Review: The Call

This is 911 – What is Your Emergency?

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: March 15, 2013 – U.S.

Rating: R

Genre: Thriller

Running Time: 94 minutes

Director: Brad Anderson

Writers: Richard D'Ovidio, Nicole D'Ovidio, 

Jon Bokenkamp

Cast: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, 

Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, 

David Otunga, Michael Imperioli

Imagine being a 911 call operator who has to face life or death decisions all day, every day, over the phone. That's what Jordan Turner (Academy Award winner Halle Berry) deals with every time she goes to work. The calls are generally mundane and manageable: A neighbor is in trouble. Can I have directions? Eeek, a bat! But then there are those situations where a young girl is home alone and a dangerous killer is about to break in.

The first incident, involving a pretty teenager named Leah Templeton (Evie Louise Thompson), traumatizes Jordan.

Six months later, it happens again. Another young teen, Casey Welson (Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin), is kidnapped from the parking lot of a mall. Her captor (played by the usually creepy Michael Eklund) locks her in the trunk of a car and speeds through the freeway. Luckily, she has a cell phone.

Jordan once again gets involved. While she mans the phone line, two police officers – Paul Phillips (the always reliable Morris Chestnut) and Jake Devans (WWE wrestler David Otunga) – hit the streets in search of the missing girl and her kidnapper. It's more than just another routine job for Phillips: he's in a relationship with Jordan and wants to help her.  

Along the way, the creepy kiddie-snatcher crosses paths with another driver on the road, who has to be the world's biggest idiot (Michael Imperioli from "The Sopranos" in a thankless role). Christopher – his "Sopranos" character – lost in the woods is sharper than this dimbulb. I realize his stupidity is supposed to add to the suspense, but it's a colossal waste of Imperioli's talents.

However, Halle Berry does an outstanding job, using only her voice and body language to convey a wide range of emotions: from detached professionalism to passionate conviction to downright fear – all in the course of a single phone conversation.

Abigail Breslin is equally as good with her pitch-perfect portrayal of a scared little girl locked in the trunk of a madman's car.  

The lesser-known Eklund is also superb, becoming more and more unhinged as the film progresses.

Pro wrestler David Otunga isn't given much screentime, but he's smooth and charismatic – a definite natural. His charming, likeable character is a nice contrast to the smarmy, coffee cup-cradling corporate kiss-ass he embodies on Monday Night Raw. It's definitely one of the better performances by a wrestler in recent memory – even if that is faint praise when put up against the likes of Randy Orton and John Cena, both of whom could double as Hacksaw Jim Duggan's 2x4 because they're so wooden. No current WWE star has come close to Andre The Giant in "The Princess Bride" or Rowdy Roddy Piper in "They Live" (does The Rock still count now that he's a legitimate movie star?), but Otunga – like The Miz – definitely shows something.

"The Call" is the latest in a long line of movies from WWE Studios, whose history and ratio of quality is definitely hit-or-miss, to say the least. Thankfully, this is one of its best efforts (and certainly its most financially successful). Casting top-notch actresses like Berry and Breslin made all the difference. It helps, also, that the movie remains more or less plausible – at least until the last half-hour, which takes Berry's character in a completely illogical direction. The ending (which I won't spoil) is even more ridiculous. Some people will be fine with the final act, but I found it silly – it's very much reminiscent of a wrestling storyline between a beloved "babyface" and a hated "heel" – and it completely trivializes the roles of Chestnut and the WWE's Otunga. 

Still, despite some nitpicks, there's actually a lot to like and recommend here. For the most part, "The Call" is very successful at what it sets out to do. It's a fast-paced thriller that's fun to watch and features great performances.  

Review: Identity Thief

The Only Thing This "Identity Thief" Steals is Nearly Two Hours of Your Life

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: February 8, 2013

Rating: R

Genre: Comedy

Running Time: 112 minutes

Writers: Craig Mazin (screenplay), 

Jerry Eeten (story), Craig Mazin (story)

Director: Seth Gordon

Cast: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, 

Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, T.I., 

Genesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, 

John Cho, Robert Patrick, 

Eric Stonestreet

"Identity Thief" tries to be a combination of "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" and "Midnight Run" without ever quite capturing the success of either.

This movie is problematic from the very beginning.

If you received a phone call informing you of suspicious charges, would you blindly hand over your social security number? Only a complete imbecile would. Sandy Bigelow Patterson (Jason Bateman) recites those digits without a second thought.

If you were an identity thief, would you call from your own number, which reveals your city and state? The fake Sandy Bigelow Patterson, Diana (Melissa McCarthy), does.

If you were a loving wife with two daughters and a baby on the way, would you allow your naive husband to make a trip to Winter Park, Florida to capture his identity thief and bring her back to the state of Colorado for questioning? Trish Patterson (Amanda Peet, wasted in yet another thankless accessory role) apparently sees no issues with this.

If that wasn't ridiculous enough, Sandy's co-worker (John Cho) and the detective investigating the case (Morris Chestnut) also consider it a solid plan.

Some people have the attitude that it's "just a comedy," so it doesn't need to be logical. To me, the funniest situations are grounded in reality.

At first I wondered what would possess Melissa McCarthy to take a role like this. So confident and hilarious in "Bridesmaids," her character in "Identity Thief" is completely obnoxious and unpleasant – at least at the outset. If that wasn't bad enough, the movie constantly – and offensively – portrays Diana as the object of other people's pity because she's "fat" and "frumpy." Even worse, she pretends to have fibromyalgia to elicit even more of their sympathy. This is supposed to be funny?

Jason Bateman, meanwhile, attempts to channel his best impression of Steve Martin from "Planes, Trains & Automobiles." He never comes close to the brilliance of that performance, of course, but he deserves points for trying. Like Martin's character, Sandy is a humorless sourpuss. Then again, he does have every right to be angry – after all, his identity has been stolen.

Diana is able to pose as Sandy because "that's a girl's name," as various characters unhelpfully point out. Sandy defends himself by explaining that his grandfather was a "big ball fan" and named him after the legendary player Sandy Koufax. That garners a belly laugh from his horrible boss – is there ever any other kind? – Harold Cornish (played by Jon Favreau).

Sandy 1 eventually catches up with Sandy 2, and they run into the usual problems that befall every character in every road trip movie. For one thing, people are looking for them (Genesis Rodriguez, T.I., and "Terminator 2's" Robert Patrick at various points). There's also a car chase sequence. In most movies, regular human beings suddenly become experienced stunt drivers. Not here. The camerawork is fantastic, perfectly capturing the fear and lack of control a normal person would experience in that situation.

The most memorable supporting character is probably Big Chuck (Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"), a large, fun-loving "hoss" who likes to have a good time. He is the first to see beyond Diana's exterior and recognize her beauty. (Until a condescending "makeover" scene much later in the film, she strongly resembles the redheaded woman from the original "Total Recall" who kept saying "two weeks" over and over.)

"Identity Thief" becomes far more enjoyable in the second half as Sandy and Diana get to know each other and their attitudes begin to soften. We finally see glimmers of what makes Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy such warm, likeable, appealing comedic actors. Still, by then, it's too little, too late to salvage the movie. This is more than just a case of mistaken identity; it was a mistake, period, for Bateman and McCarthy to attach themselves to this project.