Big Business (1988)

Two pairs of mismatched identical twins (you'll understand this term when you see this movie) grow up in different American cities. One pair (Midler and Tomlin) grow up in Manhattan, the other pair (played by the same actresses) grow up in their Southern hillbilly birthplace, "Jupiter Hollow." Although this comedy lacks in some departments, it's still worth a viewing. Midler and Tomlin do an admirable job switching personalities... the rich-bungling Tomlin is a perfect match, personality wise, for the podunk Midler; and the rich-snobby Midler is the worthy challenge for the podunk-spunk of Tomlin (again, you'll understand this when you see it).

Fmovies: I love this movie! It is one of the most quotable, re-watchable movies I have ever seen.

I constantly find people who not only love this movie, but like me could

quote it in it's entirety! Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin are perfect, as is the entire ensemble! So many little jokes that only multiple viewings can pick out! For me, Big Business is a guilty pleasure that I feel no guilt in watching...in excess!

The 1988 film "Big Business," directed by Jim Abrahams, stars two well-known actresses, Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin, who both play duel roles of twins mixed up at birth in the 1940s. The names chosen for both sets of twins were Rose and Sadie. The Shelton twins were born to a wealthy couple from New York; the Ratliff twins are from a low-income family that lived in Jupiter Hollow. One of the Shelton twins was given to the Ratliff family and vice-versa. Jump forty plus years to the 1980s. The Shelton twins inherited their father's corporation Moramax in New York City, and the Ratliff twins work at the Hollow-Made Factory in Jupiter Hollow, the town in which they were born. Moramax is planning to shut down the factory and to strip-mine Jupiter Hollow. The Ratliff's come to New York City to save the factory and town from the Shelton's corporation. Both the Ratliff's and Shelton's stay in the Plaza Hotel in NYC, not knowing their real twins were also there. They end up meeting each other right before Moramax's big meeting, and Rose Shelton agrees with Sadie and Rose Ratliff to save the factory and Jupiter Hollow.

"Big Business" presents two central ideas. One idea is that two sets of twins can be born on the same night in the same hospital can be switched at birth and can meet one another later in life. Another idea would be that the "big guy" doesn't always win. The "big guy" in this movie would be the Moramax corporation and the "little guy" would be the Hollow-Made Factory. I say this because at the end of the movie the Ratliff's end up saving their town and factory from the Shelton's large corporation.

I thought that this movie was hilarious; it receives five stars. I watch this movie over and over and never seem to get tired of it. I loved how both Midler and Tomlin play two completely opposite roles, redneck and snobbish. The southern accents (in my opinion) were excellent. This movie is similar to the "Green Acres" television show, only the rednecks end up in New York City. I wish that the director would make a sequel to see how Jupiter Hollow, the factory, and Moramax are doing.

Big Business fmovies. Why doesn't Bette Midler make movies like this anymore? This is the second most watched film that I own (Death Becomes Her being the first). Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler are on top form here (watch Bette's sudden change of expression as she orders a Campari and soda) and work wonderfully together.

Aside from the mini-golf tournament scene (which I would shorten) there isn't a thing that I would change about this movie.

It ranks up there with Ruthless People and Outrageous Fortune as Bette's best work.

This movie is a real must-see, especially if you are a fan of either Bette Midler or Lily Tomlin. Throughout the story you're either smiling, laughing or having a good old giggle, it's an original storyline (how often do we see that!), with subtle themes of strong, wholesome values - not so much so that its offensive or boring though. If you want to smile and spend a fun evening in, then this is the movie for you - watch out for the mirror scene with Bette Midler, silly but very funny. Two great actresses with style, a sense of fun and a lot of talent, pull this movie off to make it one of my all time, favourite DVD's. Enjoy!

I rushed right out and located the DVD of "Big Business," even though I knew that Disney had a bad reputation for minimal value in extras on their DVD releases. That situation has improved over time, and seeing BB in wide screen made it all worthwhile. This movie started out funny for me and has gotten better with repeated viewings. It has an excellent pedigree with Jim Abrahams directing and Dean Cundey manning the camera, and the leads are definitely up to the challenge of dualie roles.

It is unusual for a comedy to have the strong viewpoint and values expressed in this movie. Fred Ward's Rune talks about the simple pleasures of living in the rural country and you know that somebody involved with the script knew those pleasures personally. The characters rarely become stereotypes. Even the secondary characters are treated with respect.

Dean Cundey, Director of Photography, must have been specializing in trick photography as he went on to shoot "Back to the Future 2" and "3" with even better results. The effects budget for BB was high enough to keep the believability intact.

To me this is an all-around enjoyable light comedy.