“Identity Thief” is a comedic rendition of what happens when someone’s identity is stolen. The film follows the story of con-woman Diana, who lives the high life in Miami by stealing identity after identity. However, this time she’s stolen the wrong person’s money—Sandy Bigelow Patterson, a respected financial businessman from Denver. In order to regain his job, his money and essentially his life, he must search down the identity thief and bring her to Colorado. The catch is that he has one week to do it.
This movie is not exactly what viewers will expect based on the previews. While there is definitely plenty of zany comedy throughout, the storyline takes many unexpected twists and turns, some of which seem a bit unnecessary. On a positive note, this creates a film that is less predictable than many others of the same genre, but it also makes the film almost two hours long. While some of these plot twists are fun and imaginative, others are just superfluous and the script could have done without them.
Despite the longevity of the film, there is a lot to love about it. For one thing, it’s impossible not to like the character of Diana (Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”), despite the fact that she is a criminal who ruins people’s lives for a living. Diana is spunky, comedic, quirky and, most of all, entertaining. What’s more, she has a touching backstory that makes her endearing and lovable. The character of Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman, “Arrested Development”) is also one that audiences will love. As he is seen doing everything possible to put his life back together for his family, audiences will sympathize with him and root for him to succeed.
As far as acting goes, Melissa McCarthy really shines in her role as Diana. Though viewers have seen her before in comedies such as “Bridesmaids,” this is the first time she’s had the spotlight all to herself. Within “Identity Thief,” she truly embraces her character and is never afraid to go as far as she needs to make the moment funny. Overall, McCarthy adds a lot to a film that otherwise flounders, and makes the best of a badly written script.
Finally, viewers will enjoy the surprisingly heart-warming nature of the film. Many other films of the genre today focus only on the comedy and offer little in terms of moral or emotional subplot. However, within “Identity Thief,” audiences will find that Diana and Sandy’s journey across the country is emotional as well as physical. As the film progresses, these two characters form a relationship that will have viewers rooting for them both despite their supposed opposition to each other. This emotional aspect adds sentiment to an otherwise incoherent plot line, and makes the characters and the story in general more endearing.
In all, “Identity Thief” gains points for lovable characters and worthy acting, but these elements aren’t enough to save the film from its script. With excessive subplots and unnecessary conflicts, the film is simply too long and wanders too much. If some of these extra elements had been cut down, “Identity Thief” could have been one of 2013’s best comedies. Unfortunately, as it is, “Identity Thief” is one of 2013’s more mundane comedies with some great acting thrown in.
