It Takes Two (1995 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It Takes Two
Directed by	Andy Tennant
Produced by	Mel Efros Keith Samples
Written by	Deborah Dean Davis
Starring	Mary-Kate Olsen Ashley Olsen Steve Guttenberg Kirstie Alley
Cinematography	Kenneth D. Zunder
Editing by	Roger Bondelli
Distributed by	- USA - Warner Bros. - non-USA - Rysher Entertainment
Release date(s)	November 17, 1995
Running time	101 min
Country	USA
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

It Takes Two was a 1995 film starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The movie title was taken from the song "It Takes Two", sung by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston. The song was featured prominently in the movie.

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Taglines 2 Cast and character bios 3 Trivia 3.1 Goofs 4 Awards and nominations 5 Deleted Scenes 6 Alternate/Deleted Angles 7 Soundtrack 8 Movie reviews 9 External links

[edit] Plot

The plot of It Takes Two revolves around when two young girls, who happen to look identical, meet unexpectedly. One of the girls, Amanda (played by Mary-Kate Olsen), is an orphan who is spending time in a camp and is about to be adopted by a family who she doesn't like. Amanda actually wants her case worker, Diane (Kirstie Alley), to adopt her instead. The other girl, Alyssa Callaway (played by Ashley Olsen), is a rich girl who arrived home from winning a trophy for her piano playing only to find that her father, Roger (Steve Guttenberg), is about to marry a woman, Clarice (Jane Sibbett), who is a gold digger and absolutely hates kids. The two girls plan a scheme to switch places for a little while and try to unite Diane and Roger. When Clarice starts to find out about the relationship that is forming between Diane and Roger, she moves the wedding date up. The girls must then take quick action. Finally, at the wedding of Roger and Clarice, Roger decides that he can't marry Clarice because he really loves Diane.

[edit] Taglines

• Two identical strangers. Two different worlds. One perfect match.
• When it comes to making the perfect match...Two heads are better than one! Especially if they look exactly alike.

[edit] Cast and character bios

• Amanda Lemmon (Mary-Kate Olsen) is an orphan girl who is pretty much a tomboy. She loves to play baseball and is just as good at it as any boy. She wants to be adopted by her caretaker, Diane, but the government won't allow it because Diane doesn't make enough money. Amanda switches lives with Alyssa Callaway and she realizes that she likes having a dad. She had to go to an engagement party for Roger and Clarice because they thought she was Alyssa.
• Alyssa Callaway (Ashley Olsen) is a rich girl and the daughter of Roger Callaway, the owner of the camp for the orphans. Alyssa is a very proper young lady. She won a trophy for playing the piano. Alyssa doesn't want her father to marry the wrong woman, Clarice Kensington, instead she wants her father to marry Diane. Alyssa switches places with Amanda and has to attend the orphan camp, Camp Callaway, that's owned by her father because Diane didn't think that she could be anybody except Amanda.
• Roger Callaway (Steve Guttenberg) is a very wealthy man. He owns Camp Callaway and is residing in a vacation house across the lake from the camp. He spoils his daughter and tries hard to make her happy. He realizes that he doesn't love Clarice when he falls for the girls' plan and meets Diane. He tells Clarice that he can't marry her when they are at the alter.
• Diane Barrows (Kirstie Alley) takes care of the orphans. She especially loves Amanda and wants to adopt her. She gets mad when she finds out that another crazy family is able to adopt her. She wants to find love and when she meets Roger she knows that he is "the one." She finally gets her man at the end of the movie when she shows up at the wedding.
• Clarice Kensington (Jane Sibbett) is a golddigger. She only wants to marry Roger for his money. She is very rude to people, especially Vincenzo. She is two-faced between Alyssa and Roger: when she is around Roger and Alyssa together, she is nice to both of them; however, when she is around Alyssa alone, she is mean to her.
• Vincenzo (Philip Bosco) is Roger's butler, best friend, and right-hand man. He is like a second father to Alyssa and knows everything about her, such that Amanda needs to show him the scars on her neck from a roman candle accident to prove to him she is not Alyssa.

[edit] Trivia

• The first draft of the script by Deborah Dean Davis was never read by director Andy Tennant. The second writer Jeff Schechter's draft made this a "go" picture with Rysher Entertainment. Tennant was hired, and offered help for the picture's problems. He and his writing partner Rick Parks rewrote Schecter's draft. Tennant and Parks were rewritten by the producers Cruickshank. The studio preferred Tennant and Parks' draft with notes, so Tennant and Parks took another pass. The WGAW ruled against any other writer's credits due to biased by-laws which disallowed Writer/Directors with partners from receiving credits on features unless in extreme circumstances. None of Davis' dialogue was used.
• Mary-Kate Olsen plays Ashley Olsen's part in the "Hail Betty, Queen of the Scrap Heap" scene.
• The following people were offered roles in the picture, but turned them down:
  • Lori Loughlin was offered the role of Diane.
  • John Stamos was offered a cameo in the film as Harry Butkis.
  • Bob Saget was offered the role of Roger Callaway.
• Ernie Grunwald, who played Harry Butkis, also appeared on Mary-Kate and Ashley's tv show Two of a Kind.

[edit] Goofs

• Alyssa's hair continuously moves in front of and behind her ear throughout the scene when Alyssa and Amanda meet in the woods.

• When Roger Callaway bangs his head on a tree during a horse ride with Diane, the scrape is seen on the right side, but he actually hit his head on the left side.

• When Clarice is running to the front of the church at the wedding, Amanda (as Alyssa) is seen running out of the way twice.

• When Amanda is asking Alyssa about Clarice when they meet in the woods, she describes her as a blonde, but Clarice's hair is wrapped up in a towel when Amanda sees her.

[edit] Awards and nominations

• Won - Nickelodeon Blimp Award for Favorite Movie Actress (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen)

• Nominated - Nickelodeon Blimp Award for Favorite Movie Actress (Kirstie Alley)

• Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten (Ashley Olsen)

• Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten (Mary-Kate Olsen)

[edit] Deleted Scenes

In the theatrical trailer, it shows very briefly at the dinner scene Amanda cracking her fingers back and a butler setting down the Chopin music book. If you look at the dinner scene during the film, this short sequence is not there.

[edit] Alternate/Deleted Angles

In the photo stills, almost all are different from the film. Photo Stills

[edit] Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack included the following songs:

• "I Got You (I Feel Good)" performed by James Brown
• "Cantaloop" performed by US3
• "It Takes Two" performed by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston
• "Hippy Hippy Shake" performed by The Swinging Blue Jeans

[edit] Movie reviews

• Anyone the age of Amanda and Alyssa will be able to figure out instantly that after the two girls cross paths, have fun and adventure exchanging lives, that they're going to play cupid. -Kevin Thomas (Los Angeles Times)

• Luckily, they're quite engaging: Kirstie Alley continues to be the robust girl next door with the big smile, Steve Guttenberg is likable in the Donald O'Connor role, and the Olsen twins, from TV's "Full House," play the two look-alikes - which is a relief, since it's always such a distraction when one actor plays a dual role and you have to spend the whole movie trying to spot the trick photography. -Roger Ebert

• It Takes Two doesn't miss any predictable modown. But us adults need to remember that children often like predictable movies, probably because they haven't sat through as many films as we have, and they can sense a happy ending. With only a couple of bad words and a bit of child intimidation from the bad guys, this movie will deliver some entertaining moments to your children. -Parent Previews

[edit] External links

• It Takes Two at the Internet Movie Database
• It Takes Two Theatrical Trailer at the Internet Movie Database