Twins (1988)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
The story
Following a secret genetic experiment that resulted in the creation of twins Julius and Vincent Benedict, the brothers were separated at birth and raised in vastly different environments. Julius, a physically imposing and optimistic man, travels to Los Angeles to find his long-lost brother, Vincent, a cynical small-time crook. Upon finding him, the two brothers embark on a journey together to uncover the truth about their origins and locate their long-lost mother.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Born from a genetic experiment, twins Julius and Vincent Benedict were separated at birth. Julius was raised as a highly educated but naive man, while Vincent grew up as a cynical criminal in Los Angeles. On his 35th birthday, Julius finds Vincent in jail and bails him out. The pair eventually team up to find their mother, who is living in an art colony near Santa Fe. Along the way, they encounter a criminal threat involving a stolen prototype fuel injector. After a series of events where they are separated and reunited, they face off against a ruthless courier named Webster. They eventually defeat him, reconcile their differences, and find their mother, who realizes they are her sons. The film ends with the brothers starting a business and marrying the women they met during their journey.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 107
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ivan Reitman
- Writers
- William Davies · writer; Timothy Harris · writer; William Osborne · writer; Herschel Weingrod · writer
- Cast and characters
- Arnold Schwarzenegger · Julius Benedict; Danny DeVito · Vincent Benedict; Kelly Preston · Marnie Mason; Chloe Webb · Linda Mason; Bonnie Bartlett · Maryanne Benedict
- Genres
- buddy comedy; comedy
- Themes
- family; identity
- Tone and mood
- wacky; humorous
- Premise and plot tags
- twin brothers; genetic experiment; buddy comedy
- Reception
- Critical reception to Twins was mixed, with reviewers divided over the film's reliance on the "wackiness" at the expense of its narrative.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 44% · scale: percentage · review count: 45; Metacritic · score: 53 · scale: 100 · review count: 13
- Production trivia
- First collaboration between Reitman and Schwarzenegger.; Schwarzenegger and DeVito agreed to forgo their usual salaries for a share of the profits.; A planned sequel titled Triplets was ultimately cancelled.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…