Multiplicity (1996)

Michael Keaton plays a man so busy that he has to clone himself to 
find enough time to work, play, and parent.  He's copied three 
times, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood geneticist (Harris 
Yulin).  "Two" is his aggressive side and takes charge at the 
office, while "Three" is more prissy and stays home with the kids.  
("Four" is the flub; a fuzzy copy with the mind of a child.)  Mr. 
Keaton is very funny-- and distinctly different-- in each of these 
roles.  He gives a command performance that the movie doesn't know 
what to do with.  The best that four (cloned?) writers could come 
up with are some recycled gags from MR. MOM, a few hundred or so 
double takes, and one very funny sequence involving the rule over 
who gets to sleep with the wife (Andie MacDowell, looking dazed and 
confused even when she's not supposed to be).  The latter is also 
the closest that the movie comes to having a, uh, climax.  
MULTIPLICITY attempts to end on a serious note and it doesn't work.  
Twenty minutes are wasted there.  Also curious is how absolutely 
nothing is explained about the character of the scientist.  We see 
him in the cloning sequence and then he just disappears for the 
rest of the movie.  Perhaps he's working on opening a franchise...  
(Rated "PG-13"/110 min.)

Grade: B-

Originally posted to triangle.movies in MOVIE HELL: July 14, 1996