‘The Identical’ is a pale imitation of Elvis’ story, reviews say

What if Elvis Presley’s stillborn twin brother had survived, only for the two infants to be separated at birth? How might their lives differ, reflect one another and perhaps even intersect? That’s the intriguing premise behind the Elvis-inspired faith-based drama “The Identical,” which nominally tells the story of Drexel “The Dream” Hemsley and his long-lost twin, Ryan Wade (both played by Blake Rayne).

According to film critics, however, “The Identical” is bogged down by its mawkish execution and lack of originality.

In a review for The Times, Robert Abele writes, “Director Dustin Marcellino and writer Howard Klausner steer their parallel-fates movie toward every cliche, and the aggressive wholesomeness — including avoidance of anything potentially grim about race relations in the Deep South of the ‘50s and ‘60s — undercuts the emotion behind their tale of following one’s God-given talent.”

The movie, Abele says, “is ultimately too schematically sentimental … to have much of an impact.”

USA Today’s Claudia Puig calls “The Identical” a “contrived twins-separated-at-birth movie.” The idea for the film “might have made for a mildly intriguing skit, but blown out into a full-length feature it’s at best campy and at worst an amateurish, sentimental schlock-fest. The casting is off-base, and for a movie about the love of music, the original tunes are thoroughly forgettable.”

Regarding the cast, Puig says that Ray Liotta “overacts” in his role as Ryan’s stern preacher father and Ashley Judd “dully plays” his mother, while the narration is “heavy-handed” and “clunky.”

Rayne (a former Elvis impersonator) doesn’t fare much better, according to L.A. Weekly’s Amy Nicholson. She writes: “Instead of heat, [Rayne] exudes a dopey puppy pathos. You don’t want to pounce on him; you want to pat his head and offer him a soda. Rayne fits the film, which is itself a cardboard cutout of a movie.”

New York magazine’s Bilge Ebiri describes “The Identical” as “a hot, holy mess” and adds, “It’s stocked with cliches, but they’re arranged in such weird ways that the end result is both predictable and certifiable. If only any of it actually went somewhere.”

While the film has “germs of ideas” about topics like individuality, spirituality, fame and the mysterious bond between twins, Ebiri says, it doesn’t develop them. “Ultimately, though, the problem with ‘The Identical’ isn’t so much that it mixes up messages but that it doesn’t seem to understand what makes its premise interesting.”

And the San Francisco Chronicle’s Walter Addiego says that while the film is “earnest and well-intentioned,” its makers “use such a straight-laced and schmaltzy approach that ‘The Identical’ might as well be a Hallmark TV movie.”

Addiego concludes, “Elvis fans may enjoy seeing Rayne in the performance scenes — he does a good Presley act. But the movie’s overall corn-fed air makes it a long 106 minutes.”

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