The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/230349
In today's hyper-connected world, you never know who's about to have the time of your life! Andy Spiegel is a creative director and freelance writer. A lifelong movie lover, he maintains a movie review blog called Andy's Private Screening Room at jasscreeningroom. blogspot.com. Andy can be contacted at jandy1943@gmail.com. IDENTITY THEFT (2013) is billed as a comedy, and thanks to the combined comedic skills of the two leads, the droll Jason Bateman and the frenetic Melissa McCarthy, it pretty much passes as one. But not entirely. There are short bursts of mild violence and, as you'd expect from McCarthy if you saw her in the hilarious BRIDESMAIDS, plenty of potty mouth, too. Underlying it all is the very serious and timely theme of identity theft and how easy it has become for someone to filch your name and financial data, throwing your life into total disarray. McCarthy stars as Diana, a crafty credit card scammer and prevaricator waging mischief in Winter Park, Florida. Bateman is Sandy, a mild-mannered account executive living in Denver, Colorado who finds himself her latest victim. Outraged that Diana has taken over his good name and is quickly turning it worse and worse as she leaves behind a trail of extravagant purchases and arrest warrants, Sandy, with uncharacteristic boldness, decides to track her down and bring her to justice. He manages to corral Diana, but nasty complications ensue when they discover they're being pursued by a killer contracted by a disgruntled dope dealer Diana once had brief dealings with, as well as the Feds and men in blue from assorted states. All ends well for Sandy but not before he loses his cash, his clothes, his dignity and various vehicles — not to mention coming close several times to losing his and Diana's lives. As for Diana's fate…I'll let you identify that for yourself. IDENTITY THEFT is reminiscent of the 1988 action-comedy MIDNIGHT RUN with Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin (in fact, Bateman sometimes seems to be channeling Grodin). IDENTITY THEFT has some very funny lines (e.g., Sandy on the phone to a credit card company rep: "Exceeded the credit limit?! I used the card for coffee and gas. Florida?! Raytheon Water Sports? Never heard of it. I'm in Colorado. We don't have beaches, you know? We're landlocked.") and a sappy/happy ending. But to anyone who has ever suffered true identity theft or knows someone who has, this movie could — or should — trigger some very serious concerns about the risk of using credit cards and divulging personal information online. All it took for Sandy to lose his identity was a friendly call from a credit card company rep advising him that someone had tried to use his credit card number, but that by confirming his name, date of birth and social security number he could sign him up for a free identity protection service. The "rep," of course: Diana. 5 OTHER MOVIES ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT WORTH SEEING (Courtesy of IMDb and Wikipedia) • CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002): A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks posing as a Pan Am pilot, doctor and legal prosecutor. • FACE/OFF (1997): To foil an extortion plot, an FBI agent undergoes a face-transplant surgery and assumes the identity and physical appearance of a ruthless terrorist. But the plan backfires when the same criminal impersonates the cop with the same method. 90 Peer to Peer • GATTACA (1997): A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel. • THE JACKAL (1997): An IRA sniper is freed from prison to stop an identity- morphing assassin from completing his next job. • THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999): A bright and charismatic sociopath, highly skilled at impersonating other people, kills his idol and assumes his identity.