Identity Thief

Enjoyment of Identity Thief largely rests on how much goodwill you feel towards its stars’ respective shticks, with both Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy cast to type and coasting on well-worn tics: he plays Sandy, another in a long line of nice guys prone to feeling wearisomely undervalued; she plays Diana – brashly non-decorous but with a good heart deep down. When the latter steals the former’s identity it falls to Sandy to drive her halfway across the country to fess up to her crimes – and what’s more, for tenuously explained reasons, he’s only got a few days to do it! Add gangsters, bounty hunters and snakes to the mix and you’ve got the makings of a zany mismatched buddy flick in the Planes, Trains and Automobiles mould, except, in this case, the formula’s coughed out a dud. The leads’ chemistry can’t disguise the lack of decent gags; ultimately, their cross-country trip feels as arduous for us as it is for them. [Chris Buckle]