Reworking of the main gag in 1970's "Start the Revolution Without Me" has a rich couple from New York City, driving through a small southern town, checking into a bumpkin hospital where the wife delivers twins--two girls; at the same time, in the same befuddled hospital, a local woman also delivers twins--two girls. The joke, of course, is: one of the city babies is switched with one of the daughters from the farm family and, many years later, they all meet up at the Plaza Hotel. Bright, funny comedy, one of Bette Midler's better efforts for Touchstone, although it takes its time getting started. Once the action moves to the Plaza, it becomes less a vehicle for stars Midler and Lily Tomlin than a visual effects-driven farce with overtures to the 1930s. Tomlin's small town fussbudget is colorful, but her big city counterpart never takes shape, and she doesn't quite click with Midler (one may argue their characters are not related and therefore shouldn't click, but Tomlin's timing is very different from her co-star's, and she doesn't segue into brash slapstick comfortably). There's a great deal of incidental plotting revolving around the main action, with nutty characters continually popping up, but the jokes are freshest and funniest when director Jim Abrahams simply sets the camera on Bette Midler and lets her go. The editing is sloppy and abbreviates some of Midler's liveliest moments, yet Bette is very amusing when she's allowed to take charge. Fred Ward also appealing as a country rube who loves one or both of the Tomlins--although this pairing, too, lacks charisma (it's a plot device, like much of the rest of "Big Business"). *** from ****
Review of Big Business
