The new R-rated comedy “Identity Thief,” directed by Seth Gordon starts the year off as one of the funniest movies. Melissa McCarthy, who plays the outrageously funny Megan in “Bridesmaids,” has returned to play the hilarious character Diana. Partnered alongside her is Jason Bateman (“Horrible Bosses”) who plays the sucker that Diana has stolen the identity of: Sandy Patterson. The majority of the movie consists of Sandy and Diana on a road trip from Florida to California, while Sandy tries to have Diana confess her crime.

Many funny parts help keep the film strong. This is definitely thanks to McCarthy and Bateman’s characters that partake in hilarious back and forth actions. The two of them together never fail to induce a laugh and even in the slower parts, viewers will find themselves enjoying the movie at all times. Perhaps the funniest moment comes at a time when they’re in a car where McCarthy begins to sing. While this movie is a comedy McCarthy also offers up a few sentimental and emotional moments in which she will win over any moviegoer.

What also makes “Identity Thief” good is the fact that it does not have that moment that most comedies have, in which the hilarious duo are at odds with each other. This movie has no part in which those cliché moments of the average comedy exist. For this reason “Identity Thief” separates itself even from most comedy movies. This movie furthers separates itself from other comedies by being about a story that has not been told before. It’s not a romantic comedy, or a bro-comedy, it is a comedy about an identity thief and the victim’s interaction with one another.

Perhaps the only shortcoming of the movie is in the undeveloped plot line Diana seems to have with a group of drug dealers and a random bounty hunter. While watching the movie, viewers will never have a full understanding of what really has gotten Melissa McCarthy’s character into the mess she is in with the antagonists. Maybe without this germ of a subplot, “Identity Thief” could have gotten better reviews, but, even with it, most people should be able to overlook this shortcoming.

Despite what critics believe, “Identity Thief” is good. As a comedy, it holds its own, and with McCarthy and Bateman, the movie is definitely worth seeing.