FILM REVIEW: IDENTITY THIEF

Diana (Jenny McCarthy) in Identity Thief.

Stolen vices

By Ed Rampell

The odiously unfunny Identity Thief is the latest installment in the “women behaving badly” cycle that has included the far funnier Bridesmaids and even Bad Teacher. Although for some reason the bland Jason Bateman gets top credit over Melissa McCarthy, who was Oscar nominated for the former, she stars as Diana in this flick that’s about as funny as McCarthyism. Diana (or whatever her name really is) assumes the name and identity of Sandy Bigelow Patterson (Bateman) and proceeds to live high off the hog, literally at his unwitting, unwilling expense.

Identity theft is a serious issue, but what the screenwriters Craig Mazen (who’s apparently extremely versatile, as the amazing Mazen also has credits for writing men behaving badly pix, including The Hangover II and III) and Jerry Eeten seem to have done is take a topical trendy subject that has a certain cachet and “brand name” appeal in order to attract attention to a movie that really deals with the title only about five percent or so of the time. The rest of the film is more of a road trip (but with On the Road and the upcoming Big Sur, I guess Jack Kerouac has that move market cornered) about the overweight 40-something McCarthy’s vulgar hijinks. We’re supposed to find sheer hilarity in a fat middle-aged woman’s masturbating, having sex, meting out and receiving physical punishment and, but of course, the McCarthy house specialty: foul mouthing.

But I was unamused and judging by the response of the Arclight audience, which -- like your beleaguered critic who puts himself into harm’s way by reviewing where fools fear to tread so you, dear viewer, don’t have to -- only laughed intermittently, so will the average moviegoer. This pic reminded me of Roseanne Barr’s unfortunate 1989 She-Devil, which she subsequently denounced. It is a sign of the appallingly low level of social discourse in an America in decline that the “women behaving badly” cycle is some sort of indication and even example of female empowerment. It’s like the “liberals” who believe that allowing women, gays and undocumented immigrants to fight for the U.S. military in combat is likewise some sort of manifestation of “equal rights.” Yes, you too can get your limbs blown off, have lifelong PTSD, even get killed, commit war crimes and atrocities invading Third World countries that never attacked us, by fighting for U.S. imperialism! Because we’re all equal pawns and cannon fodder now for the American Empire. In a similar way, “women behaving badly” poses the notion that “equality” means females adapting the same type of aggressive, belligerent, obnoxious behavior that is widespread among rude, crude dudes in our increasingly impolite, alienated society. (See Amy Alkon’s book, I See Rude People.)

Jon Favreau, John Cho and Amanda Peet are wasted in bit parts in Identity Thief. Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet, however, is droll as Big Chuck in a sex scene that plays against type.

The most trenchant observation Identity Thief makes is that when the completely innocent Sandy encounters the police (Morris Chestnut is serviceable as Detective Reilly) regarding the theft of his identity resulting in thousands of dollars of overcharges he did not make, the pigs are completely unwilling and unable to help him. How typical: As Alfred Hitchcock shrewdly observed (and there’s a sequence in Psycho that specifically deals with this idea), the police are usually completely ineffectual. (Except when you go out on strike or protest or occupy -- then, but of course, they’re always there to beat you upside the head with their billy clubs, mace you, chase you or even worse.)

But the main thing that this ugly flick directed by Seth Gordon will steal is your time and money wasted purchasing tickets to see this unfunny waste of time.

    

FILM REVIEW: HORRIBLE BOSSES

A scene from Horrible Bosses.

Hardly working

By Don Simpson

A lot of people have had horrible bosses and a lot of people are afraid of quitting their horrible jobs because of the high unemployment rates and stagnant job market. Director Seth Gordon’s (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters; Freakonomics) Horrible Bosses counts solely on these facts to draw people to the box office so they can pay outlandish ticket prices with the money they have earned from the jobs in which they feel hopelessly stuck. Pure and simple, Horrible Bosses is an escapist fantasy for and about the disenfranchised white middle-class workforce.

As is the trend with most Hollywood comedies of late, Horrible Bosses is based upon an idea that is as flimsy as a Saturday Night Live sketch and stretched out well beyond plasticity for 100 minutes. Technically, the narrative is comprised of a rough, mostly linear, outline of vignettes that begins with three haphazardly cross-cut stories about the unbelievable horribleness of Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale’s (Charlie Day) jobs or, more specifically, the unbelievable horribleness of their bosses, Mr. Harken (Kevin Spacey), Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell) and Dr. Harris (Jennifer Aniston), respectively. From there, the three guys begin to discuss and then foolhardily attempt to act upon the notion that if they murder their bosses their lives would be a hell of a lot better. After promptly shying away from a handsome man soliciting golden showers, the guys choose Motherfucker Jones (Jamie Foxx) to be their "murder consultant." Ridiculous, I know, but at least some of the dialogue is witty and funny.

Farrell relies upon a goofy prosthetic comb-over and coked-out glaze to draw laughs just as Aniston uses her ample bosom and trashy mouth to shock the audience into submission. Speaking of breasts and filthy pie holes, the women of Horrible Bosses (specifically Aniston and Julie Bowen’s character) are represented as one-dimensional sex objects -- unless, of course, they (specifically Lindsay Sloane’s character) are lulled into a happy daze by an engagement ring.

The definition of rape is repeatedly brought into question as is the ridiculousness of sex offender lists -- though both topics are bent over a barrel and shown the fifty states, if you know what I mean? (Hell, I do not even know what that means!) Toyota is mocked and ridiculed; the protagonists are lightly made fun of for being fumbling racists; pussies are scary; the Americanization (at least in name) of Indian telephone-support representatives is critiqued; and there is a relentless barrage of pop culture references, including blatant nods to Strangers on a Train, Good Will Hunting and Snow Falling on Cedars, of which some work better than others.

Horrible Bosses is definitely not as well-written or funny as Bridesmaids, but its certainly better than most of the other Hollywood comedies of 2011. If anything, I bet this film is much better than Zookeeper -- Horrible Bosses’ comedic nemesis this week at the box office. Of course, that is not saying much.