Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy in a battle of wits over identity theft Photo: Guy D’Alema
In an episode of US comedy FRIENDS Monica discovers that a woman has stolen her credit card and is using her identity. She realizes that not only is the ‘thief’ having the time of her life at Monica’s expense, but she does it better than Monica! They end up being friends, with Monica appreciating the woman’s ‘positive influence’ on her life.
Universal Pictures’ new film, Identity Thief, is essentially based on a similar comic concept.
The result is a heartwarming, rib-tickling comedy with an important message at its core. The theme is highly relevant these days as the issue of credit cards and identities being stolen is becoming alarmingly prevalent.
The plot of Identity Thief follows the trials and tribulations of Sandy Bigelow Patterson (Jason Bateman) as he travels across the USA to find the stranger (Melissa McCarthy) who has stolen his financial life.
This ordinary man, after all else fails, takes it upon himself to clear his name of credit card fraud and misuse. Meanwhile, identity thief Diana (McCarthy) is living the time of Patterson’s life, at his expense.
The hilarity comes as Patterson tries his best to bribe, coax and quarrel with Diana from Miami to Denver.
Identity Thief’s premise is simple, funny and interesting, and successfully mergers the line between reel and real lives – audiences can relate to his dilemma and believe it could happen to them.
Billed as a road/buddy movie, this film has it all: a comic actress, a funny man in the lead, the script writer of Hangover 2 fame, the producer of TED, and the director of Horrible Bosses.
McCarthy’s character makes use of her weight as a tool for humour: most of the time this is sensitively handled but there are moments when it comes across as a bit churlish.
The movie delivers on its pre-publicity promise to be “fresh and unpredictable” and does have some very funny scenes, especially those that deal with McCarthy’s escape efforts and when Bateman and McCarthy fight it out.
Identity Thief released in Australian cinemas on April 4.
