MULTIPLICITY (1996) **1/2
Starring: Michael Keaton, Andie MacDowell, Eugene Levy, Zack Duhame, and Ann Cusack Directed by Harold Ramis. Running Time: 117 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for sexual content)
By Blake French:
"Multiplicity" is a comedy that details a very relevant subject matter. Also, it is quite a funny movie. It's just too bad the film eventually experiences self destruction with the engaging humor it offers. The picture is directed by Harold Ramis, better known as the ''Analyze This'' director, and Egon Spangler of "Ghostbusters," who knows what he's dealing with here, and presents the material in a somewhat effective manor. However, it's only a matter of time before the script plummets into a black hole that is impossible to escape, no matter how many laughs available.
The film details the life of an average married couple, Laura and Doug Kinney. They live in a small suburban household with their elementary aged children. Doug is a very, very busy person. He is an architect and his spouse is a simple homemaker. Laura desperately wants to go back to work. But with Doug's exhausting work schedule that doesn't allow him much time with his family let alone with himself, it is improbable of her becoming employed any time soon.
''My whole life is an emergency'' says Doug in a scene that is subjective with somewhat blunt subtext. We feel empathy for the Doug character at this point in the film, due to its good character development. Filling much of today's society are overheated schedules. Therefore, we are able to relate to Doug's turmoils here.
Then Doug is offered a chance to turn his life around--a "Miracle" offered by a mysterious individual Doug meets at work. He has the chance to create time for himself--to be cloned. Doug is interested. When we assume the price is right, he takes this opportunity to his advantage. (I did question, however, if the cloning process is so effective and affordable, why doesn't everyone in the universe know about it.)
It's a very cute premise; the filmmakers are on the break of some original material here. We realize the comic possibilities are endless with this plot. But instead of giving us new, inventive situations and hilarious events, the creators execute the story with the same joke repeatedly. We first see the internal problem is Doug's desire for time on his hands. Then realize it is not solved but made more complex with the cloning experiences. We'll get into the film's mess-up in a moment.
Doug is cloned not once, not twice, but three times. Discovering that life is just as, if not more, complicated with his new secret helpers, whom Laura does not know about. We are treated to scene after scene of the same kind of humor, some of which is funny. The only tension involves our suspense of when Laura will discover the clones. But that isn't looked into here. Instead the script is forced to keep on stretching its humor until it manages to come up with a new conflict.
The problem begins being introduced with a specific rule that none of the clones are permitted to have sex with Laura. Then Doug goes away for a little while and chaos ensures. The Doug clones get the real Doug fired from his job, Laura leaves, and each of the clones manages to bed Laura.
Instead of indulging us with fulfilling our interests, like lettingLaura to discover the clones and react humorously, the movie changes content when Doug desperately tries to get his wife, and life, back. But to our surprise, the Andie McDonnell character is actually left out of the story here. She is mostly used as a plot device to acquire the movies many structural and character needs. Thus, we really don't care about Laura coming back with Doug.
The problem with "Multiplicity" isn't that it's bad, but that is that it didn't have to be so bad. It contains some really nice material, and Michael Keaton delivers a superb performance that is an actor's dream. It's just too bad with such an entertaining premise and so many witty scenes that the movie couldn't amount to more than it is here.
Brought to you by Columbia Pictures.
Starring: Michael Keaton, Andie MacDowell, Eugene Levy, Zack Duhame, and Ann Cusack Directed by Harold Ramis. Running Time: 117 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for sexual content)
By Blake French:
"Multiplicity" is a comedy that details a very relevant subject matter. Also, it is quite a funny movie. It's just too bad the film eventually experiences self destruction with the engaging humor it offers. The picture is directed by Harold Ramis, better known as the ''Analyze This'' director, and Egon Spangler of "Ghostbusters," who knows what he's dealing with here, and presents the material in a somewhat effective manor. However, it's only a matter of time before the script plummets into a black hole that is impossible to escape, no matter how many laughs available.
The film details the life of an average married couple, Laura and Doug Kinney. They live in a small suburban household with their elementary aged children. Doug is a very, very busy person. He is an architect and his spouse is a simple homemaker. Laura desperately wants to go back to work. But with Doug's exhausting work schedule that doesn't allow him much time with his family let alone with himself, it is improbable of her becoming employed any time soon.
''My whole life is an emergency'' says Doug in a scene that is subjective with somewhat blunt subtext. We feel empathy for the Doug character at this point in the film, due to its good character development. Filling much of today's society are overheated schedules. Therefore, we are able to relate to Doug's turmoils here.
Then Doug is offered a chance to turn his life around--a "Miracle" offered by a mysterious individual Doug meets at work. He has the chance to create time for himself--to be cloned. Doug is interested. When we assume the price is right, he takes this opportunity to his advantage. (I did question, however, if the cloning process is so effective and affordable, why doesn't everyone in the universe know about it.)
It's a very cute premise; the filmmakers are on the break of some original material here. We realize the comic possibilities are endless with this plot. But instead of giving us new, inventive situations and hilarious events, the creators execute the story with the same joke repeatedly. We first see the internal problem is Doug's desire for time on his hands. Then realize it is not solved but made more complex with the cloning experiences. We'll get into the film's mess-up in a moment.
Doug is cloned not once, not twice, but three times. Discovering that life is just as, if not more, complicated with his new secret helpers, whom Laura does not know about. We are treated to scene after scene of the same kind of humor, some of which is funny. The only tension involves our suspense of when Laura will discover the clones. But that isn't looked into here. Instead the script is forced to keep on stretching its humor until it manages to come up with a new conflict.
The problem begins being introduced with a specific rule that none of the clones are permitted to have sex with Laura. Then Doug goes away for a little while and chaos ensures. The Doug clones get the real Doug fired from his job, Laura leaves, and each of the clones manages to bed Laura.
Instead of indulging us with fulfilling our interests, like lettingLaura to discover the clones and react humorously, the movie changes content when Doug desperately tries to get his wife, and life, back. But to our surprise, the Andie McDonnell character is actually left out of the story here. She is mostly used as a plot device to acquire the movies many structural and character needs. Thus, we really don't care about Laura coming back with Doug.
The problem with "Multiplicity" isn't that it's bad, but that is that it didn't have to be so bad. It contains some really nice material, and Michael Keaton delivers a superb performance that is an actor's dream. It's just too bad with such an entertaining premise and so many witty scenes that the movie couldn't amount to more than it is here.
Brought to you by Columbia Pictures.