Two of a Kind

God returns after 25 years and he's disappointed with humanity under the four angels; Charlie (Charles Durning), Earl (Scatman Crothers), Gonzales (Castulo Guerra), and Ruth (Beatrice Straight). God proposes to start over but the angels convince him that there is goodness even in a man like Zack Melon (John Travolta), a failing inventor who owes money to gangsters. He tries to rob a bank but teller Debbie Wylder (Olivia Newton-John) switches the money with worthless slips. God agrees to bet that Zack would sacrifice himself for her and her for him... within a week's time. The Devil (Oliver Reed) has other plans.

Travolta and Olivia Newton-John reunite for this less-than-stellar follow-up. They are not as appealing as the first time. Their characters are a bit clunky. Their charisma and a few pop hits are the only saving grace. Everything else has that clunky muddle.

This movie didn't get as much credit as it deserves. I guess everyone expected it to have the same power as Grease because of its stars. This movie I think can stand on its own. It has a cute story and it does have that great star power. It has times when it's funny and it has times when it's romantic and it has times when it's dramatic. So it didn't have that same spirit as Grease if you give it a chance to prove itself you might actually enjoy it and not punish it for not living up to what people expected.

Two of a Kind is a 1983 American romantic fantasy comedy film directed by John Herzfeld and starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The film reunited Travolta and Newton-John who had appeared together in 1978's Grease. The original musical score was composed by Patrick Williams. Travolta plays a cash-strapped inventor while Newton-John plays the bank teller whom he attempts to rob. They must come to show compassion for one another in order to delay God's judgment upon the Earth. Despite being a critical and commercial failure, Two of a Kind yielded three popular singles for Newton-John and a Platinum certification for the soundtrack.

I expected the worst when I decided to watch Two of a Kind. I'm a huge fan of Grease and Olivia Newton-John so I thought even if it is dreadful, the soundtrack and Olivia may make it bearable. The film begins with four angels who have been in charge of Heaven for the last 25 years. God decides he is fed up with what he sees down on Earth and decides to start a fresh. The four angels persuade him to reconsider, reasoning that, if a typical Earth man can reform, it would prove that all mankind is capable of it.

Then comes in Zac (John Travolta), who decides to rob a bank served by Debbie, (Olivia Newton-John) who leaves her number on a bag supposedly filled with money which is empty, Debbie takes the money for herself and the two characters become infatuated.

With such a bizzare plot you'd think they'd have come up with something a little simpler to reunite the two leads, even an average romance comedy would've sufficed and probably been more successful than this. The film instead is plodding, 80s cheese - the cinematography of the film is ugly and it's generally a lifeless film to watch. The chemistry between the leads is virtually non-existent and a far-cry from Grease less than 10 years before this was filmed. There are also too many characters in the film we couldn't care less about. I can't imagine the disappointment of cinema-goers in 1983 when they sat down in a theatre to watch this. The ending is also laughably bad.

However, I didn't completely hate the film, it has a certain charm about it that I liked- the soundtrack is upbeat and fun although the energy didn't always match that of what was on-screen. It has that sticky-sweet 80s charm that always wins me over, no matter how bad the rest of the film is. I can't recommend the film completely, but it's nice to see the leads together again after Grease.

4/10

With a cast this good, it's natural to expect a lot more than this script could deliver. John and Olivia are reunited for the first time since Grease, and the results were a big letdown for a great many people.

Our story centers around the fact that God, played by the voice of Gene Hackman, is fed up with humanity. He's so tired of all the crime and bad behavior on Earth that he plans on sending another huge flood to finish us all off. Four angels (who are perhaps the best part about the film) plead with God to give humanity one more chance. God agrees, but demands to see some kind of miracle within a week or so. Apparently it will only take a couple of mere mortals (Travolta and Newton-John) sacrificing something for each other to save all of man kind. Too bad both characters are self-centered and shady. Travolta is a struggling inventor(!) who owes a fortune to a violent loan shark. Newton-John is a struggling actress who also works at a bank that Travolta plans to rob for the money to pay off his debt. Olivia tricks him and takes the money for herself, setting up contrivance after contrivance for the remaining screen time. It looks like the world will come to an end since neither character trusts the other (why should they?) and the Devil is also on the scene to foul things up for them. I could go on and on about this plot, but you probably get the idea. This is pretty questionable material we're working with in terms of a screenplay.

I liked Oliver Reed quite a bit as the Devil. If the Devil walked the streets of New York, I suppose that's how he'd look or act. I also enjoyed watching he and the Charles Durning's angelic character square off by moving time back and forth to suit their respective needs. The film gets a few laughs out of a restaurant scene where the two demolish the place before God appears to reign in Durning for "abusing his powers".

The film is full of 80's clichés and scenes that only serve to date the material. There is little or no chemistry between the two leads, and that was the main reason behind this film's failure. Travolta's body is bound to be a plus for the ladies in the audience. He was still buff from his work in "Staying Alive". Olivia looked better in Xanadu with her longer hair, if I may be so bold. The film did virtually nil at the box office, and Travolta's career went south in a hurry shortly thereafter.

I'll give it 4 stars mostly for the great cast. And any film with Scatman Crothers always gets a bonus star from the Hound. I loved that guy.

5 of 10 stars total.

This movie is worth watching because it's easy to see how much fun John and Olivia are having working together. Plus there's Oliver Reed and some simple fun special affects; although the general plot-line is a very overused one.