FILM REVIEW OF ''OCEAN'S EIGHT" (2018)

A glossy, polished, female revenge fantasy, crime caper, Gary Ross's "Ocean's Eight," (*** OUT OF ****) starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, and Rihanna, amounts to the gender flip-side of Steven Soderbergh's male-oriented heist trilogy "Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen." Comparably, "Ocean's Eight" follows on the high heels of 2016's "Ghostbusters," with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Leslie Jones, that gave gals the starring roles in the remake of the 1984 Bill Murray classic. Predictably, "Ocean's Eight" shares some similarities with Soderbergh's extravagant, predictable, and often madcap epics. "Ocean's Eight," however, isn't as hopelessly fanciful as Soderbergh's "Oceans," but it unfolds in the same land of imaginary Hollywood realism. As Danny Ocean's younger sister Debbie, Sandra Bullock is fashionably appareled throughout this sumptuous PG-13 saga as are her comely conspirators. Like brother Danny, Debbie recruits top-flight talent. If you're afraid the authorities may nab and pack them off to prison, banish that thought. The police are virtually invisible in this elaborate 'mission impossible' theft. Indeed, our heroine flies so low beneath her parole officer's radar that we never see either him or her surprise our heroine with an unscheduled inspection. Make no mistake, "Hunger Games" helmer Gary Ross has made a palatable, attractive, and mildly suspenseful thriller that will probably hold your attention throughout its 11o-minute running time. The flaw in this sophisticated heist caper is our dames walk away without a hair out of place. Inevitably, they encounter some complications in "Ocean's Eight," but they never resort to physical violence. Furthermore, nobody either catches a bullet or dies.



Like the "Ocean's Eleven" (2001) remake, "Ocean's Eight" opens with a contrite Debbie reassuring the authorities at Nichols Women's Prison in New Jersey that she will avoid contact with all former criminal accomplices and family if she gets paroled. "If I were to be released," she sighs, "I would just want the simple life. I just want to hold down a job, make some friends, you know, pay my bills." No sooner has Debbie stepped out of stir than she steals everything in sight that she needs to wallow in the lap of luxury at a swanky motel during her first night out of prison. If you remember "Ocean's Eleven," Danny told his jailors the exact same lies. Debbie's brazen scam at the perfume counter later seems amateurish, but the movie makes it appear smoothly plausible. Meanwhile, she learns that her estranged brother, Danny Ocean, has died. For the record, George Clooney played Danny Ocean in Soderbergh's "Oceans" trilogy. Specifics are never revealed about Danny's demise. Nevertheless, Debbie visits the mausoleum where her older brother has been buried to pay her respects. She toasts Danny's passage with a martini but doesn't shed a tear. Conveniently, one of Danny's closest associates, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould of "MASH"), shows up on behalf of the fellows but fails to persuade Debbie to cease and desist. Is Danny really dead or is he in hiding? Knowing Danny, Danny is probably holed up someplace. More importantly, this bombshell revelation means no "Oceans 14!" Reportedly, Soderbergh has said in public that he has no plans for another "Ocean's" escapade.



In "Ocean's Eight," Debbie has engineered the whole shebang down to the smallest detail. All of her accomplices will walk away with cool double-digit millions and never have to ever commit another crime. Debbie has no problem recruiting her former partner-in-crime, Lou (Cate Blanchett of "Thor: Ragnarok"), to join her and outlines her audacious plan to rob 'the most exclusive party in America,' the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Gala, in New York City. Like Danny, Debbie assembles an A-Team of experts from every field to execute her fool-proof plan. Reluctantly, Lou accommodates Debbie. Together, they enlist an out-of-fashion, fashion designer, Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter of "); an Indian jewelry-maker Amita (Mindy Kaling of "A Wrinkle in Time"), an African-American computer hacker, Nine Ball (Rihanna of "Battleship"); a white suburban housewife fence, Tammy (Sarah Paulson of "Serenity"); and an Asian-American pickpocket, Constance (Awkwafina of "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising"), to pull off this crime of the century. When Amita asks Debbie how long the latter took to concoct her bold scheme, Debbie replies specifically "five years, eight months, and twelve days." As it turns out, this is the length of time that Debbie spent in prison for a crime she didn't commit, all owing to a treacherous art dealer, Claude Becker (Richard Armitage of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"), who double-crossed and framed her. Not only does Debbie savor the prospect of exacting vengeance on Becker, but she also tells her cohorts they are committing this grand crime for all those little girls aspiring to be career criminals.



Principally, Debbie and her partners dupe an arrogant but glamorous movie starlet, Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway of "Love & Other Drugs"), into serving as their innocent accomplice. They hoodwink Kluger into hiring Rose Weil to dress her for the gala. Rose insists Daphne wear the legendary Toussaint, a world-renowned, six-pound, Cartier diamond necklace that has been locked up in an underground vault for the last fifty years. Initially, the Cartier people refuse to let the Toussaint, a bauble valued at $150 million, see the light of day. Reluctantly, they agree, and two seasoned security experts safeguard the necklace. Meanwhile, Tammy infiltrates the company coordinating the gala and works from within, acquiring all kinds of invaluable information. Nine Ball hacks into the security system to pinpoint the arrangement of all surveillance cameras. Inevitably, Debbie and company must separate Daphne from the Toussaint. This sequence with poor Daphne crouched over a toilet hurling her guts out is simply sidesplitting. Although he doesn't drum up white-knuckled, nail-biting suspense designed to keep you teetering on the edge of your seat, director Gary Ross never lets the momentum lag for a moment with a charismatic cast and splendid cinematography. An ideal gals' night out opus, "Ocean's Eight" qualifies as above-average with its cornucopia of humor compensating for its conspicuous scarcity of suspense.

FILM REVIEW OF ''BABY DRIVER" (2017)

The trailer that first advertised British writer & director Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver” made it look like a Young Adult knock-off of French producer Luc Beeson’s “Transporter” franchise with rugged, austere Jason Statham.  Fortunately, nothing could be farther from the truth.  Indeed, the films both deal with elusive getaway car drivers. Despite their apparent resemblance, these movies share little in common except for their automotive audacity.  Comparatively, “Baby Driver” is nothing like Wright’s earlier comic trilogy “Shaun of the Dead” (2994), “Hot Fuzz” (2007), and “The World’s End” (2013).  Two of those movies dealt with supernatural creatures, while “Hot Fuzz” constituted a police parody.  Furthermore, “Baby Driver” is nothing like Wright’s other unconventional outing “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” (2010).  Indeed, Wright performs a 180 with “Baby Driver” (*** OUT OF ****), a straightforward, white-knuckled, R-rated, crime thriller about blood, death, and consequences.  Meantime, unlike the usual bombastic summer release, “Baby Driver” isn’t an outlandish escapade.  Instead, it is a superbly staged, adrenalin-laced actioneer which rarely pulls its punches.  The first three-fourths of this Atlanta-lensed saga is top-notch, while the final fourth marks time with the hero’s atonement for his crimes.  Another thing that differentiates “Baby Driver” from most summer movies is it is neither a blockbuster prequel nor a sequel.  Nobody gives a bad performance.  Indeed, Wright surrounds his handsome, earnest, young leading man, Ansel Elgort of “Divergent,” with a robust cast, featuring Jamie Fox, Jon Hamm, Jon Bernthal, and Kevin Spacey.  Jamie Fox and Jon Hamm are unforgettable as a pair of unhinged hoodlums who abhor each other, while Kevin Spacey towers above both as the wily mastermind of all the film’s crimes.  Clearly, something about Edgar Wright’s tale of mayhem and murder appealed to these Hollywood veterans, and they indulge in being both evil and obnoxious.  Honorable mention goes to behind-the-scenes veteran stunt coordinator Darrin Prescott of “John Wick” fame as well as the hundred or more precision drivers, riggers, camera bike riders, and stunt doubles who helped him orchestrate several harrowing but realistic driving sequences that never turn into the bizarre tomfooleries of the “Transporter” movies.  Hey, I loved the “Transporter” movies, but “Baby Driver” strives to keep things realistic.

Baby (Ansel Elgort of “The Fault in Our Stars”) is a fearless, young hellion with a taste of tunes and reckless driving that converge once he takes the wheel of any vehicle.  He survived a traumatic childhood after his contentious mother and father slammed their car into the rear of a tractor-trailer and died.  Baby escaped grievous bodily harm.  Nevertheless, he carries a couple of token scars on above an eyebrow and across his cheek. Wright sketches in Baby’s background when he doesn’t replay the scene of the accident that killed his parents.  Meantime, he spent his teen years stealing cars and keeping the Atlanta Police in his rearview mirror.  At the same time, he became a wizard with recording music in any format and grooves to his iPod whenever he careens around town to drown out “the hum in his drum” caused by tinnitus.  Writer & director Edgar Wright provides us with a protagonist both sympathetic and charming.  Baby doesn’t brag, he just drives, and when he holds onto the wheel, he can go anywhere--if there is anywhere to go.  Literally, he can thread the eye of a needle in his stick-shift cars, and he can escape from predicaments that seem well-nigh impossible. 

Initially, we see Baby drive the getaway car after a bank robbery, and he leads the Atlanta Police on a spectacular chase.  Afterward, while the well-tailored criminal mastermind, Doc (Kevin Spacey of “The Usual Suspects”), is dividing up the loot, one of the robbers, Griff (Jon Bernthal of “The Accountant”), minimizes Baby’s role in the hold-up.  Griff warns Baby that one way or another Baby will wind up with blood on his hands.  We learn from Wright’s fast-paced, expository dialogue that Doc discovered Baby because he stole Doc’s Mercedes.  Since that incident, Doc has used Baby as his wheel-man.  Moreover, Doc keeps him on his payroll so the energetic rapscallion can pay off his debt to him.  Basically, “Baby Driver” boils down to a morality yarn about a young thief who doesn’t want to see anybody die during the commission of a crime.  Unlike the rest of the characters in “Baby Driver,” Baby is the only one with a shred of decency. 

The sobering but exasperating thing about Baby is that he doesn’t elude the long arm of the law every time and that makes him more believable and vulnerable.  Fortunately, few of Baby’s asphalt antics are so impractical that they could be considered preposterous.  After an exhilarating opening sequence where our hero delivers Doc’s accomplices without a scratch, Baby embarks on an odyssey that alters his life.  Primarily, Baby falls in love with a cute, young waitress at a 24-hour diner where he likes to drink java.  Debora (Lily James of “Cinderella”) walks into Baby’s life and she turns him every which way but loose.  Once he has repaid Doc for everything that he took from him when he stole his car, Baby plans to quit crime.  In fact, he is on the straight and narrow and delivering orders for Goodfellas Pizza when Doc crosses his path again and convinces him to come back and drive for him.

“Baby Driver” boasts some of the best, high-speed driving sequences since the crime thriller “Drive” (2011) with Ryan Gosling.  The thieves conspiring with Doc are a cynical, ruthless bunch who would prefer to exit in a blaze of gunfire than submit meekly to the rehabilitative options of the criminal justice system.  Wright ramps up all this anarchy with a dynamic but diverse variety of tunes that Baby listens to according to the occasion.  The hit songs in “Baby Driver” are reminiscent of those in the two “Guardians of the Galaxy” sci-fi space operas.  Consequently, Ansel Elgort should be on the road to superstardom, because nothing about “Baby Driver” is infantile.

FILM REVIEW OF ''THE SUICIDE SQUAD'' (2016)

As the follow-up to “Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Fury” director David Ayer’s DC Comics extravaganza “The Suicide Squad” (*** OUT OF ****) qualifies as a gritty, slam-bang, straight-faced, but formulaic action thriller with some surprises.  Although far from realistic in an any conventional sense, Ayer’s ensemble epic casts a dark shadow over everything that it depicts, and its unsavory psychotic felons tangle with powerful mystical entities from an ancient era.  Indeed, the chief villain is almost seven thousand years old and she relies on magical incantations.  Clearly, the ostensible difference between DC Comics movies and Disney’s Marvel movies is night and day, with DC preferring the dark, while Marvel basks in the daylight.  Unlike The House of Mouse’s Marvel costume-clad, crime fighters, “Squad” doesn’t sugarcoat either its costume-clad convicts or their sinister shenanigans. Interestingly enough, Twentieth Century Fox’s three Marvel franchises (“X-Men,” “Fantastic Four,” and “Deadpool”) land somewhere between DC and Disney.  Whereas the “Captain America: Civil War” characters survived miraculously to fight another day, some “Suicide Squad” characters die.  Meanwhile, the guys and gal that constitute “The Suicide Six”—even by PG-13 standards—are not role models.  Most of the “Suicide Squad” characters are as repugnant as they are formidable, and I don’t mean just the heinous criminals that the Government has recruited for Task Force X to perform their unscrupulous chores.  The trigger-happy dame, Amanda Waller, who assembles these dastards, ranks as pretty despicable herself.  In one scene, she murders in cold blood several subordinates because they weren’t cleared to handle the information that they were ordered to handle.  Unless you’re a literate DC Comics bibliophile, you may not be familiar with the Suicide Squad; they bear some resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Avengers, but altogether lack their charisma.  At the same time, Amanda Waller emerges as a version of Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. because she is far less honorable than Fury when it comes to dealing with her underlings.  Historically, the first “Suicide Squad” bore little resemblance to the cinematic “Suicide Squad.”  Captain Rick Flag and his girlfriend Karin Grace, Dr. Hugh Evans, and Jess Bright battled monsters back in 1959 in DC Comics’ “The Brave and The Bold.”  They were all humans and flew jet-bombers.  In 1987, DC Comics’ Legends Crossover graphic series introduced the new “Suicide Squad” that consisted of an assemblage of super-convicts, such as Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and Enchantress, similar to those in Ayer’s film.

As “Suicide Squad” unfolds, Superman is still dead and gone.  Street vendors sell ‘Remember’ T-shirts commemorating the last son of Krypton.  Although Clark Kent’s alter-ego doesn’t show up for this clash of the titans, anybody with half-a-brain should know that Superman will eventually make an encore appearance.  Indeed, Warner Brothers and DC Comics have plans in the pipeline for a “Man of Steel” sequel.  Nevertheless, Superman is nowhere to be seen here, and an unscrupulous, top-level government official, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis of “The Help”), fears that the next extraterrestrials may not be as benevolent as the Man of Steel.  Consequently, she mobilizes a gang of costume-clad, super-convicts that she classifies as “the worst of the worst.”  When she presents Task Force X, the National Security Council initially wants nothing to do with it.  The Pentagon thinks that Waller’s idea is foolhardy.  In short order, Waller changes their minds.  She dispatches one of her motley crew, the witch-goddess Enchantress, aka June Moon (Cara Delevingne of “Paper Towns”), and Enchantress swipes a top-secret document from the Weapons Ministry Vault in Tehran that the Pentagon has been desperately trying to obtain by any means possible. An ex-Arkham Asylum psychiatrist Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie of “Focus”); a cream of the crop, crack-shot assassin Deadshot (Will Smith of “Concussion”); a guilt-stricken pyromaniac gang-banger El Diablo (Jay Hernandez of “Hostel”); a sociopathic Australian bank robber Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney of “Terminator Genysis”); a mutant half-man, half-crocodile cannibal Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje of “Pompeii”); and a specialized assassin Slipknot (Adam Beach of “Cowboys & Aliens”) comprise Waller’s group.  Rounding out this diversified outfit of unsavory savages is an implacable female ninja, Katana (Karen Fukuhara), armed with a bizarre samurai sword which traps the souls of all who die by its blade.  Actually, she serves to protect the group’s commander, Special Forces Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman of “Robocop”), who has a genius for strategic planning.  Oddly enough, Flag is involved romantically with June Moon, an archeologist who blundered into the wrong cave and encountered the spirit of the Enchantress.  Unlike the other members of the Suicide Squad who bide their time in a miserable Louisiana dungeon isolated in a swamp, June and the creepy Enchantress share the same body.  Think of the Enchantress and June Moon split-personality as a variation on Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Whenever Waller requires June to summon the Enchantress, this treacherous 7,000-year old sorceress exerts control over June’s body.  Meantime, an elite team of Seals, led by Captain G.Q. Edwards (Scott Eastwood of “Fury”), are around to mop up what the Suicide Squad doesn’t wipe out.  Most of G.Q.’s soldiers turn out to be expendables as “The Suicide Squad” boasts a high body count.

“The Suicide Squad’’ differs from “Batman Vs Superman.”  Although Batman appears momentarily in two scenes while Bruce Wayne puts in a cameo appearance, the costume-clad convicts dominate events in “The Suicide Squad.”  They carry or conceal standard-issue weapons, and their outfits aren’t as colorful as either Batman or Superman. Basically, they are like an infantry squad that infiltrates enemy territory. Ayers uses short but exciting scenes with appropriate golden oldies hits to introduce the eponymous convicts.  Deadshot lives up to his name.  In one scene, he demonstrates his extremely accurate marksmanship by pouring scores of bullets into the same holes that he made with his first bullets.  Colonel Flag is visibly impressed.  El Diablo comes the closest to being a superhero because he can transform himself into an incendiary human torch on impulse.  Harley Quinn is a total fruit loop but she is about as dangerous a lady as you can imagine and uses her beauty to beguile men.  The one man that she beguiles the most is the Joker and he struggles to keep a tight rein on her.  Enchantress starts out as a team player but she defects and makes a strong adversary.  She can conjure up things out of thin air and she can vanish in the blink of an eye and reappear where you least expect her.  At one point, she summons the spirit of her long-lost brother to help her subjugate mankind.  Second, “The Suicide Squad” resembles a zombie combat movie.  Our anti-heroic team marches through the apocalyptic wreckage of Midway City as if they were soldiers entering a recently bombed city. The Witch-Goddess Enchantress possesses the power to turn Flag’s own men against him.  She kills Flag’s soldiers and reconstitutes them as her hooligans.  In this sense, Enchantress’ army behaves like the zombies from “The Walking Dead,” and they whittle down our heroes.  If a witch-goddess with an army of zombies weren’t enough with which to contend, our heroes clash with the Joker (Jared Leto of “The Dallas Buyers Club”) who pops up as a largely peripheral villain to rescue his sweetheart Harley Quinn.

Essentially, “The Suicide Squad” pays tribute to two cult films.  First, director Robert Aldrich’s World War II classic “The Dirty Dozen” (1967) concerned the U.S. Army recruiting commandos from a death row military prison for a mission behind enemy lines.  No, Aldrich’s film was the first one to use the idea that a government would give felons a chance to redeem themselves.  Movies like this go back as far as the Errol Flynn pirate caper “The Sea Hawk” (1940). “Second, John Carpenter’s “Escape From New York” (1981) clearly inspired director David Ayers.  In “Escape from New York,” the authorities, led by Haulk (Lee Van Cleef of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”), cut a deal with the deadliest man alive, Snake Plissken (Kirk Russell), to rescue the President of the United States from evil criminals after Air Force One crashed on an island prison, in exchange for commuting his death sentence.  Just to make sure that Snake didn’t renege on the deal, Haulk injected an explosive pellet into his neck designed to blow Snake’s head off if he didn’t accomplish his mission.  As you can see, “The Suicide Squad” borrowed from the best.  Actually, there isn’t a bad performance in this offbeat film.  Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jay Hernandez, Viola Davis, and Jared Leto take top acting honors. Clocking in at two hours and three minutes, “The Suicide Squad” doesn’t provide enough detail about some characters, like Katana, but director David Ayes doesn’t squander a second as he parades the convicts to the brink of extinction.    

FILM REVIEW OF ''FORCE OF EXECUTION" (2013)

An above-average Los Angeles crime thriller about a power struggle between two rival gangs, “Force of Execution” (**1/2 OUT OF ****) manages to be a predictable but entertaining B-movie actioneer that eschews both romance and sex. Ostensibly, Steven Seagal takes top billing, but newcomer Bren Foster of "War Flowers" handles the heavy lifting.  Apparently, Seagal and Foster constitute co-stars of a sort, with the demographic appeal of both actors covering the 15-to-4o year old audience.  The old will ogle it for Seagal, while the young will undoubtedly identify more with the younger, athletic Foster.  As the feared but respected crime boss Mr. Alexander, Steven Seagal wears a sculpted Van Dyke beard and rules the neighborhood with a sense of violent compassion.  Above all, he is the kind of crime boss who resents being told what to do.  Before he embarked on his criminal career, Alexander refined his art of warfare during his service to the government.  Since then he has parlayed his on-the-job government training to maintain his own criminal empire. As Mr. Alexander's most trusted executioner for 15 years, rugged Bren Foster plays Roman Hurst.  Hurst performs a hit in prison for Mr. Alexander during the first quarter hour of the action.  Based on the duplicitous word of a Judas-minded inmate, Iceman (Ving Rhames of "Pulp Fiction"), Hurst killed the wrong guy. Afterward, Hurst has to fight his way, one guard at a time, out of the prison.  Not only does Hurst admit failure but also he willingly accepts any punishment that Alexander feels appropriate. Alexander turns Hurst over to the African-American gang, and they wield hammers without mercy on his hands. Basically, when they conclude their anatomical retribution, the best that Hurst can do is spiral into alcoholism until the urge to straighten himself and a Mexican witch doctor revitalize him. 

The themes of reformation and rejuvenation pervade “Force of Execution.” "Maximum Conviction" director Keoni Waxman along with "Cold Sweat" scenarist Richard Beattie and freshman scribe Michael Black have enlivened this formulaic crime thriller with the maimed warrior plot.  This plot usually occurs in martial arts movies and westerns.  Roman Hurst becomes a "Django" type hero who has to rehab himself with the help of a Hispanic witch doctor, Jimmy Peanuts (Danny Trejo of the "Machete" movies), who cooks for Mr. Alexander in one of his diners.  The use of scorpions to convert our hero's lax hands into weapons of lethal power seems wholly improbable, but the idea sounds cool and the sight of Trejo fiddling with the critters is neat. The chief problem with "Force of Execution" isn't the action-laden plot with a body count, but the pedestrian dialogue and the shortage of cool Seagal scenes. Every good Seagal movie and some of his bad ones always boast a memorable combat scene where our soft-spoken hero demolishes the opposition with minimal force. “The “Under Siege” movies as well as “The Glimmer Man” exemplify Seagal at his coolest with several spectacular kick ass scenes.  "Force of Execution" lacks those cool scenes.  Roman Hurst has some nice fights that generate terrific velocity.  He specializes in a spinning kick like Jean-Claude Van Damme, but Hurst doesn't flaunt much personality in his characterization. Grim, tough, resourceful, he appears to be channeling Daniel Craig, but he needs to develop a personality.  It is like having a stunt man play a leading role.  Nothing really makes him sympathetic.  His miraculous recovery is difficult to accept.

The thesping in "Force Execution" is okay. Trejo gives the most charismatic performance as a down-to-earth short order cook. He doesn't play his usual tough-guy type snd he doesn't shed his shirt to display his heavily tattooed physique. He qualifies as the most likable character in the action, while Jenny Gabrielle is both pretty and vulnerable as Karen. She plays the blond waitress & cashier at Alexander's protected restaurant who encounters trouble along the way. Bren Foster has a dynamic physical presence, while Seagal essentially plays an amoral but principled criminal who expects, deserves, and gives respect. Ultimately, at fadeout, he realizes the error of his ways and reforms himself. You don’t often see Seagal play a character who makes mistakes.  Ving Rhames makes a menacing antagonist who challenges our hero and tries to take over his empire by force. The Spartan combat sequences are helmed with skill. The typical Steven Seagal fan should enjoy the experience of watching "Force of Execution." Waxman doesn't let the film wear out its welcome. This 99 minute melodrama doesn’t rank as top-notch Seagal, but those minutes won’t feel like they were stolen from you.

FILM REVIEW OF ''IDENTITY THIEF" (2013)

 

Jason Bateman contended with social media as a concerned father in the dramatic movie “Disconnect” where he discovered that his misfit son tried to commit suicide as a result of pictures that his teenaged son had posted on the Internet.  Now, Bateman plays another father in “Horrible Bosses” director Seth Gordon’s improbably but entertaining fish-out-of-water comedy “Identity Thief” with Melissa McCarthy.  Bateman is cast as father who loses his identity to a clever con artist over the telephone.  McCarthy plays the eponymous character with gusto.  “Scary Movie 3” scenarist Craig Mazin and Gordon have a field day pitting straight-laced Bateman against the comical McCarthy and humiliating him at every turn.  Eventually, these two emerge as an odd couple.  The ways they change during the course of the movie make “Identity Thief” (*** OUT OF ****) an engaging laffer.  You’ve got to love comedy, tolerate profanity, and resign yourself to sexually offensive situations to be able to laugh off what transpires.  While McCarthy hams it up as the cunning Diana, Bateman delivers a flawless, deadpan performance as a well-meaning milquetoast.  Morris Chestnut, Jon Favreau, John Cho, Robert Patrick, Eric Stonestreet, and Jonathan Banks contribute strong supporting performances.
 

This madcap comedy of errors finds our clueless, chumpster hero leaving his pregnant wife (Amanda Peet of "Sax and Violins") and two daughters in comfortable Denver, Colorado, to cruise south to Winter Park, Florida, where he hopes to persuade a gluttonous identity thief, Diana (Melissa McCarthy), to accompany him back to the City of the Plains.  Early in "Identity Thief," Sandy Bigelow Patterson (Jason Bateman of “Smokin' Aces") answers the phone at work and makes the fatal mistake of divulging his full name, birthday, and social security number to the eponymous villainess who is posing as a computer security associate.  She embarks on a spending rampage and gets so plastered at a bar that the police take her to jail on a DUI. Naturally, she misses her court date.  Not surprisingly, the Winter Park police contact the Denver Police and they pull Sandy over and take him into custody.  Eventually, Sandy convinces Detective Reilly of the Denver Police that he is not the same person as the scam artist in Winter Park.  Reilly points that it may take between six months and a year for him to clear up his identity thief crisis.  Now, Sandy is in trouble with his boss, Daniel Casey (John Cho of "Star Trek") because of his huge credit card debt.  No sooner does our upright family guy protagonist track down his identity thief than he winds up helping her flee from two, gun-toting, Hispanic narcotics dealers.  Diana conspired with Marisol (Genesis Rodriguez of "Man on a Ledge") and Julian (Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. of “The Hangover”) to forge credit cards for them and their crime boss.  During their escape, Patterson claps handcuffs on her a la “The 39 Steps,” but Diana extracts herself without difficulty from the cuffs.  These two wind up helping each other while the villains head off in hot pursuit.  

Gordon and Mazin raise the ante with various plot complications during the road trip.  A notorious, big-time mobster behind bars, Paul (Jonathan Banks of “Beverly Hills Cop”) who is linked to Diana dispatches a hell-bent-for-leather hit man, Skiptracer (Robert Patrick of “Terminator 2”), to eliminate Diana.  After Skiptracer abducts Diana, Sandy manages to run them off the road and Skiptracer’s van overturns during the collision.  Moments after Sandy gets Diana out of the van, a semi-truck demolishes Sandy’s car so they appropriate Skiptracer’s van.  The van overheats on them, and Sandy and Diana find themselves on foot.  They wind up lost in the woods and camp out until first light.  While Sandy tries to sleep, a snake slithers up one pants-leg.  The snake scene in the woods will keep you laughing, even if the snake is CGI.  Watching Diana trying to drive the serpent off with a flame stick is amusing, too.  However, things turn truly zany when the snake bites Sandy on the neck! Diana’s favorite move is to smash her adversary’s throat with her fist.

The chief problem with “Identity Thief” is its messy morality. Our protagonist tells his daughter at the outset of the action that bad behavior is punished, but he engages in such antics.  Meanwhile, as much as our heroine tries to change her stripes, Diana never entirely renounces her amoral ways.  At least one plot line involving Jonathan Banks’ incarnated criminal is never taken advantage of and the fates of three villains sent to kill McCarthy are left unraveled. McCarthy’s riotous shenanigans and Bateman’s straight-arrow businessman and the charisma that they generate salvage this otherwise formulaic saga.