Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert review four new movies and recommend two videos. A split vote on
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) about two comic confidence tricksters. Both agree the plot is predictable when it is pretending to be surprising, but Ebert thinks the two leads, Michael Caine and Steve Martin, are funny enough that they overcome this weakness. Siskel thinks they're funny individually but don't really mesh as as a team. Another split vote for the stylish modern film noir,
Tequila Sunrise (1988). Ebert thought the plot was too confusing; Siskel thought it held up long enough to be worth recommending. Two thumbs up for _Twins (1988/I)_, a comedy with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger as unlikely brothers. The movie nearly falters in the last two-thirds with a standard movie chase, but recovers well enough to be worth seeing. A split vote on the sci-fi comedy,
My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988). Both liked Kim Basinger's wacky performance, but Ebert thought the movie as a whole was uninspired, while Siskel thought it was funny enough to give a pass. For the video recommendations, Siskel chooses
Stay Hungry (1976) with Schwarzenegger in a supporting role; Ebert picks
Wise Guys (1986) with DeVito.
—J. Spurlin