Julius and Vincent Benedict are the results of an experiment that would allow for the perfect child. Julius was planned and grows to athletic proportions. Vincent is an accident and is somewhat smaller in stature. Vincent is placed in an orphanage while Julius is taken to a south seas island and raised by philosophers. Vincent becomes the ultimate low life and is about to be killed by loan sharks.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.7/10
IMDb: 6.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.00/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 43%
Metacritic: 50
TMDB: 6.0/10
Director
Ivan Reitman
Production
Universal Pictures
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett, Marshall Bell, Trey Wilson, David Caruso, Hugh O'Brian, Tony Jay, Nehemiah Persoff, Maury Chaykin, Tom McCleister, David Efron, Peter Dvorsky, Robert Harper, Rosemary Dunsmore, Lora Milligan, Richard deFaut, Richard Portnow
Curator Review
Verdict
A breezy, high-concept 1980s comedy that works best as an odd-couple star vehicle: Schwarzenegger’s earnest innocence and DeVito’s scrappy cynicism make the premise land more often than the script does. It’s charming, warm, and occasionally very funny, but also overstuffed and uneven, with some plot machinery that feels more complicated than the joke needs.
Best for
fans of late-1980s studio comedies
viewers who enjoy mismatched buddy chemistry
people curious about Arnold Schwarzenegger in a gentle comic role
audiences who like light, feel-good crowd-pleasers with a high-concept premise
Skip if
you want tightly written jokes throughout
you dislike broad slapstick and sentimental endings
you prefer comedies that stay focused instead of piling on subplots
you’re looking for a consistently sharp or edgy comedy
Overview
Twins is one of those studio comedies whose premise is funnier than it has any right to be. The joke of pairing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as long-lost brothers is instantly legible, and the movie gets a lot of mileage out of their physical contrast and unexpectedly sweet chemistry. Schwarzenegger’s sincerity is the secret weapon: he plays Julius with such open-hearted innocence that the film becomes more charming than cynical.
Worth noting
The movie is at its best when it keeps things simple and lets the two leads bounce off each other. DeVito brings the scrappy, fast-talking energy, while Schwarzenegger turns fish-out-of-water awkwardness into something oddly endearing. That said, the script keeps adding extra baggage—mobsters, secret experiments, a MacGuffin, assorted chase mechanics—that muddies the clean comic idea at the center.
Bottom line
Even with its uneven plotting, Twins remains an easy watch and a strong example of late-80s mainstream comedy. It’s not a precision machine, but it is a likable one, built on star charisma, broad crowd-pleasing humor, and a surprisingly warm emotional core.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Liam Connolly · 1415 likes
Arnold in terminator: 🌑🎱 💀⛓💣⚔️🕳🖤
Arnold in twins: ❤️💜💕💘💖💗💞💝
محمد (3★) · 1379 likes
this is who dwayne johnson and kevin hart think they are
Matt Singer (3★) · 1341 likes
Schwarzenegger and DeVito are a lot of fun together, but man, what the hell was going on with this script? Two men discover they're long-lost twins isn't enough for a film, apparently, so this movie also adds:
-Mobsters-Secret government genetic experiments-A deadly hit man, who kills anyone who sees his face-A mysterious MacGuffin device of unknown powers, that is supposedly worth millions.
It's such a bizarre and overly complicated mix of ideas. The simple stuff is best; Schwarzenegger as a fish out of water, DeVito messing with him. And it's an interesting movie for Arnold on a couple different thematic levels.
Joe A (3★) · 743 likes
There’s a handful of times where I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when a movie was pitched. This is one of those times.
Ray (3★) · 405 likes
There’s like no jokes and then near the end there’s an incredible but out of place wacky ass gag involving a really long chain