'Identity Thief' review: High-quality laughs aren't part of this 'Identity'

"Identity Thief" features Genesis Rodriguez and rapper T.I. as two lackeys of a drug kingpin(Jonathan Banks). The kingpin is behind bars, but somehow still manages to be running things, ordering the two to kill Diana(Melissa McCarthy), who must have gotten a hold of his credit card information. How he still has credit card information since he's in prison is another topic.

For all the chasing done between the pair and a high-strung bounty hunter(played over-the-top to near-cheese levels by Robert Patrick), the threat never seems to close in on Diana and Sandy Patterson. But all the plot points that never get explained and all the detour scenes that don't seem to lead anywhere could all be forgiven if "Identity Thief" could manage to muster more than a chuckle or two from its audience. But it certainly can't.

Melissa McCarthy does her best, but the screenplay doesn't require her to be any more outrageous than what the TV spots could promise. Instead, the story seems hell-bent on giving her a heart early on and the laughs start slipping away. Jason Bateman doesn't fare quite as well. With each new mediocre flick he's attached to, it becomes more obvious that he's very often typecast as the exasperated everyman. Sandy Patterson could be inserted into past flicks like "The Switch", "The Change-Up", and "Horrible Bosses", and no one would really notice a difference.

At the beginning of the film, Diana goes on an alcohol spending spree at the local bar, and the scene just isn't all that funny. It's a bad omen for a comedy, and unfortunately it paints an accurate portrait of the film's remaining runtime. "Identity Thief" is a rather large disappointment, and certainly not worth the admission at the local multiplex. Wait for this to show up on Netflix Instant and see "Side Effects" instead.