Identity Thief

Even if the jokes are kind of run of the mill, the two leads are able to do their characters pretty well as they are probably types of people they have played before. Jason Bateman shows that if given the right material he can play a dramatic role well, and even Melissa McCarthy too can do some convincing dramatic scenes if required (even if in this film her dramatic scenes are ploys to fake out Bateman's character into feeling sorry for her--or are they??)

Bateman does a good job as the straight man here although his character becomes pretty desperate and mean. He plays a financial advisor Sandy working behind the scenes at his company, and along with some other disgruntled employees who feel they are undervalued, quit to form their own company. Just when this happens, Sandy's identity is stolen and his new boss feels he is a liability as their clients are questioning his "criminal" activity. After the local police tell him that since this crime took place elsewhere, their hands are tied in being unable to help him.  So Sandy convinces his new boss to give him a few days to clear this up.  Sandy is extra desperate as he is trying to provide for his growing family and feels, as a "little guy," being taking advantage of by people in power, personified here by his insensitive old boss (Jon Favreau) as well as the unseen identity stealer.

As the identity thief McCarthy plays up stereotypes and then some.  She dupes Sandy into giving her some personal information and proceeds to max out his credit cards and destroy his credit rating.  The film portrays her character as thinking of her victims in an "out of sight, out of mind" way, until the real Sandy tracks her down.  Although for most of the story she is still devious and uncaring, there are small moments when she actually thinks about the people she is scamming--some who fall for her sob story, others who unwittingly, like Sandy, think they are being helped.

As an actress, McCarthy could have asked not to have so many unflattering jokes toward her physical appearance, i.e., fat jokes, snooty beauticians sneering at her homely/downhome appearance, unsexy comments, etc. and play up more her expertise at taking fake personas (although she does do this in the movie as well, just not often enough). The film often shows her being jolly and loud and I think the trailer showed many of the better jokes of the movie. When Sandy catches her, it becomes a road trip as they are forced to drive back to his hometown together so that he can trick her into pleading his case with his boss while the police can listen in as she essentially confesses.

As expected both end up feeling sorry for the other and they begin to sympathize with each other a little despite their respective faults. The script certainly could have been better and although it gave us some emotional insight to both characters, it could have added more and been a better film appreciated more by both the high and low brow.  Victims too are portrayed very broadly and for the obvious laugh. Even though this is a comedy, it is still a glaring reminder of how trusting humans are about their personal lives.