THE funniest thing about Identity Thiefis the name Sandy, which happens to be, surprisingly, a guy's name, and that's at the centre of the movie.
Sandy (Jason Bateman) has his identity stolen by a woman, Diana (Melissa McCarthy).
Diana is generous: she buys drinks for anyone she fancies and, of course, she goes on a shopping spree.
That's because the money she's splashing is not hers but Sandy's. How does she get hold of Sandy's money, you may well ask? Well, she's a rogue - a crook, my flick friend.
The movie is clumsy, to say the least, but in the end - ignoring other elements that taint it - it works out.
Maybe that's what director Seth Gordon and scriptwriter Craig Mazin were aiming for. The question is: why did his parents name their male child Sandy, of all names?
While you're mulling that, for starters, how did his wife Trish (Amanda Peet) agree to date him - not to mention marry him - with a feminine name like that?
Imagine what she had to go through in the beginning when she had to introduce him to her friends or contemporaries. "Hi, this is Sandy, my husband ." Poor woman.
"What's in a name?" Juliet once asked her Romeo in Shakespeare's famous tale of tragic romance. Mistaken identity, would be my answer after seeing Identity Thief.
Execution aside, it's a brainy concept, to be fair, and there are very few hilarious moments, like when Sandy gets a call about his saloon appointment - yes, for some hair treatment.
And when he's arrested for fraud after his credit card is declined, he learns from Detective Reilly (Morris Chestnut) that he missed his court date for assaulting someone.
Oh, and someone used his card to buy drugs - how on earth does that happen? There's a hole in Identity Thief right there. Yep, it can get worse. But there's a twist and it comes courtesy of the person of the punching and bullying Diana.
The two don't get along because Sandy is angry for being taken for a ride by Diana, who duplicates his credit card and drives him deeper into debt.
But then they form a love-hate relationship and collaborate in the people-conning game for a short while. Diana is a double-crosser and cannot be trusted - there's even a price on her head and a bounty hunter on her trail.
Meanwhile, Sandy seems to be having unending trouble at work with his boss Daniel (John Cho).
A lesson one can learn from the movie is that Sandy's wife Trish is trusting one's partner fully. She gives him the benefit of the doubt when he goes on a hunt for fraudster Diana in another town.
Identity Thief didn't steal my vote because it's not that funny. And I was sold entirely on the presence of snakes in the movie - I didn't get the joke when it ended in Sandy's pants.
The movie enters a predictable terrain immediately after Diana is tracked down.
The script is lukewarm while the acting could be improved, but then you know that Jason Bateman is always trying to be funny when he's naturally not.
Title: Identity Thief
Director: Seth Gordon
Screenwriter: Craig Mazin
Cast: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, Tip Harris, Genesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, John Cho, Rovert Patrick and Eric stonestreet.
Genre: Crime Comedy
Age restrictions: PG 13
Running time: 1hr 51 minutes
Movie Review - Weird, patchy yet it works
THE funniest thing about Identity Thiefis the name Sandy, which happens to be, surprisingly, a guy's name, and that's at the centre of the movie.
Sandy (Jason Bateman) has his identity stolen by a woman, Diana (Melissa McCarthy).
Diana is generous: she buys drinks for anyone she fancies and, of course, she goes on a shopping spree.
That's because the money she's splashing is not hers but Sandy's. How does she get hold of Sandy's money, you may well ask? Well, she's a rogue - a crook, my flick friend.
The movie is clumsy, to say the least, but in the end - ignoring other elements that taint it - it works out.
Maybe that's what director Seth Gordon and scriptwriter Craig Mazin were aiming for. The question is: why did his parents name their male child Sandy, of all names?
While you're mulling that, for starters, how did his wife Trish (Amanda Peet) agree to date him - not to mention marry him - with a feminine name like that?
Imagine what she had to go through in the beginning when she had to introduce him to her friends or contemporaries. "Hi, this is Sandy, my husband ." Poor woman.
"What's in a name?" Juliet once asked her Romeo in Shakespeare's famous tale of tragic romance. Mistaken identity, would be my answer after seeing Identity Thief.
Execution aside, it's a brainy concept, to be fair, and there are very few hilarious moments, like when Sandy gets a call about his saloon appointment - yes, for some hair treatment.
And when he's arrested for fraud after his credit card is declined, he learns from Detective Reilly (Morris Chestnut) that he missed his court date for assaulting someone.
Oh, and someone used his card to buy drugs - how on earth does that happen? There's a hole in Identity Thief right there. Yep, it can get worse. But there's a twist and it comes courtesy of the person of the punching and bullying Diana.
The two don't get along because Sandy is angry for being taken for a ride by Diana, who duplicates his credit card and drives him deeper into debt.
But then they form a love-hate relationship and collaborate in the people-conning game for a short while. Diana is a double-crosser and cannot be trusted - there's even a price on her head and a bounty hunter on her trail.
Meanwhile, Sandy seems to be having unending trouble at work with his boss Daniel (John Cho).
A lesson one can learn from the movie is that Sandy's wife Trish is trusting one's partner fully. She gives him the benefit of the doubt when he goes on a hunt for fraudster Diana in another town.
Identity Thief didn't steal my vote because it's not that funny. And I was sold entirely on the presence of snakes in the movie - I didn't get the joke when it ended in Sandy's pants.
The movie enters a predictable terrain immediately after Diana is tracked down.
The script is lukewarm while the acting could be improved, but then you know that Jason Bateman is always trying to be funny when he's naturally not.
Title: Identity Thief
Director: Seth Gordon
Screenwriter: Craig Mazin
Cast: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, Tip Harris, Genesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, John Cho, Rovert Patrick and Eric stonestreet.
Genre: Crime Comedy
Age restrictions: PG 13
Running time: 1hr 51 minutes
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