‘My life’s in shambles. I need pie...’
I know what you’re thinking. One Michael Keaton is good, so what happens when you have many Michael Keatons? Surely that’s just taking a good thing and making it better? That’s just Maths isn’t it? I’m no expert, of course. Well, let’s jump in and see…
Doug Kinney (Keaton) is a busy guy. He’s killing himself in his job as a construction worker. He’s missing his kid’s dance recitals and hockey games. His marriage to his good-natured wife Laura (Andie MacDowell) is on the rocks. The guy can’t catch a break. Until that is, he meets a mysterious older guy who holds the key to clone technology. You can guess the rest.
A premise that could only exist in the same ten-year period that brought us Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Groundhog Day, Harold Ramis’ Multiplicity is pretty out there concept-wise, but in the execution, it’s as safe as safe could be. As soon as the second Michael Keaton pops up (swiftly followed by a third and a fourth), it is clear where this film was going. Another common trope of ’80s and ’90s Hollywood was a career guy finally realising that he should spend more time with his family (the irony is that everyone involved in the project was normally away from their families for months at a time making the goddamn movies). The key to the success of Multiplicity is Ramis’ assured direction and an excellent central performance from Keaton. The premise that each clone is a slightly less functional version of the original is solid, and it is this disparity that wrings the most laughs out of what is a pretty one-note joke. Aside from that, there are the usual hijinks that will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched an episode of Frasier. Basically, a whole bunch of ‘hilarious’ misunderstandings.
A safe movie then. A predictable movie, sure. But also a movie that has that warmth and familiarity that only a film made in the mid-’90s can have. Ahh, it’s nice to be home.