Film

Identity Thief

Name: Identity Thief
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Released: 2013
Cast: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, T.I.

Con-artist caper
Comedy
Light-hearted

A buddy-comedy road trip where a buttoned-up accountant chases down the woman who stole his identity across America. Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy play off each other's rhythms—his exasperation, her chaotic charm—as they tumble through increasingly ridiculous situations. It's comfort food: predictable, loud, and engineered entirely around the warmth of two likeable people stuck together.

TMDb rating

2.9

If you liked this

The Odd Couple1968

The original template for this dynamic: two people with nothing in common, thrown into proximity, learning to need each other. Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon have the same exhausted-patience-meets-escalating-chaos energy that powers Identity Thief.

But It's deeply of its era—pacing and sensibility that can feel slow and theatrical to modern eyes.

Midnight Run1988

Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin as a bounty hunter and his bail-jumping target become unlikely partners across a road trip. Sharper writing and more genuine stakes than Identity Thief, but the same formula: opposites + car = character discovery.

But The plot is fairly thin, and it relies entirely on whether you buy the chemistry between leads.

Due Date2010

Zack Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. trapped together, bickering their way across America to a birth. Cruder and more chaotic than Identity Thief, but it hits the same notes of escalating disaster and reluctant bonding.

But The humour is often juvenile and the central relationship never quite softens enough to earn genuine emotional payoff.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Identity Thief

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Paper Moon1973

Same road-trip structure and odd-couple dynamic, but this one actually deepens into something about how people hurt and protect each other, rather than just banter.

A con artist and his daughter grift across Depression-era America—a buddy road-comedy structured almost identically to Identity Thief but shot in gorgeous black-and-white, played with real wit, and genuinely affecting. Ryan O'Neal and Tatum O'Neal are absolutely alive in every frame.

But It's deliberate and unhurried in ways modern audiences find glacial. The comedy is dry and requires engagement rather than assault.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles1987

Steve Martin and John Candy's cross-country odyssey set the gold standard for this subgenre. Sharp comedy, real heart, and a bittersweet understanding of what these journeys actually do to people.

But If you watch it, you'll realize Identity Thief is copying a masterpiece, which can sting.

The Heat2013

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as mismatched cops who learn to work together. McCarthy gets to be both the comedic engine and a real character—similar to her role here but better deployed.

But The plot is formulaic cop-comedy territory, and the action sequences feel obligatory rather than earned.

Rush Hour1998

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as Hong Kong cop and LA detective forced to partner up. Higher-octane than Identity Thief but built on the same principle: clashing personalities, fish-out-of-water momentum, action set pieces that pause for banter.

But The action can overshadow character development, and some of Tucker's comedy hasn't aged gracefully.

National Lampoon's Vacation1983

Chevy Chase's family road trip to Disneyland is a foundational comedy about cross-country mishaps and simmering resentment. It's darker and more character-driven than Identity Thief, but the DNA is identical.

But It's slower-paced than modern comedies and the humour sometimes stops dead to let awkwardness breathe.

Thelma & Louise1991

Two women on the run across America discovering themselves and each other. It's Identity Thief's serious older sibling—same road-trip structure, same bonding-through-crisis arc, but genuine stakes and ambition.

But It's a tragedy, and the tonal whiplash from a lightweight comedy might be jarring.

Ghostbusters II1989

The Ghostbusters reunite reluctantly for another adventure in New York. It's the rare sequels that gets the ensemble energy right—banter, camaraderie, genuine affection beneath the bickering.

But The premise is thin even by late-80s standards, and the film knows it's just an excuse to hang out with these characters.

The 40 Year-Old Virgin2005

Both are fundamentally about an uptight guy learning looseness from someone chaotic—but this one actually explores what isolation does to you, and makes the learning matter.

Steve Carell as a sheltered manchild navigates the world with help from abrasive friends who genuinely care about him. Improvisational, warm, and genuinely funny in ways that respect both the character's vulnerability and the comedy's vulgarity.

But It's crude and riffs can drag on past the joke's expiration date. The sexual content is central and unironic in a way that didn't age seamlessly.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure1985

The road-trip structure and the notion that chaos and strangeness are where real connection happens, but this one is surreal and visually precise rather than grounded and derivative.

A childlike man drives across America to find his stolen bicycle, collecting misfits and disasters along the way. Tim Burton directs pure invention: surreal, gorgeous, absurdist, and utterly warm. It's a road-trip buddy comedy where the tone is entirely unexpected.

But It's weird. Genuinely weird. If you want recognizable buddy-comedy rhythms, this is alien and won't comfort you.