Review: Identity Thief

I have long been a fan of Jason Bateman, dating back to his days on Valeri (a.k.a. The Hogan Family) and was glad to see him come back strong back in 2004 with appearances in several movies (Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball) headlined by the Frat Pack.  In those ensuing years, I have come to realize this about Bateman, his shtick works better on the periphery of a film’s plot rather than as its epicenter.  He’s dry, sarcastic, and quirky, but lacks that huge presence to carry an entire film on his shoulders.  Two of his most recent movies (The Change-Up, The Switch) really hammered this home.  And after watching Identity Thief, you can add another title to the list of movies that reinforce this point, because it’s not good.

The plot of the movie is some kind of amalgamation of Horrible Bosses and Midnight Run as Bateman plays Sandy Patterson, a bean counter who must travel across the country to retrieve a con artist (Melissa McCarthy) who has stolen his identity and soiled both his name and his credit rating.  Gunplay, dirty jokes, and car chases ensue as the film morphs into a buddy flick / road trip movie. 

The pairing of Bateman and Melissa McCarthy is a perversion of the straight man/funny man dynamic as the dichotomy, sight gags, and punch lines feel like they are pumped up on a cocktail of steroids and amphetamines.  Subtlety, comedic timing, and wit are tossed out the window in favor of a balls-to-the-wall approach.  This can work in small doses but there are nuances to the art of good comedy that are vital components to this type of film.  In the absence of those nuances, you are treated to buffoonery.  Throwing Melissa McCarthy into the mix is like throwing gasoline on a fire.  What emerges is a loud hot mess of vulgarity and nonsense – and not the funny kind either.

In looking at this film, it’s hard not to wonder if McCarthy’s five minutes are up.  She was great in Bridesmaids, and good in This is 40 (albeit in a very small dose), but she is very much a one trick pony.  This becomes glaringly apparent in Identity Thief as she does not have an ensemble cast to pad her performance.  Director Seth Gordon goes back to the well repeatedly, looking to exploit her shtick to the point that her humor loses its punch.  To say that her brand of gags is completely milked dry in this movie would be a huge understatement. 

And as I mentioned before, Bateman lacks the presence to carry his share of this movie, but the blame for its failure goes beyond the aforementioned shortcomings.  Few from the cast distinguish themselves.  Jon Favreau (Swingers), John Cho (Harold & Kumar), Amanda Peet, Morris Chestnut, and Eric Stonestreet  (Modern Family) are all actors who in the past have been responsible for dispensing plenty of onscreen laughter, but in Identity Thief they collectively seem to be content to mail it in.  Clearly, this was a paycheck project for most of them.

So then what’s the verdict here?  Well, I don’t think anyone walked into this movie thinking they were going to witness the cinematic arts revolutionized or to experience the dawn of a new day in comedy.  In fact, I bet most expected to walk out of the cinema with a million fewer brain cells than when they walked in.  Still, a comedy has to make you laugh and I cannot recount a single time where I even cracked a smile.  In my opinion, this makes this movie a no go and one you should probably leave off your rental queue.  There’s enough bad comedy out there in the world for you to experience without going out of you way to subject yourself to such an inconsequential project.  So pretend you never heard of this movie and hope that Bateman comes out swinging in the reincarnation of Arrested Development and that Sandra Bullocks was able to bring out the best in Melissa McCarthy in the soon-to-be released The Heat.  Because on can never have enough good comedy.

Standout Performance: I like what Genesis Rodriguez has been doing, but the nod goes to Robert Patrick.  How can you not enjoy him as a relentless chaser a la Terminator 2.

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Review: The Change-Up

The Change-Up is a textbook example of good cast / bad movie.  There are so many places where this film goes wrong that it’s hard to find a good place to begin the critique.  If I had to pin it on one thing I would say that Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are two very funny actors, but are way too similar in their respective styles to sell the brand of comedy that director David Dobkin is trying to sell for nearly two hours (30 minutes way too long).

The straight man/funny man shtick is a classic and when done correctly can be incredibly entertaining (think Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin or more recently Vaughn and Favreau in “Swingers”).    The reason why this formula fails in “The Change-Up” is because while Bateman is adept at playing the straight man, both he and Reynolds draw their comedy from a wry sarcastic delivery.   One person has to set up the proverbial pins so the other can knock them down but unfortunately there’s not enough of a contrast between the two actors to properly set up the punch lines.

Another major issue with this film is that it is just not funny.  When you think about “switch” movies – Freaky Friday and the Hot Chick – there are significant visual differences between the protagonists (age, gender, appearance) that lend to physical (and often absurd) comedy.   In this film, we have one Caucasian male in his 30’s trading places with another.  Wow - mind-blowing!  And true to form, they figure out how to solve their own lives by walking a mile in each other's shoes – not too bad a gig when you’re walking that mile with Leslie Mann or Olivia Wilde. 

So then what we’re left with here is a raunchy comedy that is not funny and that wants you to be emotionally invested in the third act to characters that amount to little more than two jumbled masses of tired clichés.  I found more catharsis in watching Judge Reinhold of Beverly Hills Cop fame and Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage of the Wonder Years) do this song and dance back in the 80’s classic Vice Versa. 

Avoid this movie – in fact, avoid most of what Ryan Reynolds is doing while he is the midst of a “Nick Cage Cash Grab” because he is on an epically bad run not seen since well…since the run that Adam Sandler is currently on.  Do not rent, do not VOD, do not watch even if it is for free.  You have been warned.

Standout Performance: Alan Arkin really sells his role as Reynolds’ dad, but that performance gets lost in the mediocrity.

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