Identity Thief
Tags: bleak

Plot synopsis:
Sandy Patterson gets a call from a woman saying someone attempted to steal his identity. She tells him about an identity protection service and asks him for his name, date of birth, and social security number. Little does he know that his identity is actually about to be stolen.We meet Diana, printing out credit cards with Sandy's money and going out to a bar, buying drinks for everybody.At work, Sandy gets called in by his boss, Harold Cornish, and he asks him to make cuts on bonuses, despite the fact that he is getting a bonus himself. As Sandy goes to do so, he gets a call saying he has an appointment at a salon on Friday in Florida. He's confused, but he gets called over by his co-worker Daniel Casey. In the parking lot, he and a few other co-workers meet to discuss starting their own firm since their boss is not the greatest person. Daniel asks Sandy if he'll join them, to which he agrees.A little while later, Sandy tries to get gas, but his card is declined for insufficient funds and the gas station clerk cuts it up. He calls the credit card company and he's told he's spent a lot of money in Florida. As this happens, he gets arrested. At the same time in Florida, Diana continues splurging with Sandy's money. At a police station, Detective Reilly tells Sandy that he missed a court date in Florida for assault. They pull up a mug shot of Diana and determine she's stolen Sandy's identity. It gets worse at work when Daniel (now his boss) says cops are asking about him possessing drugs. Reilly and other cops show up and say a card with Sandy's name was used to buy drugs from a man named Paolo. When told they can't do anything unless the identity thief was standing there in Denver with them, Sandy (knowing where he can find her) offers to go on his own and bring her there and get her to talk to Daniel to clear his name and that he won't press charges.Trish, Sandy's wife, finds out about the situation and knows Sandy's taking a risk, but he assures her he'll get the job done. He ends up in Florida and finds Diana at the salon where she made an appointment and follows her. After confronting her on the road she manages to steal his rental car. He obtains her address through registration in her abandoned car and goes to Diana's house, which is full of merchandise and other stolen credit cards. The pair scuffle and Sandy attempts to handcuff her. Before he can cuff her, two people named Marisol and Julian are pounding at the door, telling Diana she gave Paolo some bad credit cards. They shoot the door open, but Sandy and Diana escape.Sandy tells Diana about his plan to redeem his name and Diana agrees to go along with him. Meanwhile a bounty hunter known as Skiptracer is dispatched to track down Diana to obtain a substantial bounty. On the road, Diana reminds Sandy that the people at the airport would have an issue with both of their ID's reading "Sandy Bigelow Patterson", so flying back is out of the question and they must return to Denver by driving.After traveling through several states, Skiptracer catches up to the pair and captures Diana. A chase ensues and she knocks him unconscious, and Sandy rams his van off the road. When he gets out to check on Diana, a truck plows into his rental car, totaling it. They take Skiptracer's van with him tied to the back, but it overheats on the road. They end up walking and almost stop to rest in the woods, but they encounter several snakes, one of which ends up in Sandy's pants, which he takes off and throws away. Another snake bites Sandy's neck and Diana accidentally knocks him unconscious while trying to beat the snake.Sandy wakes up at a bus station in new pants with no money and no phone. He asks how they got there, and Diana says she carried him half a mile until she flagged down a truck to take them there. Unfortunately, the next bus to Denver doesn't come for another three days. Sandy finds some money in his socks and is told by a guy who works at the station about a place to find a cheap car. When they stop for gas and realize they need more money, Diana asks if there's anyone Sandy would like to get back at, and he thinks of one person Harold Cornish. Knowing that there is someone who handles his finances, the two of them sneak into an accounting firm and coax an accounts processor into giving them access into restricted files, and they steal Cornish's identity to create new credit cards. The accounts processor realizes this too late as they are fleeing.Meanwhile, Skiptracer goes to the bus station and threatens the employee unless he tells him where to find Diana. He then gets shot by Marisol who, along with Julian has been tracking the pair throughout their journey. Having overheard Skiptracer's conversation they continue to pursue Sandy and Diane.Sandy and Diana finally arrive in St. Louis and stop at a hotel and Diana spends more money than necessary. She gets a makeover and has dinner with Sandy. Things get heated when he asks Diana what her real name is, but she admits she doesn't know it. She cries as she tells him that nobody cared about her when she grew up, so she doesn't even have her own identity. She then says she lied about that just as the accounts processor comes in with cops, who arrest both Sandy and Diana. As they're being escorted, they run into Marisol and Julian. Marisol calls Paolo, who tells her to follow Diana and kill her. That's when Skiptracer arrives and shoots the two thugs in the legs and throws them in the trunk of their car.Diana manages to un-cuff herself as she's in the back of the police car, and then breaks the back windshield and escapes, just as Skiptracer hits the police car. Sandy gets out as well and Skiptracer nearly hits him, but Diana pushes him out of the way and gets rammed by the car, which causes Skiptracer to swerve off. As Sandy and Diana run away, Skiptracer is arrested along with Marisol and Julian. Diana is not injured from being hit by a car, and she and Sandy eventually make it home, where they are greeted by Trish and their daughters. Diana has dinner with Sandy's family and reconciles with them.The next morning, Sandy is prepared to tell Diana that he'll go in alone to the station, but she's gone. She left a note saying sorry. He goes into work, preparing to quit, but Daniel shows him that Diana is meeting with the police in an office. Detective Reilly tells Sandy he is no longer part of the investigation and Diana is taken away in cuffs. Before she leaves, Sandy has a moment with her and asks her why, and she says she knew he wouldn't turn her in, but it was the right thing to do for her to do it herself.One year later, Sandy is celebrating another birthday, this time with his third kid joining them. The family goes to visit Diana in prison, where she's doing well taking some exams. As Trish takes the girls outside, Sandy presents Diana with a birth certificate of hers that he was able to find and it's revealed that Diana's true name is Dawn Budgie, which she thinks is a terrible name. They laugh. Diana then hugs Sandy and starts walking. A guard taunts her, Diana reacts and hits her in the throat. Another guard on the pulls out a taser from her pocket, and tases Diana in the back. Diana falls, but recovers seconds later. She then gets up and walks back to go to her cell.

Review: I felt I could review it due without ever bothering to digest the whole piece.Despite the high profile comedic talent on hand, (Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy), the movie is so predictable that you can guess almost every nuance in it.
The idiotic pranks the script calls for in the first half hour are so predictable, you laugh at the characters as they attempt to convince you they're going through the actual experience of identity theft.
By the time the movie reveals that McCarthy is a self-loathing, conceited, self deprecating individual who wants out of her predictable Drug/gang related troubles, you have no empathy for her character what-so-ever.
There are bad movies, and then there's "Identity Thief.""Identity Thief" starts out as a comedy about a nice, clean-cut guy named Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman), who travels from the Colorado home he shares with his wife, Trish (Amanda Peet), and two daughters, to Florida.
In fact, Helen Keller could've made a better slap- stick comedy than Seth Gordon.It pains me to see Jason Bateman's name attached to such a horrible movie and I truly hope his next project fairs MUCH better.
The worst thing is, "Identity Thief" has already made more money than much better films out there.One hour and forty seven minutes of my life I will never get back.I do not recommend this movie to anyone..
Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) discovers that his identity has been stolen by Diana (Melissa McCarthy) and goes to where she is in Florida to bring her to justice and get his life back.
Critics i.e. Rex Reed, must really have it out for Melissa McCarthy because the hateful reviews on this movie and her personally are not warranted.If you like slapstick, raunchy, adult comedies then you will like Identity Thief.
McCarthy shines in this movie, her physical comedy talent is right on the mark and she really gives her character a heart and soul.
Then check out the rest of this underused staff: Eric Stonestreet, Robert Patrick, Amanda Peet, Genesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, and John Cho. Plenty of good actors and each with the ability to breathe life into the project, but unfortunately just didn't have enough screen time to make an impact.Bottom Line: Resembling a weak, watered-down useless version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles instead of the likes of Horrible Bosses and the best of Danny DeVito, Identity Thief struggles to find the right focus and right footing and winds up becoming a movie that isn't funny enough, isn't dramatic enough, isn't wild enough, isn't likable enough, and generally isn't good enough to warrant a second viewing---or a first one.
don't listen to the bad reviews--first laugh two min's in/if you have a sense of humor , its a funny movie.
---check out "DRAMA" if you need meaning -- stop knocking pro made comedy , not everyone has the same sense of humor but most humor is universal so if you wanna laugh , you will,the opening set-up for this movie jumps right in , explains the concept well and sets the tone for funny, i was laughing right away, Top name actors , highly polished feel, easy storyline, and "it's true life experiences that we can all--well , most of us --laugh about(or cry).Jon Favreau is in this- he does'nt do bad movies,if he is listed as producer(he is brilliant)or actor , it's worth watching.lastly-nothing worse than a long review-hint to reviewers-- so i am oudahere --NOW HIT PLAY ON THE MOVIE.
Melissa McCarthy was a riot in the movie Bridesmaids and her weekly TV show Mike an Molly so naturally you would assume a movie where she plays the leading role would be hilarious but the film definitely left something to be desired.
I think that Jason is a good actor and I think he is funny, and I like his other movies.
The scene that followed handled an animal joke better than most similar comedies do.Say what you will about Melissa McCarthy, but she's a good actress based solely on the fact that every character she has played is completely different than any she has played before.
Enjoyable romp, bit of fun, never a dull moment, I don't know why so many people have written so many bad reviews but judging from what they write I don't know what they were doing watching it in the first place they obviously can't switch off, sit back and just have a bit of a laugh.
In one of those movies where the funniest moments are in the trailers, "Identity Thief" is director Seth Gordon's hit and miss follow up to the hilarious "Horrible Bosses", and is also nothing more than a less consistently funny version of "Due Date".The Plot: This movie lays out the improbable (even for a comedy) set-up of a man in Colorado named Sandy Patterson (funny name to give a man, huh?
Well, I guess it's funny the first few times this joke is told) played by the very much underrated Jason Bateman, who gets his identity stolen by a woman in Florida, played by Melissa McCarthy.
Now, when Bateman and McCarthy find themselves in a road trip situation (about 30 minutes in) it is only then that Gordon seems to let these two very funny comedic actors run wild and "Identity Thief" begins to see comedic moments that actually work.
In saying that, as I stated before, aside from all of the funny scenes that the trailers had to offer, and one laugh out loud sex scene (that of which occurs in the unevenly entertaining middle portion of this film) "Identity Thief" is bookended and sporadically injected with more unfunny and contrived moments, which consistently work to drag this movie back down into the still waters of mediocrity time and time again.
OK, so to avoid ruining this very predictable ending, I'll simply put it like this: There was not one moment throughout this film where I did NOT want to see McCarthy's character end up in prison.
Call me heartless if you must.The Acting: OK, while Gordon does attempt to mask how weak this plot is by allowing Bateman to make some funny faces and come through with some snide monotone zingers, as well as allow McCarthy to pursue an Olympic trial's worth of physical comedy, in all actuality the rest of this supporting cast is absolutely worthless.
In fact, let's (for a second) run down the list of notable actors who are wasted in this movie: Jon Favreau is only in one scene; wasted, Robert Patrick plays a forgettable bounty hunter; wasted, John Cho is given half of a funny line to say in a 90 minute movie; wasted, T.I. gives one of the more worthless cameos in recent years; wasted, Amanda Peet is such a non-character here that I almost forgot that she was in this movie; hence, she's wasted, Genesis Rodriquez has nice eyebrows, but all in all she's wasted, and Eric Stonestreetwell, he's actually pretty funny in his one scene with McCarthy.Final Thought: While "Identity Thief" does contain pockets of funny, not even Bateman or McCarthy flailing about can help this film fully recover from its own flimsy premise, implausible actions and a failed ploy by the director to display any sort of sympathy for Melissa McCarthy's character.
'IDENTITY THIEF': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy team up for this road trip/buddy comedy film directed by Seth Gordon (who also directed the hit comedy films 'HORRIBLE BOSSES' and 'FOUR CHRISTMASES').
I went to see this movie with pretty low expectations (having heard a lot of negative reviews on the film, despite it's immense popularity) and was pleasantly surprised.Bateman plays Sandy Peterson, a businessman in Denver who's struggling to get by and make enough money to support his wife (Amanda Peet) and two daughters (Mary-Charles and Maggie Elizabeth Jones).
They of course bond in the process.The movie is a lot funnier than the trailers make it out to be (thanks in large part to Bateman and McCarthy's performances) and the emotional drama of the film is surprisingly effective as well.
Melissa McCarthy has become pretty popular since Bridemaids and if she wasn't in this film, it would have been stupid, but she has a way of making anything funny.
I'm not the biggest fan of comedy movies as a genre, as I feel many seem to try too hard for laughs, but this film was both flawless and effortless in delivery, incredibly funny, and feel-good to top it off.
Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy have incredibly good chemistry, and you inevitably find yourself rooting for both parties despite the storyline making it difficult to know how it will end with both satisfied.
If you liked Due Date, Bridesmaids, I Love You, Man, The Change-up, The Hangover, etc, etc, you'll love this.I feel like when a movie comes out, a bunch of negative people get on here and think they have to trash it and talk about how "un-funny" it was just to make themselves feel cool.
But once Jason Batemans character finds Melissa McCarthy's character, it gets really going and you pretty much laugh until the end.
Nobody in my theater was laughing out loud - it was nearly silent except for some embarrassed titters and "OMGs" so the person(s) here who are rating this as a hilarious comedy with the whole theater laughing must have either seen it with a lot of people who enjoy low-class humor, or be relatives of Melissa McCarthy.
Identity Thief is a comedy filled with exciting scenes and memorable quotes involving two people, Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) and Diana (Melissa McCarthy) that would have never met, until Diana steals Sandy's identity.
Diana (Melissa McCarthy - who is much the best thing about the film, although that isn't saying much) steals the credit card details of Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman).
Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy do their best in the somewhat entertaining Identity Thief.
Still, Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy do earn their laughs and some tears at the way their characters change and I also liked Eric Stonestreet's supporting role here.
The presence of Jason Bateman counters the gross overly exaggerated performance of the ever larger Melissa McCarthy and the story requires little thought - just a lot of tolerance.The plot is well summarized elsewhere: 'Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) gets a nice call confirming his name and other identifying information.
I watched the whole movie with the hopes of laughing hard in a scene, but I ended up wasting 2 hours of my life that I would love to have back.
This is probably the worst film I have seen Jason Bateman in, it just seems like he has the same humor in all his movies now.
I started watching it because I liked Bateman in "Horrible Bosses", but I soon regretted my choice.Bateman is Sandy Patterson an alleged financial wizard, who is as stupid as to give all his personal details over the phone to a perfect stranger, who called him about "problems" with his credit card.Mc Carthy plays her usual character: a loudmouth, aggressive, crude woman with a psychotic streak.
But for the comedy, there were plenty of laughs to be had thanks to the chemistry between Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy.Seth Gordon's follow-up to 2011's Horrible Bosses is about a man named Sandy who unknowingly gives his information away to a woman saying someone tried to steal his identity.
Bateman has always been a good comedy actor and he worked very well with McCarthy who was obnoxiously funny.
As for the supporting cast, we get a slew of cameos by people from Robert Patrick to John Cho and for the most part, they do a good job.Overall, Identity Thief is a decent comedy, but it could have been better.
McCarthy executes her character well and there's nothing to hate about it unless you watch the movie through the end.Plot is progressive and the story builds up well, including some original gags.
- Do they?) and, b) when he catches up with the thief, is actually quite nice to her on occasions?The thief (Melissa McCarthy) is a gross, downright obnoxious, fat, impersonator of Miss Piggy and has absolutely NOTHING going for her and yet, even when she has placed the nice guy (Jason Bateman's) whole life in jeopardy, he treats her decently.
The thief also has her own sad past, which is only revealed after an adventure with the real Sandy.Overall the writers did a thorough job of telling a story of a familiar topic and growing problem, but the language and sexuality makes the movie too uncomfortable to watch..
this movie is terrible melissa mccarthy is terrible and makes you want to punch her in the face the entire movie, even jason bateman who is generally funny cannot save this movie.
take my advice and don't waste 2 hours of your life on this stupid movie that makes you hate the character that is supposed to be funny and feel bad for the protagonist because he is too incompetent and ridiculous to be able to deal with this trainwreck of a woman who is supposed to be the comic relief.
(Though I'll admit, her one emotional scene towards the end was well done.) Jason Bateman is a good straight-man, but he needs another big time star to take the lead for him to be effective.
This by far is the worst comedy movie I have ever seen, it is just makes me cringe, if people think Tom Green is a bad actor just wait till they see Melissa McCarthy she is by far the most annoying, untalented comedy actress that I have ever witnessed in movies using things taken off other shows and movies like when she sings to whatever song on the radio and when milkshake came on, it was so predictable just because the woman is fat.Not a fan of Jason Bateman either, it seems that in a few movies he features in, he always plays the warm father like character with an overly happy family like in the change up.Identity thief is so similar to the change up, it's like they're almost identical to each other only difference is there is no annoying fat actress.This movie doesn't even deserve a 1, it deserves no rating what so ever..
We had a similar themed film a few years earlier in Due Date with Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis.Here Melissa McCarthy steals the identity of Jason Bateman and goes on a credit card spree but it becomes clear early on is that all she wants is to be loved and wanted by others.Bateman is the one in for a shock when his credit card is declined and then wanted by cops and goes out to seek McCarthy and clear his name.McCarthy like Galifianakis is going to be typecast as the loud, fat, obnoxious person who does vulgar things on screen.Bateman is OK as the boring, dull, decent family guy with a horrible boss.
The rest of the movie is seen it all before as the mismatched duo hate each other, later bond and then have some escapades from a bounty hunter and some underworld crime duo who are also after McCarthy.If you want a funny road film, check out Planes, Trains and Automobiles..
This is perhaps the flaw in the film, the situation we are meant to laugh at is one in which a really nice person has their identity stolen by a really nasty piece of work.Jason Bateman plays Sandy, a really nice guy.
And there was great chemistry between Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, two very funny people..
Moderately amusing "comedy" following a Denver businessman (Jason Bateman) who chases Melissa McCarthy -an Orlando thief who stole his identity and ruined his credit rating with a huge spending spree.
I also think Steve Carell could have been a better 'Male Sandy Patterson' than Jason Bateman, but I like Steve Carell's movies.
I caught this on TV a few nights ago and the movie stars Zootopia's Jason Bateman as a man who's identity is stolen by a con artist played by Melissa McCartney from Bridesmaids.
Now with just one week to track her down before his whole world is destroyed, Sandy must head down south to confront her and bring her back to Denver so he can clear his name and restore his life.Based on who is in this film (Bateman and McCarthy), I thought this movie was going to be a lot funnier than it actually was.
It might have also been the delivery by the actors and actresses, but since I've seen Bateman and McCarthy in other films, I don't think they are to blame much.
Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy are a really good team together.
Overall Melissa's character was very funny and what made the movie what it is, a true comedy.The only issue I had was with all the profanity, It could have been a bit more PG-13.
Acting is good and they both (Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy) fit their characters good.This movie is not supposed to be a realistic depiction of a identity theft scenario and it most certainly isn't.
He, in turn, seeks her out on the other side of the country and tries to bring her to justice in order to clear his name (and debts!).It's a decent enough premise, but with one problem: Melissa McCarthy is one of the most despicable characters in movie history and the whole point of the film is to try and make us like her (and even root for her).
There is a little bit of heart in this film, and you actually feel for McCarthy's character.
Melissa McCarthy plays the thief who steals his identity and create havoc in his life.
This made me laugh out loud, Jason Bateman was a good foil to the antics of Melissa McCarthy, who I thought was adorable.