Kyle Smith

Kyle Smith

Movies

Elvis gets watered down in Christian flick ‘The Identical’

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.

Ryan Hemsley, born to poor parents in the Depression, is given up for adoption to a stern preacher (Ray Liotta) and his wife (Ashley Judd). Raised in relative affluence in Tennessee, he is steered away from a musical career by his father, who thinks rock ’n’ roll is the devil’s music.

Meanwhile, the identical twin who was the only child his parents could afford to raise grows up to be Drexel “The Dream” Hemsley, a thinly fictionalized Elvis Presley, complete with a career that leads to corny surf movies and later to long hair, decadence and obesity. (The inspiration for the tale is that Presley himself had an identical twin brother who was stillborn.)

Playing both twins, first-timer Blake Rayne has an appealing lunkhead presence that calls to mind Brendan Fraser, but his character is all goody-two-shoes and no blue suede shoes.

He’s a boring grind who marries an equally nondescript nurse and refuses to carry a grudge about Daddy.

After years working as a mechanic, he becomes a nationwide sensation as a Drexel impersonator — calling himself “the Identical.” Somewhere off in the distance, Drexel is having all the fun and drama, but we catch him only in glimpses.

This groaningly obvious story is going nowhere in particular — the two twins never have a meaningful encounter — and director Dustin Marcellino seems mainly interested in showcasing nearly two dozen knockoffs of Elvis-style numbers written by his grandfather and father (Jerry and Yochanan Marcellino).

Guys, next time you have the urge to write ultra-generic pop songs, inflict them on guests at your family reunion instead.