Twins **** (1988, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb) – Classic Movie Review 5244

Director Ivan Reitman’s often hilarious 1988 comedy starts with the genius silly idea of pairing the little and large odd couple Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and letting the two smooth, likeable, skilled laughter-raiser performers take off.

DeVito and Schwarzenegger pair up perfectly as petty crook Vincent Benedict and his meek muscleman twin Julius for this hilarious mix of knockabout capers and sentimental drama. DeVito just cannot help being wickedly funny, but the revelation is Schwarzenegger’s surefooted comic touch.

Of course, the screenplay by William Davies, William Osborne, Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod is good but not perfect. Their gangster plot may be corny and their story’s ending schmaltzy, but their premise of little and large long-lost twins, separated at birth and re-meeting in middle age, is inspired. And Reitman’s dynamic film never loses its momentum as the mismatched siblings are menaced by loan sharks and targeted by a killer when they set out on a cross-country quest to unravel their parentage.

Schwarzenegger has always had a twinkle in his eye but who would have thought he would be quite this good at comedy?

Also in the cast are Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett, Marshall Bell, Hugh O’Brian, David Caruso, Nehemiah Persoff, Maury Chaykin, Tony Jay and Trey Wilson.

RIP Hugh O’Brian (1925–2016).

Hugh O’Brian (1925–2016) plays Granger in his last cinema movie, though he worked on TV till 2000, playing Wyatt Earp in a couple of TV movies. He was best known for his starring role in the TV series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955–1961).

Twins runs 112 minutes, is a Universal release, is written by William Davies, William Osborne, Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod, shot by Andrzej Bartkowiak, produced by Ivan Reitman, and scored by Georges Delerue and Randy Edelman.

The two stars reconvened for Junior (1994).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5244

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