Twins (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'Twins' (directed by Ivan Reitman) begins by introducing us to Julius Benedict (Arnold Schwarzenegger), an unpaid asst. of a scientist who lives on a tropical isle somewhere in the Pacific. Lionhearted & mild-mannered, Lucius discovers that he has a twin brother he has never known of. And so, he floats an inflatable dinghy & rows himself to the nearest airport {haha]. Back in the L.A., said twin, Vince (Danny DeVito) - a habitual troublemaker - is in hot water. He's a low-life con man; and his side line is stealing luxury cars at the airport & selling the, to chop shops.
The plot kicks into gear once Vince is thrown in jail for unpaid parking tickets, & twin brother, Julius has come to his located him/come to his rescue. Vince, of course, does not believe this behemoth is his twin. But since Julius bailed him out of jail, Vince is ready to play along with him. The explanation of their twin-ship is that both were the result of a eugenics experiment in which sperm from 6 different fathers was combined into a sort of milkshake & administered to their mother {shoddy, right?}. The 6 men represent a great mix of intelligence & looks; and the mother was as near-perfect as possible. But said experiment misfired; producing the twins (not one perfect child, Julius). "You're brother got all the good stuff. You ... got the leftovers" - one of the fathers explains to Vince, later in the film.
This is why Julius is tall, muscular, handsome, speaks 6 languages, is a scientist; and why Vince is a diminutive, small-time hustler with nothing to show for anything. They finally set out to locate their long lost mom. And they both have love interests: Vince's is long-suffering girlfriend, Linda (Chloe Webb) & Julius is with her sister, Marnie (Kelly Preston); there's a hysterical love scene btwn. Julius & her on the floor of a motel room. Things seem to be going fine until - en route to find their mother - Vince is hunted down by loan sharks. Forget finding mommy... can the twins (and their girlfriends) stay alive before reaching her!?
'Twins' is just a Hell of a lot of fun. Engaging entertainment. And though there are BIG laughs, there's also an undercurrent of sweetness to the proceedings. Now, the clever premise of 'Twins' goes a loonnnggg way in making the film as successful as it is. Think about it: Conan the Barbarian & the gnomish DeVito ... twin brothers! Haha. But after the initial shock wears off, you settle down into the actual plot. Danny DeVito is great here; shifting from fast-talking cynic to sentimental (by the end of the film). And Arnold has a surprisingly wonderful knack for light comedy. His physicality, his demeanor, his goofiness ... it all works. And I think audiences will respond (as I have) to how tender & devoted Schwarzenegger's Julius is to his initially unlikeable brother, Vince. The conceit of the plot is a running gag, but the 2 lead actors' sweetness (as their characters evolve) really wins us over. You can't help but love 'em both.
'Twins' doesn't break any new cinematic ground. And parts of the final 20 min. go off the deep end, a bit (where the brothers are caught in a perfunctory contraband/shoot-out/life & death scenario). But Ivan Reitman saves the film with a very poignant ending. Some of my favorite scenes include: Julius beating up the evil Klane Brothers in a bar when they start-in with Vince & the 2 women they're with. I liked any fish-out-of-water scene where Julius must get used to mainland living (he's only ever known island life). I loved when Julius meets Vince: "My name is Julius & I am your twin brother". Vince: "Oh, obviously! The moment I sat down I thought I was looking into a mirror". And Julius' retort to the evil Klane Brothers: "If you're lying to me, I'll be back". I just love this movie.
The plot kicks into gear once Vince is thrown in jail for unpaid parking tickets, & twin brother, Julius has come to his located him/come to his rescue. Vince, of course, does not believe this behemoth is his twin. But since Julius bailed him out of jail, Vince is ready to play along with him. The explanation of their twin-ship is that both were the result of a eugenics experiment in which sperm from 6 different fathers was combined into a sort of milkshake & administered to their mother {shoddy, right?}. The 6 men represent a great mix of intelligence & looks; and the mother was as near-perfect as possible. But said experiment misfired; producing the twins (not one perfect child, Julius). "You're brother got all the good stuff. You ... got the leftovers" - one of the fathers explains to Vince, later in the film.
This is why Julius is tall, muscular, handsome, speaks 6 languages, is a scientist; and why Vince is a diminutive, small-time hustler with nothing to show for anything. They finally set out to locate their long lost mom. And they both have love interests: Vince's is long-suffering girlfriend, Linda (Chloe Webb) & Julius is with her sister, Marnie (Kelly Preston); there's a hysterical love scene btwn. Julius & her on the floor of a motel room. Things seem to be going fine until - en route to find their mother - Vince is hunted down by loan sharks. Forget finding mommy... can the twins (and their girlfriends) stay alive before reaching her!?
'Twins' is just a Hell of a lot of fun. Engaging entertainment. And though there are BIG laughs, there's also an undercurrent of sweetness to the proceedings. Now, the clever premise of 'Twins' goes a loonnnggg way in making the film as successful as it is. Think about it: Conan the Barbarian & the gnomish DeVito ... twin brothers! Haha. But after the initial shock wears off, you settle down into the actual plot. Danny DeVito is great here; shifting from fast-talking cynic to sentimental (by the end of the film). And Arnold has a surprisingly wonderful knack for light comedy. His physicality, his demeanor, his goofiness ... it all works. And I think audiences will respond (as I have) to how tender & devoted Schwarzenegger's Julius is to his initially unlikeable brother, Vince. The conceit of the plot is a running gag, but the 2 lead actors' sweetness (as their characters evolve) really wins us over. You can't help but love 'em both.
'Twins' doesn't break any new cinematic ground. And parts of the final 20 min. go off the deep end, a bit (where the brothers are caught in a perfunctory contraband/shoot-out/life & death scenario). But Ivan Reitman saves the film with a very poignant ending. Some of my favorite scenes include: Julius beating up the evil Klane Brothers in a bar when they start-in with Vince & the 2 women they're with. I liked any fish-out-of-water scene where Julius must get used to mainland living (he's only ever known island life). I loved when Julius meets Vince: "My name is Julius & I am your twin brother". Vince: "Oh, obviously! The moment I sat down I thought I was looking into a mirror". And Julius' retort to the evil Klane Brothers: "If you're lying to me, I'll be back". I just love this movie.