Identity Thief

Identity Thief has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available in the US on Netflix and Starz Apple TV Channel. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. With 3,532 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Jason Bateman is the obvious draw, but the whole ensemble earns its laughs. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Netflix.

Identity Thief arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Sharp writing and a well-matched ensemble are what separate Identity Thief from the crowd. When a mild-mannered businessman learns his identity has been stolen, he hits the road in an attempt to foil the thief -- a trip that puts him in the path of a deceptively harmless-looking woman. Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy lead a cast with the timing to make it work. It was released in 2013. The real test of any comedy is whether it is still funny once you know all the jokes, and Identity Thief holds up on rewatch in a way that separates it from one-off curiosities. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

If you need a comedy that actually makes you laugh, Identity Thief is a strong candidate. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Jason Bateman anchors an ensemble with real chemistry. Genuinely funny, consistently, across the whole run.