June 5, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 35
‘Identity Thief’ benefits from chemistry of leads
by Dennis Seuling “Identity Thief” (Universal Home Entertainment) draws upon the serious problem of identity fraud as the basis for a wild, often slapstick romp. Diana (Melissa McCarthy) is on a spending spree on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida. Her endless shopping is being financed with a credit card and Social Security number stolen from Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman), a hard-working Denver family man and accounts rep. Sandy, burdened with enormous debt, is frustrated with the snail’space police investigation and decides to go to Florida, find the hacker, and see that justice is done. Naturally, Diana is not overly cooperative, resulting in a variety of comic situations. McCarthy has a wonderful flair for comedy and singlehandedly keeps the movie from being a tired variation of the road trip gone bad. She has Lucille Ball’s instincts for physical comedy, Carol Burnett’s talent for portraying offbeat characters, and Lily Tomlin’s way with a zinger. Bateman is a bland Sandy, and merely sets up the gags and keeps the plot moving. Bateman has made a career of playing the grounded adult when those around him are immature, deceitful, or outright zany. He is the steadying influence that prevents a movie from going too far over the top.
Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman), right, attempts to bring credit card thief Diana (Melissa McCarthy) to justice in ‘Identity Thief.’
The chemistry between McCarthy and Bateman is excellent. They exchange what appear to be improvisational quips effectively, possess first-rate comic timing, and know when a joke needs punching up or can stand on its own. The contrast between McCarthy’s manic Diana and Bateman’s sane Sandy contributes to the incongruity of their interaction. Director Seth Gordon keeps the pace brisk and the gags abundant. He is not
afraid of being politically incorrect, and offers a few surprises along the way. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes both unrated and theatrical versions, a gag reel, a making-of short, alternate takes, and a featurette. “Warm Bodies” (Summit Entertainment) focuses on young R (Nicholas Hoult), who has eyes for Julie (Teresa Palmer). Julie, however, is preoccupied with fighting zombies in a post-apocalyptic world. The
catch: R is a zombie. Like his fellow zombies, R must feed on the brains of the living to survive. By ingesting brains, a zombie also experiences the memories of his victim. R has just chowed down on Julie’s boyfriend Perry (Dave Franco), and begins to see memories of the couple’s life together. R is smitten with Julie, but can Julie possibly fall for a dead predator? Hoult (“X-Men: First Class,” “Clash of the Titans”) is appealing as the lovesick R. Hoult does his zombie shuffle convincingly and is made up just pale enough with some skin discolorations and scars to make him creepy, but not altogether repugnant. With borrowings or influences from many sources, starting with “Romeo and Juliet” and extending through every dystopian movie ever made, this is a sweet picture despite its gruesome trappings. It is tough to make an essentially mute character register with a personality, but Hoult and director Jonathan Levine accomplish this task both touchingly and amusingly. “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” (Paramount Home Entertainment) tells viewers what happens when the title characters, kidnapped by a witch and almost killed, grow up. Now, 15 years later, they are heavilyarmed bounty hunters. When the children of a small town go missing, the duo is hired (continued on Crossword page)