Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageMultiplicity (1996)
Director: Harold Ramis
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Doug Kinney (Keaton) is running out of time. He's working all hours, barely sees the kids, and now wife Laura (MacDowell) wants to split domestic duties so she can return to her career. It seems too good to be true, then, when genetic scientist Dr Leeds (Yulin) offers to double Doug's capacity by making a clone, a facsimile identical in appearance and experience. Safely housed away above the garage, Doug 2 can handle business, while the original devotes himself to quality time with the family and the pursuit of happiness. Not quite a Groundhog Day replica, but a near-relative none the less, this is a mid-life crisis comedy about masculinity, mortality and the roads not taken. The development is funny and smart. Doug 2 has a mind of his own, and a libido, so he's soon dating his (their) secretary, eyeing the wife, and cloning himself for some additional home help. If Doug 2 embodies the original's repressed machismo, Doug 3 is his feminine side, swapping cooking tips with the bewildered, uncomprehending Laura. With the inevitable, infantile Doug 4 - a failed experiment, a third-generation copy - the movie comes close to genuinely anarchic subversion, even daring triple adultery in one night of passion. Unfortunately, in trying to rein in the material and impose some kind of closure, the film-makers plump for an inadequate, bourgeois sit-com mode and the movie evaporates before your eyes. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, and hats off to Michael Keaton, Michael Keaton, Michael Keaton and - very funny in a supporting turn - Michael Keaton.Author: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: Harold Ramis
Producer: Trevor Albert, Harold Ramis
Cast: Michael Keaton, Andie MacDowell, Harris Yulin, Richard Masur, Eugene Levy, Ann Cusack, John deLancie, Brian Doyle-Murray full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 117 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now