The  two redeeming features in the movie “Identity Thief” are Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy trying to make a stupid movie funny out of every cliche ever heard/seen before in a supposed ‘comedy’. Aside from Paul Rudd Bateman is the best ‘straight’ man in movies today and, in addition, is clean shaven which is quite different for an actor in the films today.

What is there to say about Melissa McCarthy except that it looks like she is being typecast as the raunchy plus size woman in movies when she, obviously, has so much more to offer as an actress.

This is an ‘odd couple’ road trip movie with a screenplay by Craig Mazin who hasn’t met a line in any road trip movie that he doesn’t use. He has the two stars beating up each other, running from killers, getting into car races, and crashes, walking away as if nothing had happened. He puts a man and woman in the trunk of a car and nothing does happen. Add to this a director, Seth Gordon, who seems to have attention deficient disorder and is afraid to have the camera on a scene more than a minute or two. What could and should be a funny sex scene has to be the dumbest and lest comic scenic ever put on film not to mention very insulting to overweight people.

The subject of identity theft is a serious one but can still offer humourous moments and “Identity Thief” has talented actors who could handle both sides of the problem but aren’t given anything to work with.

Amanda Peet, John Cho and Morris Chestnut offer good supporting performances while Eric Stonestreet forgot to leave Cameron from “Modern Family” off the set and doesn’t do himself any good here.

Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy and the movie audience deserve a lot better than this.

Having seen the musical version of “Les Miserables” four times on stage, twice when the 25th anniversary concert was presented on television  and now on the movie screen there are certainly advantages and disadvantages to each medium. The PBS anniversary brought the original 1985 and the current cast together in an encore that would be prohibitive for regular performances on stage and unthinkable on film. In the theater version you have a cast filling the stage with song and your eyes are darting all over as the action is conceived between wide and high set walls.

Julie Delpy obviously loves New York, especially the Statue of Liberty, and takes you all over the city with her new film “2 Days In New York” in which she acts, directs, co-writes, edits, wrote music, did the editing and also takes credit as one of the still photographers. That’s a lot of work for one person even if she has assistants and it shows in the final product. The directing and camera work gets a little sloppy at times and the story is all over the place.

Marion (Delpy) lives with Mingus (Chris Rock), each with a child from a previous relationship, in a very non-Hollywood but very realistic New York apartment. Marion is an artist and will be having a big exhibit that she has invited her father Jeannot (her real father the actor Albert Delpy) and her sister Rose (Alexia Landeau) from Paris. Rose brings along Manu,  (Alex Nahon) who is an ex of Marion’s. Due to Manu and Rose smoking a joint in the elevator in front of a neighbor Bella (Kate Burton) who tells Marion that she is reporting them to get her evicted from the building for a multitude of experiences like her son painting the mailboxes. Marion fakes stage 4 cancer in her brain changing Bella’s mind and will tell her surgeon husband Ron (Dylan Baker who has been a very busy actor lately) who becomes very concerned, particularly after seeing Rose nude which she often is in the apartment.

http://broadwayshowbiz.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/tv/813-vito-tv-review