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Two of a Kind
Studio - Twentieth Century Fox
Stars - John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Charles Durning, Oliver Reed, Beatrice Straight, Scatman Crothers
Director - John Herzfeld
Writing Credits - John Herzfeld
Music - Bill Conti
Synopsis
God (voice of Gene Hackman) had left four angels in charge of the world while he went on a 25 year vacation (where does God go for a vacation?). They spend their time playing golf in the clouds, and when God returns he sees that Earth is a mess, and he threatens to destroy his work and start all over. But he agrees to allow the Earth to survive if the angels (Charles Durning, Beatrice Straight, Scatman Crothers and Castulo Guerra) can find one redeemable, selfless soul. They set their sights on Zack (John Travolta) a would-be inventor, who must come up with thirteen thousand dollars owed to a threatening loan shark.
Zack goes to a bank, approaches the teller, Debbie (Olivia Newton-John), shows her a pistol (unloaded), and demands the exact amount of his debt. She returns with a sack, and Zack flees the bank. At home, he discovers that the sack is full of envelopes and blank paper. Meanwhile, Debbie has taken the cash herself, and goes on a spending spree. When Zack tracks her down she only has eight thousand left. The loan shark (Richard Bright) and his bumbling companion (Vincent Bufano) have threatened to cut off Zack’s ears when they find him.
On the run together, Zack and Debbie fall in love. The four angels have come to earth in disguise to monitor the situation. But they discover that the devil, Beasley (Oliver Reed) is also on the scene to thwart their efforts.
Debbie is kidnapped and held hostage by a masked intruder who takes her to a city rooftop. When he fires at a police swat team, Zack breaks through the police line, climbs the side of the building to the roof in an attempt to save Debbie. The kidnapper aims his gun at Debbie, but Zack steps in front of her and takes the bullet to his chest. He is pronounced dead, but as Debbie continues to hold him, he miraculously revives. The angels watch the scene in amazement, but Charlie (Charles Durning) is suspicious and goes down to the street where he finds the devil Beasley and notices a discarded mask. Beasley had been previously advised by Charlie that, should their mission fail, all Earth’s souls would go Up to Heaven, and none would go Down to his domain.
Trailer
Two of a Kind, a reuniting of the stars of the mega-hit Grease, was universally panned by critics.