Melissa McCarthy’s 19%-Rated Comedy Is Suddenly One of Netflix Most-Watched Movies

Who wouldn’t want to spend an evening with an old comedy movie even if it was smashed by critics back in the day?

Netflix ’s viewers have just given yet another proof of goofy films’ vitality even years after their theatrical release, as this week has marked an old hilarious flick’s sudden rise to recognition.

Melissa McCarthy’s poorly-rated road comedy Identity Thief from 2013 has entered Netflix’s US top 10 chart and is holding the 9th position at the time of writing.

Also starring other comedy legend Jason Bateman, Identity Thief follows businessman Sandy Patterson whose serene life is interrupted by a series of suspicious phone calls with people asking to confirm his personal details for things he’d never even consider doing.

Having figured out that someone has stolen his identity, Sandy leaves his wife, kids and job behind to embark on a chase for the thief, and that all eventually turns into a lengthy cross-country trip.

Things get a bit more complicated when the real Sandy and con artist Diana who stole Sandy’s identity are confronted by bounty hunters, which later on forces them to unite against a much bigger threat.

Is Identity Thief a Bad Movie?

Just like many other unpretentious comedy movies, Identity Thief became the audience’s darling, but never earned critical acclaim.

The film was a massive box office success grossing $175 million against the budget of $35 million, yet ended up landing very controversial scores of 19% and 53% from professionals and viewers respectively on Rotten Tomatoes.

Though back in the day many crashed the movie for the lack of the storyline’s depth and generally bad writing, Identity Thief seems to still be thriving thanks to long-standing fans that just gave it a second life more than ten years after its initial release.

Identity Thief can be streamed on Netflix worldwide.