Hinting at something much bigger than its topical brand of shock humor is able to deliver, the title for Identity Thief seems poignant for today’s information-driven society where having one’s personal identity stolen is but a single careless mouse click away. However, without a meaningful subtext running beneath the onslaught of crass humor, the film wouldn’t amount to much more than a simple-minded  comedy with an endless onslaught of R-rated shenanigans.

So that’s where aspirational thoughts of becoming something more significant come in -- namely, hoping to turn the title on its head and play off the idea of what it means to know and accept who you really are, even when it’s painful to do so. A noble enough effort, and one that’s certainly needed to counter the excess of over-the-top physical antics with a bit of heart and soul. But problems arise when screenwriter Craig Mazin tries to meld those big-hearted themes with its relentless ribaldry.

Melissa McCarthy, in her first starring role since breaking out with her Oscar-nominated performance in 2010’s Bridesmaids, is undoubtedly the star of the show. And credit director Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) for knowing when to simply sit on his hands and let his performers perform. Jason Bateman plays opposite McCarthy in another of the straight-man roles he does so well. He’s hard-working mid-level financial analyst Sandy Patterson whose life gets disrupted by a Florida con artist (McCarthy) who steals his identity and trashes his credit rating virtually overnight.

With an ever-growing impatient wife (Amanda Peet), two children, another on the way, and his job dangling by a thread, Patterson sets out on a road trip across the country -- slightly reminiscent of Trains Plains, and Automobiles, only not as good -- to confront the woman enjoying an all-access pass to his life. But as he attempts to bribe, cajole, and rustle her 2,000 miles back to Colorado armed with only a bottle of sleeping pills to drug her with (never mind the unbelievability here, just go with it), and a little bit of “sock money” in case of an emergency, Patterson will soon discover how tough it can be to get your identity back.

Showing a similarly farcical brand of physical comedy that fed the careers of John Belushi and Chris Farley back in the day, McCarthy is unquestionably an up-and-coming comic force. Still, it’s likely just a matter of time before she grows weary of the inevitable pigeon-holing as the fat girl we love to watch fall down. And there’s a bit too much of that in Identity Thief -- or, at least, it’s not countered with enough meaty substance. At a few ticks shy of a full two hours (usually too much for a skit comedy), each set piece goes on a bit too long, including one with Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet as an oversexed cowboy named Big Chuck who falls for Diana at a small town bar along the way.

McCarthy receives ample opportunity to display her dramatic chops when the proceedings turn serious during a predictably emotional detour in the film’s latter half. But unfortunately, those moments are neither interesting nor weighty enough to amount to anything more than an unwanted pit stop, grinding the gears until we get to see the fat girl fall down again. Comedy without nuance and dimension comes across as plain slapstick. Bateman and McCarthy make for a great slapstick team, but at nearly two hours, the film runs out of gas way before it finally reaches its destination.

(Released by Universal Pictures and rated "R" by MPAA.)

Review also posted at www.franksreelreviews.com.