Eine Blondine zuviel – Two Much (1995)

Eine Blondine zuviel – Two Much: Directed by Fernando Trueba. With Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith, Daryl Hannah, Danny Aiello. A young gallerist is in love with two sisters at the same time. In order to solve the problem he decides to invent his own twin-brother.

“Art Dodger is a BS peddler(get the pun to his name? Eh? Eh? It sets the tone for how u0026quot;cleveru0026quot; this is), and as we find that the quality of it is rather lacking(no one could buy his stories, and few do), leading us to wonder how he gets by from it. He uses the obituaries to locate widows, and claims to be delivering paintings(provided by his…friend? Manny, who is… not skilled enough to be selling them without this trick… apparently? Even though it is at one point remarked that theyu0026#39;re good, and this is said by an expert on the subject… donu0026#39;t ask) that their now deceased husband bought, so he can get the cash. Why the cons? Well, other than ensuring that he, like nearly everyone else in this, is powerfully unlikeable(it has to be intentional, no one is this inept), itu0026#39;s the only way he can think of to make ends meet for his gallery(I guess all the want ads panned out, and in spite of being a talented virtuoso himself, he hasnu0026#39;t touched a brush for a while because… because. Well, like everything in this, the lazily done and derivative script needed that to be the case). One day, he meets and starts having sex with Betty, who turns out to be an emotional wreck who wants to get married within that same 24 hours. This is evidently something she does all the time, although she only has one ex, who she got hitched with twice. No, none of this does make any sense or hold up to a single secondu0026#39;s scrutiny. Youu0026#39;re very perceptive. Said former beau(a man with anger issues who is literally following her around whenever he can) is after our lead, and we want him to catch him. So, our u0026quot;herou0026quot; falls for his fiancés sister, Liz, with whom he is clearly better matched. She wonu0026#39;t give him the time of day, on account of… hey, look over there! So he makes up a twin brother so he can woo her. Crazy hijinks ensue, with surprisingly little laughter to be had. Phew, done. Wow, all of that was just the basic setup for the plot. Convoluted much? I will admit that I am not a big fan of screwball comedy, but this is packed with uninspired jokes, with only occasionally one that might have you smiling, or chuckle briefly. I understand that part of this was on account of the director not speaking the language properly, and that does explain a lot(no one actually talks like these people do… and the dialog, even when realistic, is seldom funny). The characters behave in bizarre ways. Development, and the eventual u0026quot;resolutionu0026quot;(it kind of just… stops) is forced and feels out of place. The main cast are wrong for their parts. This is in serious need of cutting down, as it is at least half an hour longer than it has any right to be. It isnu0026#39;t downright boring, and it could be a greater torment to watch than it is. On the plus side, Griffith and, more to the point, Hannah, spend a fair amount of time in swimsuits and the like. There are a couple of hints of sexuality and brief obscured nudity in this. I recommend this to people with low standards for this subgenre. 5/10”