In this zany comedy, Michael Keaton is Doug Kinney, a man with too many tasks and not enough time to complete them. When he feels too much pressure, his temper explodes with disastrous results. So when researcher Dr. Owen Leeds (Harris Yulin) offers him a somewhat unusual remedy for his problem, he gives it a try. Soon, a fully grown clone of Doug is delivered, complete with his memories up to the time of its "birth." Being in two places at once offers some advantages, but problems arise when
Doug #2 can't handle the stress of overwork any better than the original. Perhaps Doug #2 could benefit from having his own helper. Versions of Doug multiply, each of them emphasizing some facet of his character, and complications multiply. For instance, having more of him around doesn't make life simpler for Doug's wife Laura (Andie MacDowell). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
An effects-based comedy whose seamlessness is a sign that this newfangled comedic genre has gone beyond the adolescence stage and taken on a new maturity.
Keaton does a dandy job by his four Dougs, but the problem is a script that assumes a physical comedian can do it all, including twisting characters to make them fit the plot line. It doesn't work.
Groundhog Day had a certain sweetness and even a sly philosophical depth, but Multiplicity is more of a ground-level comedy, in which we can usually anticipate the problems for Doug and his clones.
Whatever you know about cloning, leave at the theater door. Whatever you know about the modern housewife, shuck that, too. The feminism of "Multiplicity" is barely circa 1959.
A goofy comedy, and it does go off the old saying 'if only there were more of me'. The story is predictable, especially the ending. Overall it has some humor, but overall it's just okay.
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