Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 20% of 173 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's consensus reads: ""Identity Thief's few laughs are attributable to Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, who labor mightily to create a framework for the movie's undisciplined plotline"." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
R. Kurt Osenlund of Slant Magazine gave the film a positive review, rating it 3 out of 4 stars, praising McCarthy's performance, writing that she "gives a performance leagues better than anything to be expected in a mainstream, early-in-the-year release, padding a typically sketched character with layers of hilarity and pathos. McCarthy owns 'Identity Thief' with a turn of limitless surprise, making an otherwise adequate comedy soar as a star vehicle. She is riveting in simply-penned moments of remorse and confession, adding tearful depth to her ace timing and formidable physical comedy."
Peter Debruge of Variety magazine praises McCarthy but criticizes the script, saying "Melissa McCarthy proves she’s got what it takes to carry a feature, however meager the underlying material."
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out of 4 and wrote: "It wants to be "Midnight Run" meets "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," but it carries little of the dramatic heft and real-world semi-plausibility of those much superior efforts." He concludes "Here's hoping someone finds a much better vehicle for these terrifically talented actors."
Bob Mondello for NPR described the film as "Two Hours Stolen", calling it "a catalog of missed opportunities", and "uninspired trudge of a road movie". Mondello particularly criticizes the script for wasting the talented lead performers, setting up Bateman as stupid and dull, while subverting McCarthy's improvisational skills and undercutting her comic timing with interruptions.
James Berardinelli of ReelViews.com gave the film 1 out 4 and wrote: "This feels a lot like some of the recent, unwatchable Adam Sandler offerings: boorish, unfunny comedy colliding with saccharine, quasi-dramatic filler." He thought the trailer was a fair representation of the film and that viewers that liked it might get more than the few chuckles he got out of the film. Berardinelli says the film is not simply bad but
manages to "cross the line into reprehensible."
Dana Stevens at Slate.com considers the implications of the “brazenly grotesque" character that McCarthy plays and how it is an uneasy balance between feminist trailblazing and preservation of stereotypes. Stevens would be more willing to forgive the film for "its overfamiliar comic setups and shameless gag-recycling if the movie’s second half didn’t make such an abrupt about-face from soliciting our revulsion to begging for our pity."
In his negative review, Rex Reed made several references to Melissa McCarthy's weight, referring to her as "tractor-sized," "humongous," "obese," and a "hippo," Reed's comments received criticism from various film critics. Reed stood by his comments and stated his objection to the use of serious health issues such as obesity as comedy talking points. He dismissed the outrage as being orchestrated for publicity, but praised McCarthy for not getting involved in the matter, calling her "completely classy." McCarthy later responded, expressing surprise the review was published, and said "I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate. I just thought, that’s someone who’s in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot. I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids".
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