The Identical
Freestyle Releasing | Release Date: September 5, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
25
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
8
Negative:
17
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
Chicago Sun-TimesBill StametsSep 5, 2014
The Identical evangelizes and entertains with sincere mediocrity. If the style is unremarkably mainstream, the message is theologically murky. Read full review
50
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergSep 4, 2014
This movie’s earnest infectiousness is tough to deny. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephanie MerrySep 4, 2014
The music is catchy and sounds sufficiently Elvis-like, and The Identical occupies a neglected niche as a family-friendly movie that isn’t geared just toward kids. But living up to a legend is an uphill battle, and the movie doesn’t ever reach those heights. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskySep 3, 2014
It’s the kind of curio that’s arguably more interesting to think about than to watch — a plodding melodrama that mixes royalty-free Elvis worship with preachy proselytizing. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriSep 5, 2014
It's stocked with clichés, 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. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 4, 2014
The Identical is one wacky movie, based on a bit of truth. Read full review
40
VarietyJoe LeydonSep 4, 2014
All things considered, The Identical might have worked better as a TV miniseries, a format that would allowed the filmmakers to give equal time to Hemsley’s story. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweSep 2, 2014
This passably palatable film never hits any real high notes. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleySep 5, 2014
One positive thing about The Identical is that it will make you want to bust out Elvis Presley's early Sun and RCA recordings, songs like "That's All Right," "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," "My Baby Left Me," or "Good Rockin'" just to remind you that no, it didn't happen the way it did in The Identical. Thank goodness. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia PuigSep 4, 2014
It's an idea that 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. Read full review
32
Film.comKate ErblandSep 3, 2014
Embarrassing and weird. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleSep 4, 2014
The Identical is ultimately too schematically sentimental, even with Liotta playing against type, to have much of an impact. Read full review
30
The DissolveScott TobiasSep 4, 2014
Even allowing The Identical its premise, the reframing of the Elvis myth as a wholesome example of following God’s plan is not as inspirational as the film seems to believe. Rock fantasies are rarely this milquetoast. Read full review
30
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonSep 2, 2014
A cardboard cutout of a movie. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSep 5, 2014
Earnest and well-intentioned, The Identical is based on a "what if" that straddles the line between ingenious and loopy. Read full review
25
Portland OregonianMarc MohanSep 5, 2014
Everyone on screen looks like they'd rather be anywhere else than under the control of novice director Dustin Marcellino, whose first (and hopefully last) feature this is. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 4, 2014
Playing the title role as well as the Dream role, real-life Elvis tribute artist Blake Rayne is more convincing when he's singing than when he isn't. But he has little to explore beyond bashful smiles. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle SmithSep 3, 2014
When the legend of Elvis is reimagined as a mushy Christian heartwarmer in The Identical, it’s as if “Boogie Nights” is playing in the background while we hear about the life story of Edna, Dirk Diggler’s nice librarian cousin from Idaho. Read full review
25
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreSep 3, 2014
A musical mashup of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis biography and myth, The Identical plays like a failed faith-based “Inside Llewyn Davis.” And that’s the closest thing to a compliment it will get. Read full review
20
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottSep 5, 2014
This is an alternate-history rock 'n' roll saga. It is not Elvis, but Elvis-ish. Read full review
20
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaSep 4, 2014
Elvis Presley made some bad movies, but let's give the King his due: He never made anything as outright awful as The Identical. Read full review
20
The GuardianJordan HoffmanSep 4, 2014
The corn in The Identical is as tall as an elephant’s eye – but there’s nothing that says the story of a man torn between his religious upbringing and his desire to be a musician can’t make for a good movie. In fact, considering a little movie called "The Jazz Singer," there’s ample proof that it can be groundbreaking. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleWilliam GossSep 3, 2014
Evidently made with deep pockets but muddled intentions, The Identical is a folly largely unworthy of its hidden idol. Read full review
0
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeSep 5, 2014
Credit must be given: run-of-the-mill mediocrities come and go, but The Identical is the most woozily misguided flop to grace the screen since the “Oogieloves” movie. Connoisseurs of the most wonderfully terrible cinema need to run out and catch this one early and often. Read full review
0
Slant MagazineChuck BowenAug 30, 2014
The film's so preoccupied with being "inspirational" that it disastrously fails to evoke the allure of rock n' roll, particularly in America in the 1950s, when it represented an erosion of racial and sexual barriers. Read full review
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