Musical Montage: Olivia Newton-John “Twist of Fate”
Five years after they starred in Grease, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John co-starred in the pretty much forgotten 1983 movie, Two of a Kind, which featured Newton-John’s “Twist of Fate” on the soundtrack. The movie’s premise is that God (voiced by Gene Hackman) returns to the “office” after being away for 25 years. Disgusted by what he sees on Earth, he wants to send another flood to wipe things out and start from scratch. Four angels who were running things manage to convince God to hold off on the condition that if they can show God that one typical man can change his ways, then all of humanity is capable of it. Travolta is the man chosen to observe, a failed inventor who, desperate for cash to pay off loan sharks, robs a bank. Newton-John is the bank teller but she pulls a fast one, only giving Travolta the money slips and not the actual cash. Travolta goes after her and romantic hijinks ensue. “Twist of Fate” was Newton-John’s last Billboard hit, reaching #5 on the Hot 100 and becoming the 42nd most popular song overall for 1984 (Two of a Kind opened in December of 1983). In recent years it was also included on the soundtrack for the second season of Stranger Things. The music video, which you can check out below, was nominated for a Grammy but lost to Davie Bowie’s “Jazzin for Blue Jeans”
