Twins (film)
Encyclopedia
Twins is a 1988 comedy film
, produced and directed by Ivan Reitman
about unlikely twins (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger
and Danny DeVito
) who were separated at birth. The core of the film is the relationship between DeVito's streetwise
character and Schwarzenegger's intellectual persona. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue
and Randy Edelman
.
laboratory
to produce the perfect child, using sperm
donated by six different fathers. The mother, Mary Ann Benedict, was told that Julius died at birth, and was not even aware that Vincent ever existed. Julius was informed that his mother died in childbirth. Vincent was raised in an orphanage, and learned from a letter in his file that his mother had abandoned him. Mary Ann had gone on to become a successful artist. While successful, the genetics program was considered a failure and shut down because of the conception of the twins, one inheriting the "desirable traits," and the other getting the "genetic trash."
Vincent (DeVito) was placed in an orphanage run by nun
s in Los Angeles, California
while Julius (Schwarzenegger) was taken to an unnamed South Pacific
island and raised by Professor Werner (one of the scientists involved in the experiment) like a modern Doc Savage
to become highly intelligent, physically very strong and spiritually pure. He learned to speak twelve languages, and excelled in mathematics
, history
, science
and literature
. He was not told about his younger brother until his 35th birthday.
In Los Angeles, with no one but himself to rely on, Vincent escaped from the orphanage
as soon as he was old enough and developed into a small-time criminal, involved in shady business deals and car theft and in debt to notorious loan shark
s, the Klane brothers. He is also a womanizer and a smart aleck with a lust for money. Eventually, his debts catch up with him and he is arrested for unpaid parking fines.
Julius is told about his unknown brother by Werner, and comes to Los Angeles to look for him. Highly intelligent, but extremely naïve about the real world his more worldly brother inhabits, he bails Vincent out of jail
and pays to get Vincent's car out of impound, but is afterward snubbed by Vincent, who leaves him at the impound lot. Julius, however, tracks Vincent to his workplace, where he is being beaten by one of the Klane brothers, Morris, for the unpaid debt. Julius easily bests Morris and earns Vincent's respect and trust. He eventually meets Vincent's on-again-off-again girlfriend, Linda Mason. Knowing little about women, Julius doesn't understand the flirtatious advances of her blond sister Marnie (who dislikes Vincent), but eventually falls in love with her. Vincent soon reveals to Julius a document he stole from the orphanage when he ran away that proves that their mother is in fact still alive, yet Vincent, under the belief that his mother abandoned him at birth, shows no interest in tracking her down. Julius, however, finds their mother's address on the document and pays the place a visit. While their mother is not there, Julius meets one of his six fathers, who fills him in on the experiment and informs him of the other scientist, Mitchell Traven, who might know where their mother is.
Using a stolen Cadillac
that carries a secret prototype fuel injector
, which Vincent is delivering to a rival industrialist in Houston, Texas
in exchange for five million dollars which he intends to use to pay the money he owes to the Klane brothers, the two couples go on a cross-country journey to track Traven down. They eventually find Traven in Los Alamos, New Mexico
, who tells them that their mother is living in an art colony near Santa Fe
. On the way to the colony, they're found at a bar by the Klane brothers, with the intent of killing Vincent, but Julius and Vincent beat them back and fight them off for the last time. Reaching the colony, they're informed their mother died and leave. In reality, the woman who told them of the passing is in fact their mother, but she didn't believe the story, not knowing that she had given birth to twins, and fearing they were land speculators. Little did they know that the real contract delivery man for the injector, Webster, is tracking them. This man has already killed his contractors because they saw his face, in order to preserve his identity. At one point earlier on in the film, Webster breaks into Vincent's house to intercept him, crossing paths with the Klane brothers. In a skirmish, he shoots two of them in the legs but does not kill them.
While Julius seems to accept their mother's death, Vincent is angry and disappointed, taking it out on Linda and Julius. Vincent storms off, leaving Julius and the girls stranded in New Mexico, to deliver the engine to the industrialist, Beetroot McKinley. Linda informs Julius of the engine, and Julius embarks on another journey to track his brother down. Vincent eventually delivers the stolen property to McKinley, but as Vincent is about to return home with the money, McKinley is shot and killed by Webster, who then turns his attention to Vincent just as Julius arrives. A cat-and-mouse chase ensues and Julius intercepts Webster as Vincent flees, but Vincent, hearing his brother's voice, reluctantly goes back and gives up the money to Webster. But as Webster prepares to kill them both for seeing his face, Julius stalls Webster long enough for Vincent to release a heavy chain onto Webster's head, killing him and burying him in a mountain of chains. Julius and Vincent make amends, and Vincent reluctantly agrees to return the money and the stolen engine to the authorities, but Vincent secretly skims off one million. Meanwhile, the twins' publicity reaches the art colony, and their mother realizes that the two "comedians" who visited her were in fact her long-lost sons.
Julius and Vincent marry the Masons, and use the $50,000 reward money to start up a legitimate consulting business, using Julius' knowledge and Vincent's questionable business savvy. Their mother eventually tracks them down to their office and they share a tearful reunion. In the end, both brothers end up having pairs of twins with their respective wives, with their mother and Professor Werner completing the big, happy family.
and Christopher Lloyd
have revealed in interviews that they were all given the option of doing this movie or Suburban Commando
.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, produced and directed by Ivan Reitman
Ivan Reitman
Ivan Reitman, OC is a Canadian film producer and director. He is known for the comedies he has directed and produced, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.He is the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 2000.-Early life:...
about unlikely twins (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
and Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
) who were separated at birth. The core of the film is the relationship between DeVito's streetwise
Streetwise
Streetwise may refer to:*Rover Streetwise, a small hatchback made by the MG Rover Group*Possessing knowledge of youth culture, also called "street"...
character and Schwarzenegger's intellectual persona. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue
Georges Delerue
Georges Delerue , was a French film composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. He won numerous important awards including Rome Prize , Emmy Award , Genie Award , ACE Award and Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1979 for A...
and Randy Edelman
Randy Edelman
Randy Edelman is an American film and TV score composer.-Life and career:Edelman was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of a first-grade teacher and an accountant. He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before heading to New York where he played...
.
Plot
Julius and Vincent Benedict are fraternal twins; the results of a secret experiment carried out at a geneticsGenetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
to produce the perfect child, using sperm
Spermatozoon
A spermatozoon is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote...
donated by six different fathers. The mother, Mary Ann Benedict, was told that Julius died at birth, and was not even aware that Vincent ever existed. Julius was informed that his mother died in childbirth. Vincent was raised in an orphanage, and learned from a letter in his file that his mother had abandoned him. Mary Ann had gone on to become a successful artist. While successful, the genetics program was considered a failure and shut down because of the conception of the twins, one inheriting the "desirable traits," and the other getting the "genetic trash."
Vincent (DeVito) was placed in an orphanage run by nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
while Julius (Schwarzenegger) was taken to an unnamed South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
island and raised by Professor Werner (one of the scientists involved in the experiment) like a modern Doc Savage
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character originally published in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L...
to become highly intelligent, physically very strong and spiritually pure. He learned to speak twelve languages, and excelled in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. He was not told about his younger brother until his 35th birthday.
In Los Angeles, with no one but himself to rely on, Vincent escaped from the orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
as soon as he was old enough and developed into a small-time criminal, involved in shady business deals and car theft and in debt to notorious loan shark
Loan shark
A loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....
s, the Klane brothers. He is also a womanizer and a smart aleck with a lust for money. Eventually, his debts catch up with him and he is arrested for unpaid parking fines.
Julius is told about his unknown brother by Werner, and comes to Los Angeles to look for him. Highly intelligent, but extremely naïve about the real world his more worldly brother inhabits, he bails Vincent out of jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
and pays to get Vincent's car out of impound, but is afterward snubbed by Vincent, who leaves him at the impound lot. Julius, however, tracks Vincent to his workplace, where he is being beaten by one of the Klane brothers, Morris, for the unpaid debt. Julius easily bests Morris and earns Vincent's respect and trust. He eventually meets Vincent's on-again-off-again girlfriend, Linda Mason. Knowing little about women, Julius doesn't understand the flirtatious advances of her blond sister Marnie (who dislikes Vincent), but eventually falls in love with her. Vincent soon reveals to Julius a document he stole from the orphanage when he ran away that proves that their mother is in fact still alive, yet Vincent, under the belief that his mother abandoned him at birth, shows no interest in tracking her down. Julius, however, finds their mother's address on the document and pays the place a visit. While their mother is not there, Julius meets one of his six fathers, who fills him in on the experiment and informs him of the other scientist, Mitchell Traven, who might know where their mother is.
Using a stolen Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
that carries a secret prototype fuel injector
Fuel injection
Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
, which Vincent is delivering to a rival industrialist in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
in exchange for five million dollars which he intends to use to pay the money he owes to the Klane brothers, the two couples go on a cross-country journey to track Traven down. They eventually find Traven in Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...
, who tells them that their mother is living in an art colony near Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
. On the way to the colony, they're found at a bar by the Klane brothers, with the intent of killing Vincent, but Julius and Vincent beat them back and fight them off for the last time. Reaching the colony, they're informed their mother died and leave. In reality, the woman who told them of the passing is in fact their mother, but she didn't believe the story, not knowing that she had given birth to twins, and fearing they were land speculators. Little did they know that the real contract delivery man for the injector, Webster, is tracking them. This man has already killed his contractors because they saw his face, in order to preserve his identity. At one point earlier on in the film, Webster breaks into Vincent's house to intercept him, crossing paths with the Klane brothers. In a skirmish, he shoots two of them in the legs but does not kill them.
While Julius seems to accept their mother's death, Vincent is angry and disappointed, taking it out on Linda and Julius. Vincent storms off, leaving Julius and the girls stranded in New Mexico, to deliver the engine to the industrialist, Beetroot McKinley. Linda informs Julius of the engine, and Julius embarks on another journey to track his brother down. Vincent eventually delivers the stolen property to McKinley, but as Vincent is about to return home with the money, McKinley is shot and killed by Webster, who then turns his attention to Vincent just as Julius arrives. A cat-and-mouse chase ensues and Julius intercepts Webster as Vincent flees, but Vincent, hearing his brother's voice, reluctantly goes back and gives up the money to Webster. But as Webster prepares to kill them both for seeing his face, Julius stalls Webster long enough for Vincent to release a heavy chain onto Webster's head, killing him and burying him in a mountain of chains. Julius and Vincent make amends, and Vincent reluctantly agrees to return the money and the stolen engine to the authorities, but Vincent secretly skims off one million. Meanwhile, the twins' publicity reaches the art colony, and their mother realizes that the two "comedians" who visited her were in fact her long-lost sons.
Julius and Vincent marry the Masons, and use the $50,000 reward money to start up a legitimate consulting business, using Julius' knowledge and Vincent's questionable business savvy. Their mother eventually tracks them down to their office and they share a tearful reunion. In the end, both brothers end up having pairs of twins with their respective wives, with their mother and Professor Werner completing the big, happy family.
Production
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Hulk HoganHulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
have revealed in interviews that they were all given the option of doing this movie or Suburban Commando
Suburban Commando
Suburban Commando is a 1991 science fiction comedy film starring Hulk Hogan and Christopher Lloyd. Burt Kennedy directed the film based on a screenplay by Frank Cappello. The film was originally titled "Urban Commando", and was intended for Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger...
.
Cast
- Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
as Julius Benedict - Danny DeVitoDanny DeVitoDaniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
as Vincent Benedict - Kelly PrestonKelly PrestonKelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
as Marnie Mason - Chloe WebbChloe WebbChloe Webb is an American actress.Webb was born in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York. Her New York theater debut was in the original cast of the long-running musical satire Forbidden Broadway...
as Linda Mason - Bonnie BartlettBonnie BartlettBonnie Bartlett is an American television and film actress. Her career spans over 50 years, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, Love of Life. She is best known for her role as Ellen Craig on the medical drama series St. Elsewhere. She and her husband, actor William Daniels,...
as Mary Ann Benedict - David CarusoDavid CarusoDavid Stephen Caruso is an American film and television actor and producer, best known for his role of Lieutenant Horatio Caine on the TV series CSI: Miami. The role that gained him initial significant recognition was the role of Det...
as Al Greco - Trey WilsonTrey WilsonDonald Yearnsley "Trey" Wilson III was an American character actor known for playing rural, authoritarian type characters, most notably in comedies such as Raising Arizona and Bull Durham.-Early life:...
as Beetroot McKinley - Marvin J. McIntyreMarvin J. McIntyreMarvin J. McIntyre, sometimes billed as Marvin McIntyre is an actor with more than thirty years worth of screen appearances. His credits include:*Fandango *Pale Rider *Silverado *Short Circuit...
as McKinley's man - Marshall BellMarshall BellArchibald Marshall Bell is an American actor. He has appeared in many character roles in movies and television. His best-known movies are probably A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge , Stand by Me , Twins and Total Recall .-Early life:He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lived until...
as Webster - Tony JayTony JayTony Jay was an English actor, voice actor and singer. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in animation, film and computer games. Jay's distinctive baritone voice often landed him villainous roles...
as Professor Werner/Narrator - Hugh O'BrianHugh O'BrianHugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
as Granger, one of the twins' fathers - Jason ReitmanJason ReitmanJason Reitman is a Canadian/American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking , Juno , and Up in the Air . As of February 2, 2010, he has received three Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director...
as Granger's grandson - Catherine ReitmanCatherine ReitmanCatherine Marcelle Reitman is an American actress.Reitman was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother is French-Canadian actress Geneviève Robert and her father is director Ivan Reitman...
as Granger's granddaughter - Nehemiah PersoffNehemiah PersoffNehemiah Persoff is an American film and television character actor. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate.Born in what is now part of Israel, Persoff emigrated with his family to the United States in 1929...
as Professor Mitchell Traven - Maury ChaykinMaury ChaykinMaury Alan Chaykin was an American-born Canadian actor. Best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, he was also known for his work as a character actor in many films and on television programs.-Personal life:...
as Burt Klane - Sven-Ole ThorsenSven-Ole ThorsenSven-Ole Thorsen is a Danish actor, stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. Sven won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983....
as Sam Klane - Gus Rethwisch as Dave Klane
- Richard PortnowRichard PortnowRichard Portnow is an American actor known for such films and television shows as Barton Fink, Se7en, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, Private Parts, Fallen Arches, Double Down, Spring Break '83, The Sopranos, Hannah Montana and Boston Legal.-Life and career:A...
as Chop shop owner - Frances BayFrances BayFrances Bay was a U.S.-based Canadian character actress, best known for playing quirky, elderly women on film and television...
as Mother Superior - Cary-Hiroyuki TagawaCary-Hiroyuki Tagawais a Japanese-American actor.In addition to his extensive film work, he has appeared on television in Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Encounter at Farpoint" , Thunder in Paradise , Nash Bridges , Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding , and Heroes . He also provided the voice of Sin Tzu for the video game...
as Asian man - Elizabeth KaitanElizabeth Kaitan-Career:Elizabeth Kaitan was a model for the Bonnie Kay Agency in New York City in the early 1980s. Kaitan is perhaps best known for her roles in movies such as Savage Dawn , Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 as Jennifer, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood as Robin, and in Vice Academy Parts...
as Secretary - Joe MedjuckJoe MedjuckJoseph Medjuck is a Canadian-born film producer in Hollywood.Medjuck was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is a graduate of McGill University, and the University of Toronto where he also taught for twelve years...
as Photographer at the start of the film - Nicolette LarsonNicolette LarsonNicolette Larson was an American pop singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young, as well as her 1978 cover of Young's "Lotta Love". The song, her debut single, was a Number One Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks hit and #8 pop hit that year...
as Singer - Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
as Guitarist - Terry BozzioTerry BozzioTerry John Bozzio is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.-Biography:Terry Bozzio was born December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, California. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw The Beatles premier performance on The Ed...
as Drummer - Heather GrahamHeather GrahamHeather Joan Graham is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Lost in Space, Bowfinger, From Hell, Anger Management, and The Hangover...
as young Mary Ann Benedict (uncredited) - Robert HarperRobert Harper (actor)Robert Harper is an American actor. He is perhaps most well known for his role as Sharkey in Once Upon a Time in America. He has also portrayed Charlie Gereson in Creepshow and Bubba 'Si' Weisberger in the CBS sitcom Frank's Place...
as Gilbert Larsen