“The Lookalike” may not be a top-notch crime thriller and its crazy, over-the-top storyline is improbable but yet unpredictable. It is interesting and entertaining in some aspects but it’s more of film on Blu-ray that one would want to rent than keep.
TITLE: The Lookalike
FILM RELEASE: 2014
DURATION: 101 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9 widescreen), English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH
COMPANY: Well Go USA Entertainment
RATED: NR (Not Rated)
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Directed by Richard Gray
Written by Michele Davis-Gray
Produced by Michele Davis-Gray, Mike Gillespie, Richard Gray, Kaine Harling, Virginia Kay, Christian Long, Justin Long, Frank Lotito, Benton Morris, Jason Waggenspack
Executive Producer: Bryce Menzies, Steve Pnce, Mark Sachen, James M. Wahlberg, Darcy Wedd
Associate Producer: Joe Accurso, Derek DuChesne, Raffaele Lopriore, Kylie Sapuppo, Joseph Trichilo
Co-Producer: Kim Barnard, Jamie Houge, Yulia Klass, Vanessa McMahon, Jessica Neuman
Music by Alies Sluiter
Cinematography by Thomas Scott Stanton
Edited by Michael Puri, Heath Ryan
Production Design by Ryan Martin Dwyer
Art Direction by Heady Pardew
Set Decoration by Ryan Martin Dwyer
Costume Design by Kim Martinez
Starring:
Justin Long as Holt Mulligan
Gillian Jacobs as Lacey
John Corbett as Bobby
Jerry O’Connell as Joe Mulligan
Scottie Thompson as Mila
Gina Gershon as Lee Garner
Luis Guzman as Vincent
Steven Bauer as Frank
John Savage as William Spinks
Felisha Terrell as Drew
Bernard Jones as Jules
Drug lord William Spinks has a curious obsession with Sadie Hill, and uses family friends Bobby and Frank (John Corbett and Jerry O Connell) to get to her. But when Sadie s death jeopardizes a major deal, Bobby and Frank set out to find a replacement – a lookalike (Gillian Jacobs) – to fool Spinks. The shady plan propels an ex-basketball champion, a deaf beauty, an addict, and an aspiring actress into an unlikely romance and a desperate quest to start over.
From the director of “Summer Coda” and “Mine Games” comes his latest film “The Lookalike”.
The film stars Justin Long (“Live Free or Die Hard”, “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”, “Drag Me to Hell”), Gillian Jacobs (“Community”, “Walk of Shame”, “Gardens of the Night”), John Corbett (“Raising Helen”, “United States of Tara”, “The Burning Plan”), Jerry O’Connell (“Stand By Me”, “Jerry Maguire”, “Sliders”), Scottie Thompson (“Skyline”, S”tar Trek”, “NCIS”), Gina Gershon (“Face/Off”, “P.S. I Love You”, “Showgirls”), Luis Guzman (“Boogie Nights”, “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3”, “Carlito’s Way”), Steven Bauer (“Prial Fear”, “Scarface”, “Raising Cane”), John Savage (“The Deer Hunter”, “The Godfather: Part III”, “The Thin Red Line”).
The film begins with Frank (portrayed by Steven Bauer) and Bobby (portrayed by John Corbett) trying to get Sadie (portrayed by Gillian Jacobs) to meet with drug lord William Spinks (portrayed by John Savage). Spinks is obsessed with having sex with a former business partner’s daughter and is willing to pay an incredible amount of money.
But during a heated exchange of trying to get Sadie to have sex with the man, a chandelier falls and crushes Sadie and instantly kills her.
Now Frank and Bobby are in dire need of finding a blonde that looks like Sadie in hopes they can get a big payday.
Meanwhile, police officer Lee Garner (portrayed by Gina Gershon) has been following drug dealer Holt Mulligan (portrayed by Justin Long). She has Lacey (portrayed by Gillian Jacobs), who is trying to get the police off her back, to get closer to him and the two hit it off.
Vincent (portrayed by Luis Guzman) meanwhile wants his money from Holt and if he doesn’t get his $100,000, he will kill Holt.
As for Holt’s brother, Joe (portrayed by Jerry O’Connell), a former basketball player, he meets and falls for a disabled girl named Mila (portrayed by Scottie Thompson) and he falls for her immediately.
As Holt fears for his life and needs the help of his brother, he asks Lacey, who looks like Sadie, to pretend to be her. And if she has sex with Spinks, she will get a ton of money and help her pursue her career as an actress but it would also help Holt pay off Vincent and get him off his back and also to help Joe.
But as the three plan to execute their plan, things get out of hand and their lives may be in danger.
VIDEO:
“The Lookalike” is presented in 1080p High Definition. For the most part, the film features plenty of detail and the film looks very good. But there was a scene in which the film becomes a bit too saturated as the lamps and lighting during a hotel scene makes the picture quality look a bit off and banding issues are evident. But for the most part, the majority of the film is well-shot and well-lit with the exception of that single scene.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Lookalike” is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 5.1. The film is primarily dialogue-driven with a scene and some scenes that do utilize the ambiance of the environment from police sirens, explosions and gun shots utilizing the surround channels.
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“The Lookalike” comes with the following special features:
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring four deleted scenes.
- Behind-the-Scenes – (14:45) Featuring the behind-the-scenes making of “The Lookalike” with interviews with director Richard Gray, writer Michele Davis-Gray and the cast.
- Trailer – Featuring the theatrical trailer for “The Lookalike”.
“The Lookalike” is an interesting film because it starts off like an independent film that reeks of a bad plot and bad acting.
The hookups seem unnatural as you see a cokehead hooking up with an aspiring actress who is being watched over by the cops. The cokehead owes a lot of money to another drug dealer and he will die if he doesn’t pay up.
Then you have an ex-basketball player falling in love with a woman who is deaf and has a prosthetic leg, but what seems unnatural is how these two brothers hook up with the women and then what happens to these four individuals afterward, suffice to say, their lives will never be the same.
Still, if you are able to forego the crazy and improbable storyline and take it for what it is, the two subplots of brothers and the women they are with and the trouble they get, the film is no doubt over-the-top and it’s rather entertaining, unpredictable in some aspect.
Perhaps I enjoyed it a little more because of the many talents that appear in this film, a few from television such as Gillian Jacobs (from “Community”), others who many of us grew up watching back in the ’80s and ’90s, such as John Corbett, Jerry O’Connell, Gina Gershon, Steven Bauer to name a few.
The picture quality of “The Lookalike” features good picture quality but it does has a few scenes with banding.   Dialogue is crystal clear and special features features a few deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes making of featurette and the theatrical trailer.
Overall, “The Lookalike” may not be a top-notch crime thriller and its crazy, over-the-top storyline is improbable but yet unpredictable. It is interesting and entertaining in some aspects but it’s more of film on Blu-ray that one would want to rent than keep.
