From the director of Horrible Bosses, Seth Gordon, comes the new road trip comedy Identity Thief, in which a regular guy is forced to extreme measures to clear his name after his identity is stolen. With an all-star cast led by Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, this film will sure have you laughing, but also thinking what would you do if ever faced with this predicament.

Gordon feels that it was an “honor” to work with Bateman again, “in this case, he not only was the actor, but he was the producer, so he developed the script quite a bit, for a few years.” He said that the original script had two male leads and it was Bateman’s idea to change the thief to a woman. “That was a really genius move on his part, and really changed, and turned this film on its head,” he added. Bateman worked closely with screenwriter Craig Mazin, who’s research included spending time with a Beverly Hills police department detective in the identity theft division, to make the script relevant to the human condition.

For Bateman approaching Gordon with his idea was a no brainer after working with him on Horrible Bosses, “he is a really, really nice guy and great at what he does and you don’t really want much more than that.” He also mentioned that changing the thief to a female came after watching McCarthy’s performance in Bridesmaids. It was all because of her, personally. “Melissa [McCarthy] is a force of nature. Melissa is a breath of fresh air and hopefully is going to pave the road for some other great actresses,” said Gordon.

McCarthy didn’t want to make this character one-dimensional, to which she adds, “I loved the thought of someone doing criminal acts, but not doing them to be menacing. She does them because she’s lonely and doesn’t have anyone. I felt like I found the heart of her and something interesting that made her tick.” That doesn’t mean McCarthy approves of this kind of behavior, but it does make good comedy. “As long as it makes sense for the character, I like to see how far you can push it, but to me its not funny anymore if it doesn’t make sense,” she said about how far she’ll go for comedy.

Keeping a straight face was a challenge for Bateman while working with McCarthy. “She makes it very difficult because she does it in a way that’s different in every take, so even if you know what’s coming, it’s going to be a little bit different,” he said. Needless to say there was some improv happening on set. “That’s something I love about these two actors, the ability to not get stuck in what was pre-planned, but to find other ways through the material and stay within the intention of the story,” added Gordon.

Rounding up the cast are Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris, Genesis Rodriguez, Jonathan Banks, John Cho, Robert Patrick and Eric Stonestreet. For up-and-coming actress Rodriguez and musician Harris, it was a treat working closely with Modern Family’s Stonestreet. “He had a lot of funny stuff that he came up with on the fly. A lot of borderline offensive,” Harris laughs. “Yeah, he was getting our characters more angry,” adds Rodriguez.

Identity Thief is much more than a road trip movie. “It’s about identity, and it’s about being ok with who you are, even if you think it’s not enough,” said Mazin. Get ready for two kinds of comedy, the subtlety of Bateman and the physicality of McCarthy, meshed in a story that will make you root for the bad “guy,” as much as support the good guy.

In theaters February 8, 2013.