Identity Thief (2013)
Average Rating: 4.1/10
Reviews Counted: 152
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 121
Identity Thief's few laughs are attributable to Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, who labor mightily to create a framework for the movie's undisciplined plotline.
Average Rating: 4/10
Critic Reviews: 38
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 29
Identity Thief's few laughs are attributable to Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, who labor mightily to create a framework for the movie's undisciplined plotline.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 88,359
My Rating
Movie Info
Unlimited funds have allowed Diana (McCarthy) to live it up on the outskirts of Miami, where the queen of retail buys whatever strikes her fancy. There's only one glitch: The ID she's using to finance these sprees reads "Sandy Bigelow Patterson"....and it belongs to an accounts rep (Bateman) who lives halfway across the U.S. With only one week to hunt down the con artist before his world implodes, the real Sandy Bigelow Patterson heads south to confront the woman with an all-access pass to his
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Cast
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Jason Bateman
Sandy Patterson -
Melissa McCarthy
Diana -
Jon Favreau
Harold Cornish -
Amanda Peet
Trish Patterson -
Tip 'T.I.' Harris
Julian -
Genesis Rodriguez
Marisol -
Morris Chestnut
Detective Reilly -
John Cho
Daniel Casey -
Robert Patrick
Skiptracer -
Eric Stonestreet
Big Chuck -
Jonathan Banks
Paul -
Ryan Gaul
Bartender -
Steve Mallory
Party Guy -
Tyler Nilson
Party Guy -
Steven E. Little
Party Guy's Buddy -
Andrew Friedman
Tequila Guy -
Antwan Mills
Winter Park Cop -
Ian Quinn
Winter Park Cop -
Diva Tyler
Booking Officer -
Mary-Charles Jones
Franny Patterson -
Maggie Elizabeth Jones
Jessie Patterson -
Sope Aluko
Secretary at Prominence... -
Brett Baker
Alec -
Nevaina
Cosmetics Girl -
Diolita Arnold
Cosmetics Girl -
Jamie Moore
Electonics Store Employ... -
Brenda Cannon
Jewelry Store Spokesper... -
Badar Shahid
Cellphone Kiosk Salesma... -
Carlos Navarro
Luis the Gas Station At... -
Nelson Bonilla
Cop Giving Traffic Tick... -
Angelyn Pass
New Catalyst Receptioni... -
Lori Beth Edgeman
Arlene in the Lady's Ch... -
Ben Falcone
Tony/Motel Desk Clerk -
Kate Graham
Counter Girl -
Deacon Dawson
Witness on the Highway -
Geordie White
Traffic Cop -
Steve Witting
Carl/Bus Station Attend... -
Tim Andrews
Used Car Salesman -
Gary Weeks
Security Guard - Promin... -
Matthew Burke
Ken Talbott -
Craig Meyer
St. Louis Terrace Clark -
Lee Spencer
St. Louis Terrace Manag... -
Topher Payne
Hairdresser -
Carmela Zumbado
Salon Salesperson -
Zeeky Minnis
Salon Salesperson -
John Eddins
St. Louis Cop -
Dale Bernhard
St. Louis Cop -
Nicole Dukes
Prison Guard -
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Identity Thief Trailer & Photos
All Critics (152) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (121)
It saddles Bateman with a thankless uptight straight-man role while heaping serial slapstick ignominies on his co-star, who gamely bounds through everything the script throws at her.
Top CriticEven with all its shortcomings and sentimental fudges, there is something about McCarthy's refusal to lie down and play the victim that gives it a comic edge. A blunt edge, to be sure, but an edge all the same.
[A] sloppily made exercise of rip-offs and redemption.
Considering that it starts out with two distinctive and likable stars and a reasonably promising premise, "Identity Thief" reaches impressive heights of laziness and idiocy.
Identity Thief apparently forgets it was supposed to be a comedy.
"Identity Thief" is a cheap copy of much better comedies.
Sure, the two leads deserve better material, but there are enough laughs here to make up for a lot of creative mistakes-casting isn't one of them.
...a yawner plot set-up that leads to lots of wannabe off-colour gags, a small army of pursuing villains and an expected final act in which Jason's icky-sticky niceness might perhaps stop McCarthy from being a shrieking psychopath.
Formulaic multiplex mulch, way over-long, often feels strained...That said, Identity Thief is the latest example of the disconnect that often exists between critical opinion and popular appeal. Slammed by critics the low-budget film has been a huge hit.
Identity Thief molests the idea of the 'odd couple' beyond recognition.
Don't let Identity Thief steal two hours of your life.
The film's darker elements are brushed aside and we're left with a zany, feel-good finale.
an unwieldy and unfunny farce that's robbed of comic potential through its reliance on shrill mayhem over wit.
When the plot feels like you've seen it three times before, and done better on each of those occasions, the movie better have something else going for it. Identity Thief doesn't.
The first thing I did after returning from the screening was take two painkillers for my throbbing headache. A man can only withstand so much shrill shrieking and faux-screwball antics.
There's probably a funny film buried somewhere deep within this concept of a morally corrupt protagonist, whose compulsion to steal identities finds her facing off with the man whose identity she has stolen, but this isn't it
Identity Thief features the kind of 'humour' which says you don't just hit a person once, you should do it repeatedly to make it funnier.
The film is painfully unfunny, almost literally so.
There's real potential in this premise for a ripping screwball comedy anchored by two likeable actors, but the filmmakers simply don't trust the material, stirring in constant elements of action mayhem that don't work at all.
Feeble as comedy, the movie is needlessly violent, too, as if half the crew misguidedly thought they were making a foul-mouthed action thriller.
The real crime here is the waste of comic talent.
All pretty feeble stuff.
Without the irrepressible force of comic mayhem that is Melissa McCarthy, road-movie comedy Identity Thief would end up in the ditch. Luckily, the Bridesmaids co-star barrels her way through the plot's stickiest patches.
Identity Thief starts off moronic and then goes downhill.
It is reliant on McCarthy's comedy chops and her ability to deliver improv-type character material, but almost every single one of her scenes looks like an outtake.
Bateman and McCarthy are so fabulous in the overall, apart from this crap, and they, as actors and human beings, do not warrant the treatment they get here.
Audience Reviews for Identity Thief
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Sandy Patterson: You got hit by a car. Are you even human?
- Diana: The trick is to just relax your legs. Read it on Wiki-how.
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- Sandy Patterson: You got hit by a car. Are you even human?
- Diana: The trick is to just relax your legs. Read it on Wiki-how.
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- Diana: What are you, Kenyan?
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| A "comedy" about identity theft. | 4 days ago | 68 |
| Will an American comedy ever accidentally be funny? | 2 months ago | 45 |
| Worth the Price of Admission | 2 months ago | 3 |
| Beware movies... | 2 months ago | 9 |
| Admission Thief More Likely | 3 months ago | 1 |
Latest News on Identity Thief
February 24, 2013:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Identity Thief Steals Another WeekendWith Hollywood busy preparing for the Academy Awards, studios dumped out lame new releases which not...
February 10, 2013:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Identity Thief Scores Big in DebutThis weekend, Universal's Identity Thief blew onto the scene with a surprisingly strong opening,...
February 7, 2013:
Critics Consensus: Side Effects is Certified FreshThis week at the movies, we've got a woman on the edge (Side Effects, starring Rooney Mara and...
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Foreign Titles
- Voll Abgezockt (DE)
- Identity Thief (UK)
Bateman plays Sandy Patterson, a workaday family man, who incautiously (not to say very stupidly) discloses all his personal data to a con woman (McCarthy) who robs him of his identity. Naturally, she exploits this to the max, burning cash so fast that her credit cards begin to smolder at the edges. Hideous morals, mildly put, and a worse yet appearance with her tacky blouses and overly made-up visage. Ironic how money can buy everything except a sense of good style.
Accused of numerous wrong-doings as a consequence of Diana's antics, Sandy goes to Miami to confront his perpetrator. Humdrum meets obnoxious, which later ensues in a road trip where they both end up on the radar of some really bad eggs (including a psychotically persistent debt collector played a Vandyke-bearded Robert Patrick).
Neither does it get particularly exciting or fun though. Moderately amusing to the point where it escapes rock bottom, but if it wasn't for McCarthy's tireless energy, who despite everything makes the best of a laugh-deprived script, it would speedily have become quite insufferable.
Perhaps it should have switched identity with a funnier film, like the closely related Planes, Trains & Automobiles with virtuoso legends Steve Martin and John Candy in their absolute prime. I suggest you rather see that one a few times than let yourself be swindled to believe that this is a comedy worth thinning your wallet for.
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