Identity Thief (2013)

Italian title:
“I am You”

Directed by: Seth Gordon

Written by: Craig Mazin

Starring: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau

Running Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes

Rating: R

Pre-Conceived Notions: I’ve got to admit something. All last year, I didn’t own a television, and for the most part, the only entertainment I had was podcasts. Yeah. I’m kind of a podcast junkie now. So I managed to pretty much avoid seeing a movie trailer for an entire year. I should deserve an award for something like that. So, I’m visiting my family, and the idea of watching a movie comes up. I say sure. They put this flick on that I had never heard of before. So, before I know it, I’m watching this movie without any pre-conceived notions whatsoever. True story. Hey. If I’m lyin’, I’m dyin’. 

Why I Haven't Seen This Film: Not ever hearing of its existence is a pretty good reason not to have seen a film. 

1 hour, 52 minutes later…: I’m going to state this for the record right now: Melissa McCarthy can do no wrong. She’s got comedy oozing out every pore of her body. She’s also a phenomenal actress, a trait which perfectly balances out the outrageous slapstick of her character. I took a peek at what the critics had to say over on Rotten Tomatoes, and saw that it had a 20% rating. 20%? Are you kidding me? Melissa McCarthy unfunny? That goes against the laws of physics, my friend. I’d love to know what movie they were watching, because it wasn’t this one. And Jason Bateman’s bread and butter is pretty much being a straight man. In the comedy sense of the word. Although, he married Paul Anka’s daughter, so he might have his bread buttered under both ‘straight man’ meanings. 

Final Thoughts: 6 out of 6 slices of pizza! I think it is deserved. Yeah, it was a formulaic road trip movie, but the quality of the writing and the acting combined cancelled all of that out.