It Takes Two (1995)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Best movie ever!

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

What do you get when you take two parts Prince and the Pauper, one part The Parent Trap and throw in the Olsen Twins? It Takes Two of course!This story starts with the very different lives of two identical strangers (Mary-Kate & Ashley): Alyssa, who is the lonely daughter of a wealthy widower (Steve Guttenberg), and Amanda, an orphan with a "street" attitude who is looked after by her...social worker? caretaker? Diane (Kirstie Alley). For the summer, Amanda and her friends from the orphanage are sent to a camp for disadvantaged children, which just happens to be across the lake from Alyssa's enormous summer home. By chance, the two girls run into each other (literally) in the woods and discover they look exactly the same. After a few minutes of conversation they decide to switch places because...why not?! Now they both must deal with the other's problems--Alyssa struggling with Amanda's adoption to an awful family, and Amanda doing her best to get rid of the gold-digging b!tch Alyssa's father is engaged to. While the girls deal with that, Diane and Alyssa's dad meet and begin a romance. So, will Amanda be able to stop the wedding? Will Alyssa be able to get out of the awful adoptive parents' home? Will anyone believe they are actually someone else? Will Diane and Alyssa's dad get together?This movie is quite bad. As a child I loved it, but that's purely because I loved the Olsen twins/Full House. Everything and everyone in this film is an old cliché that was taken from other books and films that did it much better. There is literally nothing new or interesting about the plot line of this film. The acting also leaves something to be desired. Steve Guttenberg, Kirstie Alley, and Philip Bosco as Vicenzo the butler actually did a decent job with what they were handed, but it was still sub-par. More than anything this movie demonstrated something the world seemed to have missed for many years: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen cannot act for their lives. People forget that they became famous on...not so much acting, but on being cute and essentially being themselves on camera. This is the first role they had where they were not Michelle Tanner or just..."twins" (i.e. themselves)! Neither of them are able to pull off either a high or low class NYC accent and demeanor without sounding like they are pulling it out with a rope. In fact, if I had seen this without knowing who they were, I would think they had never even acted in a school play, nonetheless been "acting" since they were infants. Also, there is something else about this movie that really irritates me. That is, the use of the word "orphan" and Amanda being from an "orphanage". I don't know what films' preoccupation on these anachronistic terms are, but there had not been an orphanage in NYC for over 30 years when this film was made. Not only that, but the term "orphan" has also not been used for a very long time. The fact they are constantly using the word "orphan" in this movie drives me up a wall. All in all this film is pathetic. It's boring, uninteresting, and has some painful acting on the part of the Olsen twins. Some young children may like it, but you're better off getting The Parent Trap if you must sit through it with them.

How I loathe these romantic comedies...The only one who could have made this movie any worse is Owen Wilson, the king of senseless romantic comedies. The comedy is not very intelligent. There are loads of falling jokes who are supposed to be funny.The jokes are bad, and the story shines with its inconsistency. Be honest people. Do these films ever work? I don't even like the concept. I have yet to see a genuinely intelligent and funny romantic. comedy. Is it just me or ought America to be ashamed?

I loved the movie It Takes Two. I also noticed in one scene where Ashley was playing the Betty Butkis character in the junkyard... she was switched out and Mary Kate also played Betty Butkis in the junkyard. This happened right before the helicopter landing. Keep an eye out for that... those people who can tell the girls apart. Notice it was Ashley who said to Harry Butkis Sr and Jr... that her father is Roger Callaway. Then next time they show "Betty Butkis" it's Mary-Kate when the other kids come up to her with "gifts" and it's Mary Kate on the trash throne but when the helicopter lands it's Ashley walking towards it. Fun bit of trivia!!! I caught it originally, did you?

When I used to live in LA in 1995 I went and saw this movie in the theatre. Now, given I was 19 years old at the time (and a guy), it seemed a little odd that I would go see this. Of course, that year I saw so many movies that it bordered on the ridiculous. Although Kirstey Alley has had a spotty movie career, I still like her (remember the ridiculous "Madhouse" with John Laroquette?). I have never liked the Olsen twins. I find them almost creepily unattractive and hammy in terms of their acting (this is prior to their growing into pin-up model). Anyhow. When I saw this at the Hollywood Galaxy I was surprised how welldone it was for its genre that relies on heavy-handed cliches. Granted, there are so many standard scenes that have been recycled over and over again. Yet, so many films are like that and that should not negate them from becomingeffective viewing experiences. Alley and Guttenberg are quite believable intheir chemistry, and shocking the Olsen twins are cute (even if they have poor delivery in much of their dialogue). This movie is not groundbreaking, but for its use of conventions it works quite well. Even if you are not a family man/women there is enjoyment in this film.Although the comparison to "Home Alone" is a credibility stretch, it is satisfying if you like that film. I was not sure who directed it until I looked it up and realized it was an Andy Tenant film. He is not necessarily an auteur director, but has had some nice moments in some of his films (which the exception of thedisappointing "Anna and the King;" is it possible to have chosen a less suited director for that film-- Jodie what were you thinking?) Tonight I saw that "It Takes Two" was on HBO Family and decided to watch it. I thought it would be background noise while I did other chores, but I wassurprised to find myself drawn into the film. Everything I enjoyed about it the first time I saw it over ten years ago worked just as well, and sometimes better. Don't discount this film because of the cast, premise, or even a dislike for Tenant. It is a cute movie that is filled with cheesy charm, cliched scenes, but they all work.I am shocked, especially given the tightness of the film, that it didn't do too well. It wasn't a flop, but it seems like it should have launched a feature film career for the Olsen twins; instead, they made their fortune on those awful direct to video sleuth films, and eventually tropical locale movies showing off their budding sex appeal (which I don't really get-- but being gay I guess that negates my lustful desires).Bottom line: See this film if you want some nice cheesy fun and don't mindfamily films. It is a good break from watching "Blade Runner," "Punch DrunkLove," and "Gattaca."8 out of 10n (for the genre....not comparatively speaking with great filmmaking).Thanks for reading the longest, most winded commentary on a simple film thatwill soon be forgotten in the years to come, unless the Olsen's have a film boom with "New York Minute."Note: Non-sequitor.... Watch "Idle Hands" with Devon Sawa and "The Hidden,"a great 80's cop-hunting alien movie with Kyle MacLaughlan.Take care...... blah blah blah Also: Since "Master and Commander" is notreally doing well in regards to its cost.... go see it. It is one of the best films of the year (Peter Weir's triumph).... "21 Grams" and "In America" are also good. If you like unique unique narrative structures not centered around drama and plotspoints, "The Company," Altman's latest is also beautiful. Long-winded guy is now done.... :P