THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 20, 1996 TAG: 9607190053
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 90 lines
NOT ENOUGH TIME to handle both the job and the family, not to mention scheduling a couple minutes of fun?
Ever find yourself thinking that you could get a grip on your life, if only you were twins? Hollywood brings the fantasy to the screen when Michael Keaton solves the problems of his life as a harried businessman and husband by employing three clones.
The movie is called ``Multiplicity.'' It's a comedy, but it is not a cure-all.
Keaton, sitting in his hotel suite in New York, points out that the clones can be a problem.
``If I had a clone, I'd probably make him do this interview,'' Keaton twinkled, a bit mischievously, as he readjusted his baseball cap atop his head and pondered why he didn't think to ask for four salaries. ``There were days when I literally didn't know who I was playing,'' he confided.
Producer-writer-director Harold Ramis, the master of high-tech comedies such as ``Ghostbusters,'' sympathized with his star.
``It was like being a prize fighter's manager,'' the director said. ``Michael would collapse in the corner and I'd go fan him with a towel. He worked out every day, including running, while I ate doughnuts. The film required an extraordinary amount of energy. Time after time, he'd say to me, `Couldn't I just be one guy for half a day?' ''
Keaton had as many as 15 costume changes a day in playing the four characters. He began with Doug Kinney, a harried businessman. When his wife complains that Doug is never at home, he clones himself to create Doug Number Two, an aggressive macho type who scratches his crotch a lot.
``He was the least funny,'' Keaton said. ``It was difficult to make him funny.''
Seeking more help, he summons Doug Number Three - an organizer and a housekeeper. ``He wasn't gay, just organized,'' Keaton said. ``I hate people who try to stereotype other people. Two and Three were the odd couple, but, personally, I like Three better.''
The two clones initiate their own Doug Number Four, who is a blurred copy - a bit dim.
``I resent some people trying to say we were making fun of the mentally retarded,'' Keaton said. ``There isn't a mean mood in this film. Why do people try to read things into it?''
Keaton says ``One has gravity. Two has less gravity and Three doesn't even touch the ground. With Three I had to get in touch with my feminine side. I had to think about that. I'm OK with that, but not as good as I might be. With Four I found myself going overboard. There were times when I'd ask myself, `Did I just do Jerry Lewis?' But I don't know where I got the idea to put a boot on my head. I did that, in one scene as Three. It was, kinda, improvised.''
Keaton has played everything from Beetlejuice to Batman, with a drama like ``Clean and Sober'' thrown in - as well as a Shakespearean movie like ``Much Ado About Nothing.''
He turned down a $35 million paycheck to do a third ``Batman'' movie in favor of this comedy. Keaton starred in ``Batman'' and ``Batman Returns'' with Val Kilmer taking over for ``Batman Forever.'' (TV star George Clooney will take the role in the fourth installment.)
``I like the idea that I was Batman and that I'm still Batman to some people,'' he laughed, ``but it was going in a direction I didn't like. I like the first movie, when Batman was cool and dark. I talked with director Joel Schumacher and I realized that it wasn't going the way I wanted. It was becoming broader, and lighter. That's when I couldn't see doing it again.''
Ramis added, ``Michael viewed Batman as one life; then there was his real life. He saw Batman as being out there - a phenomenon, a kid-centered phenomenon, that was somehow separate from him.''
Ramis said that he wanted Keaton for ``Multiplicity'' because of his energy. ``I knew he could do multi-characters but what I didn't know was that he is a very serious and grounded actor. He wants to get into character - get the aura.''
Keaton has high praise for his co-star, southern-bred Andie MacDowell. ``She's a great girl - and has a great laugh,'' he said. ``I may have played four characters, but she played opposite four characters. That takes some doing. The changes had to be subtle. Her reactions make it.''
In real life, he's broken up, after four years, with actress Courteney Cox of TV's ``Friends.'' His own busy life involves finding time to manage his son's baseball team. As a single father, he's raising Sean, 13, and lives on the beach near Malibu.
``I have this woman who takes care of the house, but I still do some of the grocery shopping myself,'' he said. ``I go to the market at around 2 or 3 a.m. Some people recognize me, but they're nice about it.''
Maybe, between the four characters in ``Multiplicity,'' Beetlejuice, Batman and a half-dozen other characters, they're just confused as to whom the real Michael Keaton might be. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by COLUMBIA PICTURES
Michael Keaton stars as Clone Number Two, Three and Four in his
latest film, ``Multiplicity.''
KEYWORDS: PROFILE INTERVIEW by CNB