Two of a Kind
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.18 You Save: $5.80 (58%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.95 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Two of a Kind
Movie Review: The Film That Sunk Two Careers
Summary: 2 Stars
"Two of a Kind" has a unique distinction of being somewhat responsible for sinking two acting careers.
Olivia Newton-John, coming off the dismal reviews from the critically underappreciated "Xanadu", was reteamed with John Travolta, her well-matched partner from "Grease". It's obvious that rather than wait for an appropriate script to come along that would showcase the pair to their best advantages, this film was hurriedly put together simply to team them up once again and salvage Olivia's acting career.
"Two of a Kind" starts off with God (the voice of Gene Hackman) deciding that humankind has made his world a wasteland and mulling over the idea of having another great flood and just starting over. A trio of enterprising angels talks him out of it (at least temporarily), emphasizing how redeemable humankind is. God goes along with it, on the condition that two people must sacrifice everything for the other. Now what two people do you think God will choose?
Newton-John plays Debbie, a wanna-be actress living in New York and working as a bank teller. It seems that she has gotten a little behind in her payments and her furnishings are on the verge of being repo'ed, along with her landlord being a little testy about the rent being late.
Travolta is Zack, a down on his luck inventor, who is in deep debt and figures that robbing a bank will solve all his problems. The attempted bank robbery is comical, with Debbie taking the money and Zack taking home a bag full of worthless receipts. Debbie is fired, for flirting with the bank robber, but apparently no one thinks to check her pockets. She immediately buys new furniture, pays the landlord and no one (including her roommates) wonders how she can drop so much money after just being fired.
In the meantime, Zack tracks Debbie down, wanting his money. No surprise here, the two fall for each other and even with the Devil making cameo appearances, attempting to upset the heavenly angels' applecart at keeping Debbie and Zack on track, the two sacrifice, humankind is saved and our duo end up in each other's arms. Fade out.
While this should have been a feast for Travolta and Newton-John fans, the fact that both characters are playing so out of type throws the whole picture off. In her previous two roles, Newton-John plays sweet, innocent type girls - -probably how the movie audience wants to see her. Debbie is hardly sweet and innocent. She thinks nothing of stealing money from the bank she's working at and spending it foolishly.
Travolta, still in his boy-next-door, good-guy phase, is the con-man/inventor/hapless bank robber. Certainly no Danny Zuko.
And while Travolta and Newton-John look gorgeous together, they just didn't generate the same chemistry here that they did in "Grease".
Not surprisingly, this film was a bomb in its initial release. Newton-John's song "Twist of Fate" was a nice little hit, but not much else good came from this pic. Newton-John's acting career was finished and after the perfectly disastrous "Perfect" several years later, Travolta's acting career was also sent into deep freeze (although it would thaw out in later years).
All in all, a sad end to Newton-John's acting career and the cinematic partnership of Newton-John and Travolta.
Movie Review: John and Olivia: BETRAYED!
Summary: 1 Stars
There is only word one that fully does justice to this film: APPALLING.
John and Olivia were BETRAYED! WHY they would choose this movie? Rumor has it that they looked through over 30 scripts before settling on this one! Why they would let this first-time director decimate their careers in this way? It's utterly inexplicable. WHY anyone at any studio would take these two huge stars (though Olivia had been tarnished by Xanadu by this time) and TOSS THEIR CAREERS TO THE WIND on this turkey is... again, inexplicable. Why does this film exist?
The answer lies, I think, in Olivia's `rebranding' effort, trying to shift out of being wholesome and pure and be a bit of a vamp, which in retrospect seems like a big mistake (look what happened to Sheena Easton when she tried the same thing... and look at the continuing debacle that is Britney). This issue is examined in depth in my essay about the second part of Olivia's musical career. Everyone loves Olivia being pure and a bit cheeky. Look how adorable she was in Grease! It is just so incongruous for her to be a bank-robbing shiftless liar that it is impossible to get involved with her character. Okay, that sounds like there is even one `character' in this film, but you know what I mean.
There are several compelling issues raised by this film, such as:
Why does John Travolta walk like he has a broomstick [etc.... but ALL the way in] the whole movie? Did his mother tell him his posture was really bad or something?
Were general production values REALLY that low back in 1982? No wonder films are so expensive now.
WHO was the director related to that he was allowed to make this?
WHY, when Olivia's face is presented in the paper, in a loving 6' X 8' picture identifying her as a wanted bank robber, does she just walk around and attend her acting class as though nothing happened? Why does no one in her acting class mention it? Why don't the police show even the SLIGHTEST interest in apprehending her and recovering the money?
WHY do songs on the soundtrack blare inappropriately and completely without context throughout?
There are also a few notable moments that must be pointed out:
Please take note of the first shot of John Travolta in those stupendously ridiculous glasses. And it's only getting better...
Two words: `I'm Single.'
Please note how someone offscreen obviously CHUCKS the live cat at the pots in the kitchen! This would not be allowed these days!
You will obviously note that ethnic diversity is being DEPLOYED in the group of angels... though it doesn't seem to prevent them from making the black man a bus driver!
Please admire the architectural splendor of Olivia's hair, and her multitude of 80's fashion debacles, including the green ensemble with big gold pirate belt and turned-down suede boots (as they're walking down the street, soon before sampling the edible sunglasses).
Note that John is drinking Red and Olivia is drinking White, obviously because the producers thought this would appear `sophisticated.'
Of course there's the `Twist of Fate' MONTAGE, where Olivia gets to sport the appalling sunglasses after having eaten another pair.
Olivia's songs here definitely (and painfully) lack the John Farrar touch (who had composed all of her hits heretofore) and it's obvious where the problem lies.
Alas, what more can be said? Oh, I know... it was only on second viewing that I noticed that John and Olivia actually DIED a third of the way through the film (because John fell on Olivia from a great height, naturally), but were brought back to life by the angels to... continue the film. Now isn't it kind of sad that a film--ANY film--can be so poorly directed that the main characters can DIE and you don't even notice?
Now if you don't want to watch it after reading this, I don't know what's wrong with you.
Movie Review: Utter nonsense
Summary: 1 Stars
In Grease, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John were great together. They had terrific chemistry and the film just worked with them in it. Five years after this, they decided to team up again, for this disaster of a movie, which should never have been made.
Thankfully, they still have their chemistry together, that they had in Grease. But the rest of the movie was diabolical. It was only 83 minutes long, and I gave up after 50 minutes of constant clock watching.
There's virtually no plot, or no understandable plot. He's an unsuccessful inventor, who owes a lot of money to a loan shark, who looks a bit like Harvey Keitel. He robs a bank, she's the teller he goes to, she gives him a bag full of paper, but no money. She keeps the money, gets fired, and blows nearly all of it. They meet up again after some stupid fast forwarding and rewinding (don't ask) and it gradually descends into them getting too friendly. Er, hello what did I miss? Wasn't she supposed to hate him? Didn't she scream when she saw him again? Good grief. There's some unfunny scenes with God, and a bunch of angels, trying to right all the wrong in the world (one of whom is Scatman Crowthers, also in The Shining), which made the movie descend into more silliness. I gave up when they started fast forwarding/rewinding/freezing time.
Two Of A Kind was a shocking waste of money, and a shocking waste of my time. Stay well away, and just keep watching Grease.
Movie Review: Just horrible
Summary: 1 Stars
This movie was awful. The main reason was, it is just too unrealistic. You have "angels" played by people like scatman crothers and Charles Durning as well as the Devil played by the now later Oliver Reed coiming into the middle of the scenes and "fast forwarding" and "freezing".......just not realistic at all. Plus you have travolta as an inventor. Edible sunglasses? Yes I know not all movies have to be 100% realistic but this movie just goes too far. I watched it because Grease was such a great movie but this movie just is pathetic, even compared to an average movie, let alone Grease.
On the bright side however, the theme song "twist of fate" is one of the best songs of all time and the video is equally awesome. I think I may have just bought the movie to hear the theme song.
Movie Review: So terribly bad
Summary: 1 Stars
People desperately wanted to see Olivia and John reunite after the success of Grease. The dismal Grease 2 sequel came out with no sign of them, so someone had the idea of re-teaming them for something completely different. TWO OF A KIND is a silly plot about two people who are destined to meet thanks to the good lord above, and through some silly scenarios we are supposed to believe they will. The acting is absolutely shocking (not just from Olivia). Perhaps the only saving grace is the average single "Twist of Fate". This is not a cult classic, make no mistake. It is easily one of those "hall of shame" films. I cannot believe that there are reviewers out there who like this joke of a film.