The Comedy Responsible For Changing Action Icons’ Career Leaves Netflix Soon
The ultimate buddy comedy from the 1980s marked the first time that action hero extraordinaire Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped outside his type-casted norm and settled into a role that showed audiences he had more than one acting layer. Twins sets Schwarzenegger alongside comedy legend Danny DeVito in a film that represents notable pieces from either stars’ bodies of work.
If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you’ve still got time to catch this comedy before it’s removed from the streaming service.
Arnold Schwarzenegger And Danny DeVito Are Twins
Twins is the story of two men created from a top secret medical experiment. In 1953, sons Julius (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Vincent (Danny DeVito) were born to Mary Ann Benedict. Biological specimens were taken from six men to combine their DNA so that the perfect child could be born.
Julius was taken by one of the researchers to live on a remote island, where he was given a classical education and treated with love and respect. Vincent, on the other hand, was abandoned at a Catholic orphanage. The twins grew up not knowing of each other’s existence, and believing that their mother had died in childbirth.
Twins Crazy Story
When Julius learns that he has a non-identical twin brother, he goes to Los Angeles to find him. Julius finds Vincent in a lot of trouble with loan sharks, the police, and a whole lot more.
Stolen goods worth $6 million, a gang of ruthless thugs trying to collect debts, and a cross-country road trip to discover the truth behind their births sets up a zany adventure that only Devito and Schwarzenegger could deliver.
Changing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Career
Prior to Twins, Schwarzenegger was one of the top-billed action stars of the 1980s. His films Terminator, Red Heat, Commando, Predator, and Conan the Barbarian painted the picture of the former Mr. Universe only being capable of limited range.
But Twins broke that mold for the actor, who starred in the comedies Kindergarten Cop, Junior (with DeVito), Jingle All the Way, and True Lies in the years immediately following his first foray at comedy in 1988.
Action Plus Laughs
While Twins and Schwarzenegger’s subsequent comedy films still have as much action as they do laughs, each one puts the actor in roles that showcase his ability to drive home witty one-liners while also allowing him to do more than fire automatic weapons or blow up tanks on the set.
Twins was also a film that cast Schwarzenegger as a gentle character, capable of inflicting great harm, but doing his best to live passively. DeVito’s character, on the other hand, is a pure menace.
Ivan Reitman Directed Twins
Twins was directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, the genius behind the comedy classics Meatballs, Ghostbusters, and Stripes.
The film is representative of the director’s ability to take old film tropes (in this case, a combination of the classic “fish out of water” and “comedic opposites” stories) and spin them into situations that, while semi-predictable, are also genuinely funny.
Reitman successfully uses the strong-man ability of Schwarzenegger while also giving the actor’s comedic style to shine through.
Streaming Twins On Netflix
REVIEW SCORE
Alongside Schwarzenegger and DeVito, Twins co-stars Kelly Preston and Chloe Webb as the brothers’ respective love interests, and Marshall Bell as a psychopath in pursuit of his stolen property.
Mixed reviews from critics didn’t slow the success of Twins. The film resonated great with audiences and brought in over $216 million on a budget of $18 million. It’s goofy fun, and incredible to see two co-stars interact onscreen together for the first time.
It garnered a score of 4.5/5.0 stars, due to Schwarzenegger and DeVito driving the comedy and action, but also for Reitman’s masterful directing.
You can stream Twins on Netflix until April 30.
