It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.
Today’s topic is Fake Identity! I think it’s fairly obvious what that means? Someone, in that movie, goes by a different identity to their own and to make this list, it should probably be a vital plot point? Let’s see what I got for you! The way I know myself, I don’t think this will be full of crime and/or thrillers though …
She’s the Man
This movie is loosely inspired by William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and involves a lot of misunderstandings in the romance department. The reason I picked it is because Viola loves nothing more than to play soccer and therefore goes to a private school pretending to be her twin brother in order to keep playing and crush her ex’s team, because he didn’t believe in her. I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious that she wasn’t her brother, but it was a funny kinda movie?
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama sure has flaws, but it also always makes me feel a certain kind of warmth inside when I watch it. Melanie made up a whole different life when she moved to the big city and it obviously came back to bite her in the butt. It all ends well though, so, that is good.
Love at Second Sight
This isn’t so much a fake identity story as it is a lost identity one? It might be cheating to use the movie in that regard, but I still liked it. A man doesn’t appreciate his wife enough and then he experiences a different universe where they never fell in love and how that changed his entire life. He then has to make her fall in love with him again.
If you want a TV show with the theme of fake identity, a bunch of con artists etc, I highly recommend Imposters! You can read a full post on the show here, but just know that it remains one of my all time favourites with impeccable characters all around.
Life and Other Disasters 
She’s the Man is SO underrated. I remember watching it in the theater and absolutely loving it. I almost chose Sweet Home Alabama for my list too! I haven’t heard of Love at Second Sight but it looks like one I need to check out.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I love She’s the Man – it’s among those early 2000s teen romcoms that I watched like a dozen times.
I might be a little biased about Love at Second Sight, because the company I used to work for released it in my territory. But it’s a nice movie, but also with a very French ending haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
She’s the Man was cute if flyaway light, sometimes that’s enough though.
The same could be said for Sweet Home Alabama but Reese Witherspoon is a stronger presence and more agile comedienne than Amanda Bynes.
I haven’t seen your third but I’m intrigued by the description.
I attempted to find three that used the false identity in different ways.
This Side of the Law (1950)-Picked up on a vagrancy charge wanderer David Cummins (Kent Smith) is bailed out by lawyer Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas) because he bears a remarkable resemblance to multi-millionaire Malcolm Taylor. As it happens Taylor is about to be declared dead after having gone missing seven years hence, if David will assume Taylor’s identity and convince his estranged family-wife Evelyn (Viveca Lindfors), brother Calder (John Alvin) and sister-in-law Nadine (Janis Paige)-that he is truly the missing man Cagle will pay him five thousand dollars. What seems like easy money quickly spirals into a web of deception and murder.
The Man Who Never Was (1956)-During WWII as Britain mobilizes to invade Sicily, intelligence agent Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) conceives a diversionary scheme to lead Germany to believe the true target is Greece. Creating the false identity of Major William Martin for a young man with no family who recently died of pneumonia (giving the appearance of drowning) Montagu plants phony top secret documents on the body and arranges for it to wash ashore in Spain. While Hitler believes the information German undercover agent Patrick O’Reilly (Stephen Boyd) is skeptical. His suspicions risk exposing the deception.
The Great Imposter (1961)-Young Ferdinand Demara Jr. (Tony Curtis) quits high school to join the Army with hopes of becoming an officer but finds his lack of education stands in his way. His solution is to fake papers as an officer in the Marines but eventually his lie is detected. On the run he assumes the identity of a Trappist monk. In time though he again must flee and as the years pass Demara impersonates a sailor, prison warden, teacher and doctor as his journeys take him around the globe. This is based on a true story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Honestly, I prefer cute and light movies, which is mostly what I tend to gravitate towards for these lists also.
In addition to that, I’m terrible at film history and barely watch anything from before the 80s, so I can’t speak to any of the movies you mentioned.
LikeLike
Oh God, She’s the Man! That brings back memories. That was a go-to movie at events and get-togethers in my teens. By the time I graduated, I had seen it so many times I was sick of it.
Speaking of fake identities, I’ve seen a couple of movies where this is part of the story and used really well. One was an adaptation of an Edgar Allen Poe story that I saw just recently. Another was Lucky Number Slevin, which was much better than I expected it to be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I could not tell you how many times I’ve watched She’s the Man – it’s an iconic early 2000s movie for me haha
I think I’ve watched Lucky Number Slevin and quite liked it, but it’s been ages.
LikeLike
Yeah, it’s not a film many people rewatch over and over.
LikeLike
I’ve seen Sweet Home Alabama a long time ago, so I don’t remember a fake identity.
LikeLike
Basically, the main character invented a whole different family history/past for herself when she moved to the big city to seem more classy. She kept her first name though.
LikeLike
I’ve seen the first two picks. I’ve always really liked Sweet Home Alabama. it’s pretty high on my rom com list.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sweet Home Alabama is just one of those comfort classics
LikeLike
Nice picks, Kat. I’ve heard of the first two but never watched them. Your third sounds like something I’d really enjoy, as I like French films. I’ll add it to my watchlist 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I’d say that Love at Second Sight was more of a lowkey release and is not my favourite Francois Civil movie (highly recommend Deux Moi), but it was pleasant enough 😊
LikeLike
I have seen Sweet Home, Alabama and it is a nice flick but it didn’t wow me at all. I have not seen the other 2 but want to especially the last film.
LikeLike
I hope you’ll enjoy the movie if you do end up watching it!
LikeLike
Awwww Sweet Home Alabama, how did that not occur to me?!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s not the most obvious choice, I think? hahaha but i always lean towards romcoms as example movies for my lists haha
LikeLike