that seems to be simmering on low heat for its entire running time the characters are (reasonably) likable, the craft is there, the film doesn’t do anything wrong, per se, but ultimately it just doesn’t work on the comedic level that it ought to.ĭirector Seth Rogan struck gold with the Donkey Kong documentary The King of Kong, struck out with Four Christmases, and found his groove again with the genuinely funny Horrible Bosses.
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