Two Much

A great adaptation of one of Donald Westlake's sad-sack comedies, in this case about Antonio Banderas, an unsuccessful art gallery owner who ekes out his income by a variation on the Bible Salesman scam. He winds up engaged to a funny, screeching Melanie Griffith, in lust with her sister -- and Melanie's gangster ex-husband is after him.

This won't be to everyone's taste: Westlake's humor is a lot like Tim Burton's and it's a shame Burton has never tried his hand at one of Westlake's novels. None of the screen adaptations of his works have served him well, although the hard-to-find HOT STUFF, from his own script works well.

But this is about as good as it gets, with a perfect supporting cast, including Eli Wallach, Darryl Hanna, Danny Aiello and the woman who can make you laugh while she's having a nervous breakdown: Joan Cusack. Give this a try. And if you know Tim Burton, suggest he try a Dortmunder novel or two.

After winning a Best Foreign Film Oscar for "Belle Epoque", Fernando Trueba's follow up was this comedy starring Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. It was not the first time that Trueba had directed a picture in English with English-speaking actors ("El sueño del mono loco" starring Miranda Richardson and Jeff Goldblum was a critical success) but "Two much" seems to have gone out of his hands.

It might have looked good in the script, a comedy that captures the essence of the comedies from the 50's, but the eventual result is quite disappointing. The three leading actors (Banderas, Griffith and Daryl Hannah) have been much better almost elsewhere, and some of the jokes and gags are kind of cheesy. However, a superb supporting cast helps to save the show. Joan Cusack is a delight to watch in a role Thelma Ritter would have done a few decades before. Danny Aiello does as much as he can with his clichéd character, and Elli Wallach is also excellent, but his role is little more than a glorified cameo.

If you like Dean Martin comedies you might appreciate the effort of resurrecting these kind of comedies, but don't expect the result to be anywhere near those classics. If you are looking for a few laughs and an acceptably amusing comedy, then you might not be disappointed.

You will especially like this film if you are fans of Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith and Daryl Hannah. Nothing creative or unique, just good fun and nice eye candy for all to enjoy. You could probably drive down the road and get the milk and cereal for tomorrow's breakfast, while the movie is still running back home, and not miss much...but hey, this is just a comedy for a few laughs.

A bit of fluff with lots of laughs and screwball comedy with Banderas trying to have not only his cake and eat it two, but two cakes! Some very funny bits as he tries to keep his "twin" from being exposed -hence "Two Much."

In my opinion, Joan Cusack stole the show with her broad comedic talents. She plays along with the charade, using wry humor when she finds herself in the middle of a difficult situation, and gently scolding Banderas for his questionable behavior. She was simply wonderful!

This movie has enough funny moments with some outstanding performances of Joan Cusack and (even though in a very small role) Vincent Schiavelli as Sommelier, watch and see what I mean, I fell of my chair with the few scenes with him. For me 7 out of 10.