The Bat Cave

Starring: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy
Director: Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses)

Quick Thoughts: If you’re familiar with the television show How I Met Your Mother you may have seen the episode where Barney Stinson brings up the Crazy/Hot scale when evaluating women. Specifically, a woman must be at least as hot as she is crazy. Well, comedy films can be judged on a similar scale: Stupid/Funny. For a comedy to actually be good, it needs to be at least as funny as it is stupid and with its ridiculous premise, bounty hunters, and unbelievable characters, Identity Thief fails in that regard. It’s definitely far dumber than it is funny.

I’m not saying Melissa McCarthy isn’t funny or that she can’t carry a comedy, but after her Oscar-worthy performance in Bridesmaids, this film was a misstep. Still, most of the actors in this movie are funny, but the script doesn’t give them much to work with. There is a moment in the film when McCarthy’s character breaks down while telling the story of her upbringing and we see a glimpse of her acting chops, but by that point the movie has become far too silly to give the scene any weight.

Viewings: 1
Replay Value: Not much
Sequel Potential: It makes me cringe a little thinking I may have contributed to the potential of a sequel.
Oscar Potential: None.
Nudity: Bare man ass.
Grade: 3/10 (Skip It)
RottenTomatoes Scores: Critics: 24% Audience: 74%
IMDB Rating: 5.8/10
Recommendation: My family seemed to enjoy Identity Thief, but it was immature for my tastes and the heart they tried to inject into the film felt forced. If the previews look funny to you, maybe you will like this. To me, it felt longer than Django Unchained, which was nearly double the running time.