User Reviews

I am a Christian that is very wary of faith based films because they are usually cheesy and badly done. The Identical is not your typical faith based film. While there is a preacher character and faith is discussed some, there is no preachy message and no altar calls in the movie. This is just a wholesome movie that was surprisingly good and is safe for the whole family. All my kids and my wife enjoyed the movie. My wife did say that the whole Elvis thing going on was a little weird, but at the same time it made the film interesting.

I am disappointed that this film made so little money. It deserves to have been viewed more and to have made more money. I'm not sure if there was a lot of marketing for this film. Hopefully, it will have a greater life on Netflix and on DVD.

The story is so basic and predictable, the acting is brutal, but...... It's like a watchable TV movie. I did watch it all and .... Simply put its terrible movie making but I enjoyed parts of it enough to want to watch it to the end... Train wreck or car accident type idea ...curious as to how predictable it will be to the end. The music is more basic than the Beatles But it's catchy and sounds like Elvis and I guess that's why I watched the whole movie. The veteran actors are obviously putting in time and the director took the first or second takes to keep within budget. Every thing is stereotypical 1950's language, slang and morals. The dialogue is hilarious I assume the writers were doing things tongue in cheek.

Not a bad movie, not a lot of imagination in the story.

What a wonderful fantasy Elvis movie. I am moved. I appreciate Ray Liotta's performance. I am so grateful that someone is thinking of our feelings. What an interesting idea.

I understand that this is just a "dream" idea, a fantasy yet I found a sincere delight in watching this film. I loved Elvis and was often sad I never had a chance to see him live. Dreams and hope. This movie makes such a dream come true if only for our hearts and thoughts. Again, The King never dies. Thank you for bringing him back if only for a moment, a glimpse of the spirit. This movie proves the spirit is progressive if your heart really feels it. Elvis inspired dreams, thanks again to the actors Ashley Judd, Seth Green, Joe Pantoliano and finally the man, Blake Rayne, your best.

Let me say, I don't mind schmaltz. I don't at all mind films with a message. But THE IDENTICAL was written by someone with no narrative skill, and the film's clichés are less bothersome than its total failure to make any use of its premise. It's hard to explain how badly the film stumbles in this regard without detailing the plot, but suffice to say I truly see no message that one could take away from it.

Yes, it's a film that details tangentially with faith, but the characters' religious values impact the story in no fundamental way. You could have made the "identical"'s father a lawyer for all the difference it actually makes. And the reference to the Six Day War is a total non sequitur.

But at film's end, no real lessons have been learned (even those who find themselves in the rather unlikely situation that the protagonist faces will find little of value here), no points have been made, and our time has been pretty thoroughly wasted.

I could talk about how bad the performances by Ray Liotta, Seth Green, and Joe Pantoliano are, or how Ashley Judd barely ages over 40+ years, or how the period detail is incredibly haphazard, or how creepy the serenade-courtship scene is, but I'll settle for saying this:

Calling this film inspirational because its characters are Christians is like calling The Wolf of Wall Street patriotic because its characters are Americans.

A lot of faith-based movies are like Limburger cheese: It's okay if that's your taste, but please don't stick it in my face.

The basic story in a nutshell: two brothers are separated at birth. One is raised by his real parents and becomes Elvis in everything but the name (the actor playing the twin is/was an Elvis-impersonator), the other get's raised by a knuckle-dragging preacher (Liotta). And then there is the question of "faith". Do I really have to say more than that?

There are some bible-films that can appeal to the general public, who don't particularly care about the preaching. Some, if not most, are historical films like "Quo Vadis", but it would seem that "themed" films in recent days have become a little more desperate to bring their point across. It's a difference like going to a sermon (and being able to leave, if you so choose) and having a bunch of Jehovah's witnesses molesting you at your doorstep. Talking about what should really make or break a film (the acting), well, like I said, the main-character(s) is an Elvis-impersonator. It has been a long, long time since Ashley Judd has acted in something worthwhile (this too shows) and Ray Liotta tries to play it with a brave face (he will forever be loved with his portrayal of Mafioso; other roles (see "Dungeon Siege"), hmm, often not so great. In other words: the whole deal reeks of schmaltz and something an audience from small, rural hamlets might enjoy on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

You may have noticed some of the more positive reviews below, some almost hysterically bestowing ten points (hell, eleven if only they could), and you might have gotten the impression that those people were typing with one hand while shaking the 'good book' with the other, possibly mumbling in tongues. Yes, it is a symptom of many bible-pushing-flicks. You may have also noticed stories of "grown men weeping like children" while watching this flick (generally at bible-conventions). That's called hysteria or religiously motivated frenzy, and has little to nothing to do with good filmmaking. Often the wish is the father of the thought, but remains wishful thinking. Just like "The Identical".

3/10

Sometimes it's refreshing to see a sweet movie that has some nice cinematography, good actors and no violence, for a change. Doesn't matter if it's faith based or not; it's relaxing and rewarding. We just have to lay our usual critical sense aside and enjoy the ride. This movie have not wasted money on excesses, it's all there on the screen, and for the budget it's really managed to capture the times nicely. This movie has a little bit of Elvis, the 50s, Jerry Lee Lewis, a bit of faith, nice cars, clothes and manners from times gone by. And, why not? It feels fun to see something that are sweet and in a way a little silly sometimes. That doesn't mean that it don't have real feelings and emotions, just that it's not pretending to be something it ain't. I saw this movie with an open mind, and I found the ride to be quite good.

By now you know the story. The real Elvis had a twin brother who died at childbirth. This movie creates a hypothetical scenario wherein the twin lives but is adopted at birth.

One boy goes on to become essentially Elvis (a fictional version of him) and the other goes on to become a preacher's son with a penchant for black music, and for the music of his long lost brother whom he doesn't even realize he is related to.

The actors who played the couple who gave up one boy for adoption did a fine job of acting. I felt their pain. Ray Liotta was good too. A "personality" always plays themselves. An "actor" plays diverse roles. Liotta proved he could do that by veering way far from his "wise guy" persona.

Ashley Judd was added presumably for star power, because her role either didn't require much, or she chose not to do much with it.

As professional critics have noted, the lead actor (an Elvis impersonator in real life)lacked "heat." Ironically his character has wondered all his life why the other guy got all the fame and not him. Clearly the reason was because the other guy had confidence and generated sexual smoke.

Our main character is way too nice and respectable to be a boogie-woogie icon. More significantly the actor did not convey a sense of desperation in being trapped on the wrong path, nor frustration in missing his train so to speak. This guy is not a professional actor, so I forgive him.

The film needed a passionate lead. Liotta carried the torch, but our real lead dropped the ball. There was a scene where he turns down substantial money, but shows no signs of internal conflict about it. Even when his dad falls ill, we don't really see the agony we expect to see.

I don't know what the heck was going on with the pro-Israel thing or the Jewish message. OK, the real Elvis was partially Jewish genealogically, but how close to you have to follow his life in this script, given that it was not officially about him? Throwing in stuff about war in Israel and the preacher's support was simply gratuitous and awkward.

I'm o.k. with our lead not doing drugs or chasing women. Apparently the production company is Christian. That's fine, but I still needed to see more of a spiritual struggle between devotion to God and the darker forces represented by dance music, and a soulful battle by a dutiful son to please his father and himself simultaneously. This was not done successfully. But nice try. I enjoyed it anyways.

The most unique aspect of this film was it's original music score. They used new, original Elvis-sounding songs rather than the same old tired cliché Elvis tunes. Regardless of whether this was for copyright reasons, I enjoyed the music and appreciated its' freshness.

Pretty much lives up to the hype (that I heard) as a movie that is completely incomprehensible, awfully acted, and has a couple of actors trying to do something with the material, ANYTHING to make it work. Unfortunately, included in that couple are not the "stars" playing Drexel "The Dream" or his "identical" twin, Ryan Wade (both played by Blake Rayne). It's a movie about two people who are separated in infancy and go in different paths in life, one as a rock star and one as a wannabe rock star. Also unfortunately at times, mid-way through, I wasn't sure who was who due to poor cross-cutting.

Maybe if the filmmakers had just made a rip-off-of-Elvis'-life biopic, that could have slightly worked. I say slightly since I have no idea if this material could fly since the dialog is just terrible, hackneyed at best and stuffed full of bad, bland exposition at worst. There's nothing to Ray Liotta's character (until maybe the last scene or two) than the grumpy/strict preacher-father, and Ashley Judd has very little to do, and she should be in better material than this (and have a character who ages appropriately over the course of 40 years instead of looking *exactly the same* from start to finish).

As a not-Elvis tale, it features a lot of music. At best it's inoffensive pap, and at worst it makes me pine for modern-day country music. And the music is not appropriate for the periods; what sounds like it should be 1950's music or from the 1960's sounds like it's from another decade or two, and at times the clothing doesn't match either. That could even be excusable if the characters related to each other with something... else? More? I don't know! All I can say is that Liotta is trying as an actor, to bring emotions here, and Joe Pantoliano who also tries for what little he's given. But it's all for nought.

Blake Rayne isn't an actor. He's an Elvis statue given blood and sinew and put in front of a microphone or laughably grotesque beards and hair and so on (at one point his mustache looks like it's begging to get into another movie), and yet has little personality or actual charisma. He maybe comes close to doing what a scene requires, but it's a perfect storm of bloodless/lifeless made for Hallmark channel TV dialog and an actor who seems just dead on arrival. Or, if he isn't dead, it's really bizarre, such as the one and *only* time that the filmmakers put the two identical twins in the same room, when Wade performs at a talent competition (with his family watching in horror at other rock acts) and Drexel comes by to... watch for a competition for his performance only (?)

Why make them twins? There's little sense to it, and only near the very end do the first time director and writer cobble together some connection. If there had been actually attempted to tell the stories of two children growing up and having these different careers, then at least there would be more meat on the bones (bland meat, but meat nonetheless). But it's only about Ryan Wade, and Drexel "The Dream" is in the background as the major player (oh, and Elvis exists in this world because... why the hell is he in this if there is already an "Elvis" for this world, why oh why did that happen to get crowbarred in there?)

Though not as technically incompetent as The Room or Birdemic, I can see why I've seen certain people online put it in the same ballpark. This is a horrible movie on a level that is so wonderful - it's one of the most misguided "biopics" that, I must add, also is a *faith-based movie* inasmuch that it has a preacher character and the filmmakers slam into it a connection to... Judaism, and the 7 days war in 1967, and a special revelation at how awesome it is that the Jews won the war (like it was for good). Because, well, rapture!

A provacative concept carried out well. Acting was fantastic. Music was well done. Just loved watching it.

Blake rayne did an exceptional job of capturing the nuance of Elvis. Just terrific.

While this movie is clearly sparked from the fact that Elvis Aron Presley had an identical twin by the name of Jessie Garon, this movie falls short of being the musical equivalent. We have a southern couple who are blessed with twins but not the ability to care for them both during a time of depression. They seperate the twins by giving one of the babies to a preacher and his wife who are unable to have children. While the film focuses on the child being raised by the preacher, we see that the boys both grow up with a love of music and a call towards expressing their musical talents. The preacher's son struggles with his feelings of following in his father's footsteps or chasing his own dreams while unknowingly watching his identical twin rise to be a famous musician and actor.

The premise of this is amazing. What if Elvis' brother Jessie had lived? It would have been amazing but maybe the world just couldn't handle two talents of such magnitude. This isn't supposed to be about Elvis. It is about a character similar to Elvis and his situation. I liked this movie but the music fell short of my hopeful expectations. However, being an Elvis fan, how could anyone really compare? This movie is great for the story, not so much for the music. It has a number of great actors and while I'm not familiar with the lead, he did a decent job in his duel roles.

If you are interested in a movie that is based in semi-fiction but makes you think of Elvis, Check it out. It is well filmed and acted. It was worth the watch.

A faith-based movie starring a professional Elvis impersonator playing a fictionalized version of Elvis & his twin separated at birth. Yet, it somehow makes even less sense than that sounds. Every maudlin moment made me either cringe with shame or laugh with disbelief, mainly from the wigs. I'm surprised the cast didn't immediately melt into hell from sheer embarrassment; Green & Liotta doing southern accents is stunning. Bee Boppin' Baby slaps, though.

This movie totally SUCKED! Good actors stupping way too low.

I just needed something to be 'background noise' as I worked on my own projects. Turned on this movie on Netflix on my 2nd large monitor next to my 'working' monitor. Ended up getting an unexpected two-hour break from work due to cancelled meetings, so I sat back in my chair and focused on the movie. It started rather slowly and since I had not read the synopsis here, I didn't know what to expect, but hey I had my popcorn so I settled in to watch. It is an excellent family type movie or maybe a kinda 'chick flick'. NO sex. NO swearing. NO smoking. NO drinking (by the main characters). Just normal, average folks trying to lead good lives. Blake Rayne starring in his first movie ever. He is a well-known Elvis impersonator and that is obvious after the first 10 minutes of the movie. So what? The MAN is handsome, looks like a member of Elvis' family, and boy! can he sing! There's a lot of singing in this movie, early rock music. Apparently some of the other commentors didn't like that, but as a MUSICIAN, I DID. (Non musicians tend to 'like' 'pop' music because they don't grok music. Fine. But real musicians have a different 'understanding' of music.) Other reviewers have explained the premise of the movie, so I won't bother. I go more for 'sensation'... and this movie filled me up emotionally. I thought Ray Liotta gave an Oscar-winning performance, because for the FIRST time I saw how well he can ACT. I didn't know it was Mr. Liotta until halfway through the movie. Ashley Judd was fine, but she is really a one-trick-pony actress, she knows how to play -- Ashley Judd, but she does it exceptionally well. Seth Green is so cute, and quite a good b-rate actor. Actually all main actors in the movie were obviously professionals. BTW, this is NOT a religious movie even though Ray plays a minister and biblical quotes show up once in a while. As far as I am concerned, most people are sheeple anyway, and if the prevailing zeitgeist is 'anti-Christian' rhetoric, that's what the sheeple will baaaaa baaaaa baaaaah in comments for movies of this type. Good entertainment, moral and family strong. LOVED IT. However, the typographer responsible for the end titles (Sherwood Jones) let a typo escape proofreading (I saw the typo), and whoever was responsible for the type fount and kerning didn't understand type for streaming media/TV/movie screens either. The kerning should have been relaxed TV spacing (tight NOT touching), but the titles were, in fact, over kerned, possibly minus 1 when they should have been plus 1), (eruditely yours). Ms. KnowItAll (but I do so BFD) PS this movie may have financially 'bombed' at the theatres, but so did "It's a Wonderful Life". This is a good family movie, that leaves you with a good feeling, and I am BETTING it'll be on TV/streaming media devices for decades to come, just like "It's a Wonderful Life."

Great movie and an original idea for once. Of course, anyone who knows anything about Elvis will see through this film that the writer(s) had to be fans. From the obvious look and sound of the lead to little details such as a twin brother, Jewish symbols on jewelry and a trust-worthy TV host proclaiming that a misunderstood and controversial entertainer is really a good boy. This film is over-saturated with the king's likeness and life but BE WARNED: this movie is NOT about Elvis. I have read multiple reviews on multiple sites from Elvis fans that are "mortified" by this Elvis biopic... that it is not. The Elvis persona is merely the inspiration for how the filmmaker(s) chose to represent a superstar character and obviously chose to parallel the Presley family a little to build the character and you know what? That's okay. You also have a handful of folks who absolutely despise faith-based films and they make their way onto different sites as their Cheetoh-stained fingers dance across computer keyboards sending out their digital diatribes from their parents basements (or from a table at Starbucks) in the form of a review in order to make themselves feel triumphant in the fight against Christianity whether they have seen the film or not. Here is the deal, the film is fun, family-friendly and offers up an original idea (as far as movies are concerned) and is accompanied by an original and impressive soundtrack. It goes without saying that Ray Liotta delivers as usual and Seth Green, Ashley Judd, Blake Rayne, Joe Pantoliano, Brian Garaghty, Chris Mulkey and the rest bring stellar performances to the film. The cinematography is captivating and creative which is no easy feat considering the production team only had 35 days to tell a story that spans over decades. So, if you understand that this is NOT an Elvis movie and you are NOT terrified and offended if a biblical passage crosses your hypersensitive ear canals, then you may proceed and enjoy this heartwarming and entertaining tale.

Seriously, can I get this time back from my life? I'm embarrassed for the "stars" who signed up for this. Maybe they could have used some $$ to get better "wigs" for the characters.

Both my wife and I were amazed at the depth of the acting ability of Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd. This movie had both of us fully engaged from start to finish. As other reviewers have stated ignore the negative feedback as this movie delivered well beyond anything we anticipated. For those ladies out there keep some Kleenex close by as there are several scenes that will deliver some strong heart tugs. Guys watch and listen closely as history is told and even I was impressed with the directors delivery of years gone by.

This is a rock n roll history and life of a specific individual. It will reference another artist so sit back and enjoy the ride. This is one movie we will keep and share with our family. Kudos to the director and many actors who delivered a movie that fully engaged its audience. This is one of the few that delivers!

An old style movie well acted, directed and told. I enjoyed it immensely even though it was kind of corny in a lovable way.

What a dud.

Why?

Because the actors in it are absolutely nobodies.

I started wondering (RIGHT NOW) when this trend started of putting complete nobodies in movies and expecting people to actually watch it?