Twins... does NOT live up.

 

Challenge: Find a photo of the Twins that works on all devices without cropping off one of their heads

We reviewed the 1988 film "Twins", which plays like a Saturday Night Live bit that got extended into a feature length movie. Jess has a lot of nostalgia and still likes this film; Treat thought it felt uneven - sometimes it's silly, sometimes it's violent, sometimes it's heartfelt, and sometimes it delves into the Nazi eugenics experiments. 

Look! Twins in a urinal.

Films can successfully balance comedy with violence and dystopian science (Get Out, for example). Twins, however, doesn't have any underlying message to tie it all together. The theme of this movie is: "Danny Devito looks goofy standing next to Arnold Schwarzenegger." It jumps around from plot point to plot point, and introduces a range of bad guys. The filmmakers could have thrown out 90% of the plot and all of these side characters without significant impact. 

Look! Twins in a bar fight.

The performance that makes this SNL-skit-disguised-as-a-film watchable is Danny DeVito as Vincent. As the "bad twin", his journey requires him to become a better person (whereas Schwartznegger's Julius is a goody-goody who is stealing cars by the end of the film). 

Vincent starts the film as a cartoonish slimeball; he steals cars, he screws over women, he does shady business deals with the mob. He makes you cringe every time he appears, but then... the armor cracks, gradually. DeVito's face reveals loneliness and self-doubt. He starts treating his estranged brother with kindness. He feels nervous about meeting their birth mother. The audience feels bad for Vincent, and hopes he can get his act together. We want him to break good.

Look! Twins whistling and walking away from a dead guy.

For more analysis on the movie "Twins" listen to our review below, on YouTube, or on your favorite streaming platform.