Product Details

• Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett
• Directors: Ivan Reitman
• Writers: Herschel Weingrod, Timothy Harris, William Davies, William Osborne
• Producers: Ivan Reitman, Gordon A. Webb, Joe Medjuck
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: January 23, 1996
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301316916
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,805 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  Video > Comedy > Comedy Directors > Ivan Reitman

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

DeVito and Schwarzenegger as fraternal twin brothers? Hey, why not? This delightful 1988 comedy by Ivan Reitman--about genetically designed twin siblings who discover each other at the age of 35--works out just fine, thanks largely to great chemistry between the two stars. Despite a certain amount of rough action and tension, the film really gets a lift from the palpable innocence Reitman develops, and the female costars (Chloe Webb and Kelly Preston) bring some interesting texture of their own. This is a film that walked the tightrope of a high concept and completely succeeded. To see how easy it is to stumble in a similar situation, check out DeVito and Schwarzenegger in Reitman's Junior. The DVD release has a full-screen presentation, optional French and Spanish soundtracks, optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great movie, So-So DVD, November 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Twins (DVD)

While this is a very enjoyable movie, the DVD doesn't have that same amazing quality of most DVDs. Still better than VHS, the DVD is too red and too noisy. There are no extras, no 5.1 audio, and no widescreen.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Comedy With Devito & Schwarzenegger !, August 5, 2002

By	Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Twins (DVD)

With this movie Arnold Schwarzenegger showed just how long those muscular legs are in terms of talent, range, and intelligence. This is a wry, wistful, and lovely movie that illustrates how easily Schwarzenegger could switch gears from the heavy action-oriented vehicles that had made him a star to more sentimental and purposeful films that intentionally made audiences both laugh and think. Indeed, hidden in all this well-choreographed slapstick is a self-deprecating kind of intelligent humor no one suspected the big guy to be capable of. Matched memorably with Danny Devito as the twin trapped with all the bad genetics even as Schwarzenegger ended up with the great genes and the life associated with it, the two work off each other in a movie so funny it is hard to try to describe.

Every thing about the sequences works, from Arnie's naïve wonder with all the new experiences to his ear-phoned airplane accompaniment to "Yackety-Yak". Watching him do something as straightforward as walking down the street in suit coat and Bermuda shorts becomes an exercise in comic genius, with both the scriptwriters and director Ivan Reitman working overtime to create this comic masterpiece. Devito is in rare form, and we find ourselves empathizing with this guy who discovers he came from the throwaway sperm that was used to create his brother, the wunderkind. No wonder his life has been a virtual wallowing in the wastelands! Yet from the first meeting there seems to be an almost magical connection between the twin brothers, and Reitman has scrupulously given us a repertoire of little aspects or facets of each that lend credibility to this idea of a familial bond.

This movie ensured Schwarzenegger's wider appeal to audiences beyond the action and sci-fi genre. Indeed, he repeated the comedic magic a few years later with "Kindergarten Cop", which while not as phenomenal a hit as was "Twins" was also an interesting diversion from what one would ordinarily come to expect from an Arnold epic. Also helping here is a strong supporting cast; including Kelly Preston as Arnie's love interest and Chloe Webb as Devito's enduring girl friend. This is a movie so full of rapid fire comic scenes such as the quick shot at Sylvester Stallone's self-conscious muscle-man pose poster for Rambo II that one recognizes the good-natured jibe at an action-star rival as all in good humor; Arnie and Sly were said to be at odds with each other at the time. And this is a movie the whole family can laugh at, and while there are some adult situations, there is not much blue language or objectionable behavior for a parent to worry about. I can highly recommend this film. Enjoy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A match made in . . ., February 21, 2001

By	Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When Arnold Schwarzenegger turned to comedy, he did Hollywood [and us viewers] a truly worthy service. He carries the comedy role with real panache, a pleasantly surprising transformation from an actor who previously seemed to offer little but skin and violence. With many films now available with him in this transformed personification, we have a wide choice to select from. Select this one.

The film is certainly timely with its theme of "human engineering", even if from an earlier day. Schwarzenegger leaves his island isolation, seeking the twin he never knew he had. He has no qualms in discovering DeVito's only a diminutive copy of himself. He's concerned only that he actually has a brother and wants only to do well by him. DeVito, in sublime scenes of righteous rage, feels a leftover, and in tune with what many short people go through in our society, seeks some justice for what he feels has been done to him. DeVito's anger is unabashed, and only he could bring the charm and wit to the role that he does.

Twins not only shows this new side of Arnold at his wry best, he's here teamed with a master in Danny DeVito. DeVito needs no introduction as one of Hollywood's top comic actors. In playing the unexpected twin to a genetic engineering [whell, "breeding"] experiment, he once again proves how well he carries the genre as his own. It must have been an easy job for Reitman to direct this film, since DeVito seems able to perform many aspects of the ridiculous with a minimum of effort.

This household has viewed Twins often. There was no choice once the children had seen it. No matter, to see these two in action together relieves the worst tedium. They are a match made in, um, in a test tube.