Twins (1988 film)

Twins
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ivan Reitman
Written by	William Davies Timothy Harris William Osborne Herschel Weingrod
Produced by	Ivan Reitman
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Danny DeVito Kelly Preston Chloe Webb Bonnie Bartlett Tony Jay
Cinematography	Andrzej Bartkowiak
Edited by	Donn Cambern Sheldon Kahn
Music by	Georges Delerue Randy Edelman
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	December 9, 1988 (1988-12-09)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$18 million
Box office	$216.6 million

Twins is a 1988 American buddy comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by William Davies, William Osborne, Timothy Harris, and Herschel Weingrod. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as Julius and Vincent Benedict, twin brothers created as a result of a secret genetic experiment, who were separated at birth and raised in drastically different circumstances. Also starring Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett, and Tony Jay, the story follows the naïve but physically imposing Julius as he travels to Los Angeles to find Vincent, a cynical small-time crook, and the two set out on a journey to uncover the truth about their origins and locate their long-lost mother.

The project marked the first collaboration between Reitman and Schwarzenegger and represented a major departure for Schwarzenegger, who had previously been known primarily for action films. Because Universal Pictures considered casting him in a broad comedy a financial risk, Schwarzenegger, DeVito, and Reitman agreed to forgo their usual salaries in exchange for a share of the film's profits. The film was produced on a budget of about $18 million, with location filming taking place in California and northern New Mexico, including scenes shot around Santa Fe, Taos, and Los Alamos.

Released in the United States on December 9, 1988, Twins was a commercial success. The film opened at number one at the U.S. box office and remained there for several weeks, eventually grossing $112 million domestically and $216 million worldwide. Its success made it one of the highest-grossing films of 1988 and resulted in large profit participations for its stars and director due to their backend deal.

Critical reception to Twins was mixed, with reviewers divided over the film's reliance on the "wackiness" at the expense of its narrative. The film's success led to further collaborations between Schwarzenegger Reitman such as Kindergarten Cop (1990) and Junior (1994), the latter of which reunited them with DeVito. Plans for a sequel titled Triplets were developed for several years but were ultimately cancelled following Reitman's death in 2022.

Plot

Thirty-five years earlier, a secret genetic experiment attempted to produce the perfect child by combining the DNA of several distinguished individuals. The embryo unexpectedly split, resulting in twins: Julius and Vincent Benedict. Their mother, Mary Ann Benedict, is told that Julius died at birth and is never informed of Vincent's existence. The boys are raised separately, each unaware of the other. Julius is taken to a remote South Pacific island and raised by Professor Werner, one of the scientists. He grows into an optimistic, physically imposing, highly educated man, though he remains naïve about the outside world. Vincent, meanwhile, is abandoned at a Los Angeles orphanage and grows up alone, becoming a short, balding, cynical small-time criminal who survives through scams and hustles.

On Julius's thirty-fifth birthday, Werner reveals the truth about the experiment and Vincent's existence. Determined to find his brother, Julius travels to Los Angeles. Despite struggling to understand city life, his strength and earnestness quickly stand out. He locates Vincent, who is in jail over unpaid parking tickets. Vincent is skeptical of Julius's claim that they are twins—especially given their obvious physical differences—but allows him to bail him out before quickly leaving. Julius tracks him down and finds him being threatened by loan sharks. Julius effortlessly fights them off, earning Vincent's respect. Vincent introduces Julius to his on-again, off-again girlfriend Linda Mason and her sister Marnie. While Linda reluctantly tolerates Vincent's lifestyle, Marnie dislikes his selfish treatment of her sister. Julius, inexperienced with women, fails to notice Marnie's attraction to him.

Vincent reveals a document suggesting their mother did not die in childbirth, but refuses to search for her, convinced she abandoned him. Soon afterward he steals a Cadillac intending to sell it, only to discover a prototype fuel injector hidden in the trunk. Realizing it was meant to be delivered to a wealthy industrialist in Houston for $5 million, Vincent decides to deliver it himself and collect the payment. Meanwhile Webster, the ruthless courier originally responsible for the delivery, begins tracking him down.

Encouraged by Julius's optimism about finding family, Vincent reluctantly agrees to search for their mother while traveling to complete the delivery. They locate one of the scientists, Mitchell Traven, who hid their existence from their mother, and directs them to an art colony near Santa Fe where Mary Ann lives. The scientist dismissively calls Vincent a genetic failure, prompting Julius to angrily defend his brother.

At the colony, the twins speak with a woman who claims Mary Ann Benedict has died. In reality she is their mother, but she dismisses their story as a cruel joke. Hurt and convinced he was unwanted, Vincent abandons Julius and travels to Houston alone to deliver the injector. There he meets the industrialist but is confronted by Webster, who murders the buyer and attempts to take the money. Julius arrives and pursues him through the building while Vincent initially escapes with the payment. Realizing he cannot abandon his brother, Vincent returns and offers the money to save them. When Webster prepares to kill them anyway, the brothers work together to defeat him.

Afterward Vincent and Julius reconcile. Vincent gives the injector and the money to the authorities, secretly keeping $1 million. They start a consulting business combining Julius's intelligence with Vincent's streetwise instincts. News reports about the unusual twins reach the art colony, where Mary Ann realizes they are her sons. She finds and tearfully reunites with them.

Julius and Vincent later marry Marnie and Linda. The couples each have twins of their own, and the brothers finally gain the family they had long been missing.

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger (pictured in 1988), Danny DeVito (2006), and Kelly Preston (2011)

• Arnold Schwarzenegger as Julius Benedict
• Danny DeVito as Vincent Benedict
• Kelly Preston as Marnie Mason
• Chloe Webb as Linda Mason
• Bonnie Bartlett as Maryanne Benedict
  • Heather Graham as young Maryanne Benedict (uncredited)
• Trey Wilson as Beetroot McKinley.
• Marshall Bell as Webster
• David Caruso as Al Greco
• Hugh O'Brian as Granger
• Nehemiah Persoff as Dr. Mitchell Traven
• Maury Chaykin as Burt Klane
• Tony Jay as Professor Werner

Twins also features Tom McCleister as Bob Klane, David Efron as Morris Klane, Sven-Ole Thorsen as Sam Klane, and Gus Rethwisch as Dave Klane, a family of loan sharks, Richard Portnow as Tony, and Robert Harper as Gilbert Larsen. Director Ivan Reitman's children, Jason and Catherine make cameo appearances as Granger's grandchildren.

Production

The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue and Randy Edelman. Edelman has scored three more films for director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters II; Kindergarten Cop; and Six Days, Seven Nights) whereas this was Delerue's only work for him.

Notably, this was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first time starring in a major comedy. Because Universal Pictures viewed this as a significant risk compared with having Schwarzenegger make another profitable action film, Schwarzenegger voluntarily took no salary in exchange for a share of the film's profits. Co-star Danny DeVito and director Reitman made similar deals. When the film was a major financial success – box office of $216 million against an $18 million production budget – the three together earned a significant share of the overall profits. In a 2016 interview with Graham Bensinger, Schwarzenegger stated that the decision to "invest in myself" by trying comedy and forgoing the salary in exchange for a share of the film's profits was one of the best decisions of his entire life. He also told Andy Cohen in 2025 that Twins made him the most money of any film in his career .

Filming

Many of the outdoor scenes were filmed in northern New Mexico. Locations and backgrounds included the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos, the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church in Ranchos de Taos, St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe and buildings in Los Alamos.

Music

Soundtrack

The film's

• title theme song
  • Performed by Philip Bailey and Little Richard, reached No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1989.
• Yakety Yak
  • Performed by 2 Live Crew with The Coasters
• Brother to Brother
  • Performed by The Spinners
• I'd Die for This Dance
  • Performed by Nicolette Larson
    Jeff Beck
    Terry Bozzio
    Tony Hymas
• Turtle Shoes
  • Performed and Written by Bobby McFerrin
    Herbie Hancock
• It's Too Late
  • Performed by Nayobe
• Green Onions
  • Performed by Jeff Beck
    Terry Bozzio
    Tony Hymas
    Peter Richardson
• The Stumble
  • Performed by Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas and Peter Richardson
• The Train Kept A-Rollin'
  • Performed by Jeff Beck, Tony Hymas and Peter Richardson
• I Only Have Eyes for You
  • Performed by Marilyn Scott

Reception

Box office

The film was a commercial success, opening as the number one film in the United States earning $11 million on its opening weekend. It retained the top spot for the next two weekends and went on to gross $112 million domestically, being the fifth biggest grossing film in the United States released in 1988. The film was released in the United Kingdom on March 17, 1989, and topped the country's box office that weekend. It grossed $216 million worldwide.

Following the film's success, Reitman and Schwarzenegger teamed up again for Kindergarten Cop (1990) and then again for Junior (1994), which also starred DeVito.

Critical response

Twins received mixed reviews from critics upon release. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 43% approval rating based on 44 reviews. The consensus states: "Though it offers a few modest pleasures for undemanding viewers, Twins leans too heavily on the wackiness of its premise to overcome its narrative shortcomings." On Metacritic the film has a score of 53 out of 100 based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, calling it "engaging entertainment with some big laughs and a sort of warm goofiness".

Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a negative review: "In Twins, which is supposed to be funny, the former Mr. Universe and pint-sized Danny DeVito play twins, the result of a genetic experiment that went awry. To the extent that Twins is carried by anybody, it is carried by Mr. DeVito; Mr. Schwarzenegger is dead weight."

Cancelled sequel

In March 2012, Universal announced the development of a sequel titled Triplets with Schwarzenegger and DeVito due to return with Eddie Murphy as their long lost triplet brother. Reitman was set to co produce.

In April 2015, it was announced that plans for the film were on hold. In March 2018, Schwarzenegger confirmed that the script for Triplets was finished and that Murphy was officially attached to the film. Schwarzenegger briefly discussed how Murphy's character became the triplet brother of his and DeVito's characters saying "funny thing that happens in the mixing of the sperm". It was unknown if Reitman was still to be involved in the film, as originally announced in 2012.

In September 2021, it was announced filming would commence in January 2022 in Boston, with Reitman directing, Schwarzenegger and DeVito reprising their roles as Julius and Vincent Benedict, and Tracy Morgan replacing Eddie Murphy as Schwarzenegger and DeVito's long lost triplet brother. However, Reitman died in February 2022, leaving the status of the film unclear. In May 2023, Schwarzenegger confirmed that a sequel would not be made, as Reitman's son Jason put the idea to an end following his father's death.

See also

• Junior: A 1994 movie also starring Schwarzenegger and DeVito and directed by Reitman.
• List of American films of 1988

External links

• Twins at IMDb
• Twins at the TCM Movie Database (archived version)
• Twins at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• Twins at Box Office Mojo