Identity theft affects an estimated 1.8 million people in the UK every year, leading to months of worry and stress.

It’s hardly a laughing matter. Nor is Seth Gordon’s brash comedy, a smash hit on the other side of the Atlantic, which pits a kind-hearted family man (Jason Bateman) against the feisty con woman (Bridesmaids scene-stealer Melissa McCarthy) who has pilfered his personal details.

Identity Thief relies heavily on the razor-sharp comic timing of the two leads, casting Bateman as the beleaguered straight man to McCarthy’s whirlwind extrovert.

The opening hour is acrimoniously divorced from reality, reaching a ludicrous crescendo with a motel room threesome, which makes the second half of the film, laced with heart-tugging sentiment, exceedingly hard to swallow.

“People don’t give a damn about me. I don’t give a damn about people,” sobs McCarthy’s swindler to explain her conniving actions and hopefully carry our sympathy.

The characters in Gordon’s film might be fooled, and even a little dewy-eyed, at this emotional outpouring but we don’t fall for the crocodile tears.