Identity Thief

Sandy Bigelow Patterson is a careful, anally retentive accountant clearly modelled on a composite of Jason Bateman characters and played, appositely enough, by Jason Bateman. Diane is a shameless, Americanised one-woman tribute to Viz's Fat Slags, clearly inspired by Melissa McCarthy's performance in Bridesmaids and played, appositely enough, by Melissa McCarthy.

For reasons too unlikely to explain, Sandy is dispatched on a cross-country chase by new boss John Cho and dashing police detective Morris Chestnut. His mission is to find Diana, the woman who has stolen his identity and maxed out his credit cards. To further complicate matters, Diane is also the target of a bounty hunter (Robert Patrick ) and two crime syndicate henchmen (Genesis Rodriguez, T.I.. ) Can Sandy and Diana evade their pursuers? Will there be bonding?

Identity Thief would, ideally, like to assume the identity of Midnight Run. To this end, various writers and actors parachute in several smart barbs: "I'm going to get you a copy of The Fountainhead ," says Jon Favreau 's fatcat CEO. "And you're going to read it. You're going to understand why this is good for everybody."

Between overcooked gross-out scenes – plus-size people having sex! – Ms McCarthy brings a degree of poignancy to a sad, lonely fatso who consumes relentlessly to fill the family-and-friends- sized void in her life. There's something mean-spirited about giving Sandy an adoring wife (Amanda Peet ) and adorable kids to check in with. The big white- trash gal can only ever hope to make friends with a "normal" guy, as a hetero-fied fag hag, not as a love interest. Fat, for this movie, is not just a class or feminist issue; it is monstrousness from which hilarity may ensue.

McCarthy and Bateman work hard against a rudderless and, we suspect, over-improvised project. Director Seth Gordon has a good track record with TV comedy ( Community, Parks & Recreation ) and a slightly blotted copybook as a film-maker ( Four Christmases, Horrible Bosses ). Identity Thief marks an improvement, on these previous featuresones, but it's no Midnight Run . Expect the quality and joke rate of Hangover Part 2 and you won't be disappointed.