I love Michael Keaton and every movie he’s ever made. He’s masculine but also has a certain vulnerability and a terrific comedic delivery that are irresistible. He hasn’t been making tons of movies like he did in the past, so I’ve been rediscovering some of my old favorites.

Although Multiplicity was released in 1996, it doesn’t have an outdated look or appeal. It is perhaps even more relevant today than when it was originally released to audiences. Keaton plays Doug Kinney, an overworked, stressed-out father of two, husband to one, construction foreman who is turning himself wrong-side out trying to meet all of his obligations.

One day on a jobsite at a medical research facility, one of the ‘research doctors’ sees Doug have a stressed-out meltdown and proceeds to offer Doug ‘time’. Intrigued, the next day finds Doug in the ‘doctor’s’ office, open to a radical suggestion. What about a CLONE of himself to take over major portions of his workload? Keaton’s character takes the bait and thus unfolds a series of sometimes hilarious misadventures and mayhem.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It had humor without introducing any bad language—rare to find these days unless you are watching Disney cartoons. It had a good story line and the parts were done quite well by both Keaton and Andie MacDowell, who plays his wife.

I’m not quite sure I liked the way the final dilemma was resolved, so that certainly left me with food for thought. In fact, the whole premise of having a clone of yourself presents issues for consideration that you might find surprising. Religious folk might wonder if a clone would be a ‘person’ in the sense of having a soul, for instance. Many might wonder what kind of ‘rights’ a cloned individual would have, and would he/she belong to the person from whom they received their DNA. Of course, these questions are not new to us—clones of sheep and other animals are now commonplace, and the dialogue rages about whether or not human clones should ever be produced. Lots and lots to think about here, don’t you think? In the meantime, rent the movie, or watch it when it shows up on television. It will provide you with a comic vision of why we might not want to pursue this cloning thing!

To see an excellent trailer on the movie, CLICK HERE.