It Takes Two (1995)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Andy Tennant

Writer (WGA):

Deborah Dean Davis (written by)

Release Date:

17 November 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Romance

Tagline:

Two identical strangers. Two different worlds. One perfect match.

Plot:

Amanda Lemmon is a street-wise orphan who's about to be adopted by a family who uses children for their own selfish gain...

Plot Keywords:

Orphan | Baseball | Bus | Runaway | Falling In Love

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Kirstie Alley	...	Diane Barrows
Steve Guttenberg	...	Roger Callaway
Mary-Kate Olsen	...	Amanda Lemmon / Alyssa Callaway
Ashley Olsen	...	Alyssa Callaway / Amanda Lemmon
Philip Bosco	...	Vincenzo
Jane Sibbett	...	Clarice Kensington
Michelle Grisom	...	Carmen
Desmond Robertson	...	Frankie
Tiny Mills	...	Tiny
Shanelle Henry	...	Patty
Anthony Aiello	...	Anthony
LaTonya Borsay	...	Wanda
Michelle Lonsdale Smith	...	Michelle
Sean Orr	...	Jerry
Elizabeth Walsh	...	Emily

Also Known As:

Me and My Shadow

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:S | USA:PG (certificate #34200) | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Germany:o.Al. (w) | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Camp Mini-Yo-We, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Dualstar Productions

Trivia:

Lori Loughlin was offered the role of Diane.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Amanda and Alyssa meet in the woods for the first time, Amanda refers to Clarice as being blonde, but Clarice was wearing a towel on her head when Amanda saw her.

Quotes:

Mr. Kensington: [entering the bridal dressing room with a Prozac] I knew somebody in this church would have a Prozac.
Clarice Kensington: [snatching the Prozac, impatiently] What is taking so long?
[gulps the Prozac down]
Mr. Kensington: [soothingly] Relax, Clary. Enjoy the moment. This is the happiest day of your life.
Clarice Kensington: [quietly at first, then temperamentally] I'm happy. Don't I look happy? This is me happy! See!
[chuckles, then chants]
Clarice Kensington: Happy-happy-happy-happy-happy-happy-happy!
[bellows]
Clarice Kensington: Let's get this show on the road!

Movie Connections:

References "The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Soundtrack:

Tutti Frutti

So primitive, yet so perfect.

I watched "It Takes Two" twice and I would watch it another time I guess, but I don't think I would ever tape it. It's just not good enough. But it works perfectly. The movie centers at two cute and smart little girls, who are put in different dresses, different places, different environments and different situations in order to create this common changing-your-identities-humour, this time involving children.

We also have a stereotypical villainess, played by Jane Sibbett, exactly this stepmother-in-spe from every child's nightmare. We've seen these characters plenty of times, but who cares, it's the character we want to see here. Another common device is to have one really good actor in a supporting role, why not in the role of a butler? Here we have Philip Bosco, doing all the things expected from the nice butler, doing a fine job. A good thing is that the movie also focuses on the Kirstie Alley character. Kirstie Alley is exactly the right actress to play a cool, slightly crazy and likeable female lead in harmless family entertainment.

The point is that the movie uses the same humour, romance and conflict as usual, but skillfully enough, so it doesn't seem like copying. And that the two little girls are so smart that they manage to solve the conflict and get to that happy ending they want. That's what some people want to see and it has often been made much worse. The Olsen twins are alright here, we don't need the best child actresses you can possibly find in a movie like that. Cute, sympathetic and funny as they still are and as the movie just is, my rating is 8 (7,6?) out of 10.