User Reviews

Mistaken identity comedy has always been something that really cracks me up. (TV's "Three's Company" comes to mind) Plots that revolve around scenes with two people thinking two completely different things is just FUNNY. "Big Business" has a couple of truly hysterical scenes (The one in the elevator nearly killed me). Maybe it helps to be in the mood, but either way, it's an enjoyable little movie with some great performances.

Forget the fact that this situation would never happen. Just have a laugh.

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).

I love Big Business. The plot device of babies or twins being mixed up at birth isn't new, but it's rarely been done as well as it has here. Credit for that must largely go to the two leads - Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. Both are outstanding and transition between their dual roles with ease. The support cast is excellent too. Not all of the scenarios that make up the plot are brilliantly funny in themselves, but they are performed so well you'll think they are. I especially love the scene where Bette Midler dances and yodels on a New York street. Something about that always makes me smile. Big Business is over 30 years old as I write this, but it's head and shoulders above lots of the so-called comedy that is foisted on us today. In this age of female empowerment there is a big push to give us movies of all types with strong female leads. Some older movies that originally had a male cast have even been rewritten as vehicles for female stars rather than men (Ghostbusters anyone??) Bette and Lily did it before this trend became a thing and they did it better. If you've never seen this movie, watch it. If you haven't seen it in a while, do yourself a favour and watch it again. It hasn't dated.

That this 1988 movie contains 2 sympathetic, non-stereotypical gay characters says a lot about the movie makers. There seems to have been some real care taken over what could've ended up a cheaply made throwaway farce.

Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler are simply superb in their roles as separated twins and in my view out-do Jeremy Irons in that year's other twin movie `Dead Ringers' - and he was fantastic.

This film has been criticised for not delivering laughs where you would predict them based on the film's premise. But is that a fault? Big Business builds comedic tension early on and sustains it throughout by clever use of supporting characters and the subtle way that from their scenes with them we learn about the 4 leads.

The eternal dilemma of nature v nurture is portrayed in a fairly non-preachy way coupled with a similar approach to town v country. To do this in a farce containing 4 romances plus all the rest is a tall order for any moviemaker but this rich premise is cleverly negotiated by Jim Abrahams & the writers with only a handful of misfires.

Now I'm not one for romances but the studly Fred Ward, who was unbelievably 46 years old at the time, as the whiter than white Roone Dimmick, manages an amazing feat - his meeting and courting of Lily Tomlin in the space of a few minutes is carried off quite plausibly by this accomplished and underrated actor and is a joy to behold.

10 out of 10 and a real shame that there is no more from these 2 writers.

Big Business is an updated version of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. It is directed by Jim Abrahams with astonishing split screen photography by Dean Cundey.

Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin play dual roles. A set of twins switched at birth. Rose and Sadie Shelton were raised by a wealthy couple from New York. Rose and Sadie Ratliff were raised by farmers in Jupiter Hollow where all of them were one born but two of the babies were wrongly mixed up.

The Shelton girls run their father's business Moramax in New York City and plan to shut down the main factory in Jupiter Hollow. Rose (Midler) is tough as nails while Sadie (Tomlin) is meeker and has more scruples.

The Ratliff's visit New York in order to save the factory from closure. Sadie Ratliff (Tomlin) is the more astute and sensible one. Both sets of twins are staying at the same hotel and narrowly avoid meeting each other and not releasing that they are doppelgangers, but they cause mayhem with hotel staff, Moromax employees and even their boyfriends.

Big Business is an easy going fun film, it captures the late 80s 'greed is good' mantra. We see one of the characters modelling herself on Alexis Carrington from Dynasty. It is just a shame that it is not laugh out loud funny.

A rich couple is traveling through the backwoods of West Virginia. Mrs. Shelton unexpectedly goes into labor. They arrive at Jupiter Hollow where the only hospital is owned by the local furniture factory. Mr. Shelton buys the factory in order for his wife to be admitted. Mrs. Ratliffs is also there for delivery. The two women have identical twins but one baby from each set gets switched. Years later, Sadie Shelton (Bette Midler) is running the family conglomerate and proposes to close down the furniture factory in Jupiter Hollow. She ignores her ex-husband and wild son. Rose Shelton (Lily Tomlin) is the flighty, more sensitive sister. Dr. Jay Marshall (Michael Gross) is in love with Rose but hates her sister. When news of the closing reaches Jupiter Hollow, activist Rose Ratliff (Lily Tomlin) takes her sister Sadie Ratliff (Bette Midler) to New York City to stop it. Professional mini-golfer Roone Dimmick (Fred Ward) follows Rose to the city. Confusion leads the two pairs of twins to have hotel suites next to each other.

I can imagine the elevator pitch. It should be hilarious but it gets a bit repetitive to me. It's essentially the same joke over and over again. People mistake the sisters for their doppelganger and hilarity ensues or it's supposed to be. Honestly, the only funny section happens when the two sets of twins run into each other. I would have liked the movie to start there although I don't know if there is enough drama to stretch it out. Sadie Shelton could still be the villain and the others could be working to stop her. Also I question the ending where Sadie Ratliff takes over Sadie Shelton's family. The better move would be Sadie Shelton's redemption as she reconnects with her family. There is some fun to be had but this should have been much better.

"Big Business" is a hilarious, stylish comedy starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin as two sets of twins mixed at birth. One mixed set has a successful company in New York City. The other mixed set lives a simpler life in the country. The Sadie twins (Bette Midler) desire the highlife of the city; with its glitz and glamour. So, the Sadie living in the country jumps at the chance to go to New York City when her "sister" Rose needs to travel there to save their local place of employment. The Rose twins (Lily Tomlin) desire a slower way of life, and the Rose living in New York City has never felt like she belonged there. What happens next is a comedy of errors and mixed identity as the Rose and Sadie from the country prepare to do battle with the company run by the Sadie and Rose of the city. Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin both shine in their roles. The finely acted supporting cast includes Fred Ward, Edward Herrmann, and Michael Gross. The movie was very well written and filmed. The use of the trick photography when both sets of twins are together looks great. The comedy in "Big Business" is constant with its sight gags and humor ranging from cheery and campy to slick and nicely sophisticated. "Big Business" is delightful, and a comedy that's hard to outsnake when it comes to laughter.

I just love this movie - I've seen it several times and it makes me laugh each time. The two lead actresses are wonderful, and perform their roles perfectly. Bette Midler is especially wonderful as the rich bitch.

...watch this movie!

Two newborn sets of identical twins are mixed up at the hospital - one pair from a rich family from New York, the other pair from a poor family of farmers from a small town called Jupiter Hollow. Raised in very different society classes, 30 years later they're coincidentally about to cross paths, as they're all staying at the Plaza Hotel in New York..

This is probably the most amusing movie I've ever seen - lots of funny remarks, scenes and situations - and Bette Midler is playing the role as the hotheaded Sadie (well, the two Sadies..) sooo good! One of those movies you can watch again and again!

This is a fun film for a rainy day. It is nice to hang out at the Plaza Hotel for an hour or so.

Bette Midler steals the show, but with the full cooperation of Lily Tomlin, who is extremely annoying. Miss Tomlin pants her way through the New York character and "hicks" her way through the other. Neither is anywhere near believable, and the viewer needs a remote to fast forward through her scenes.

The more I watch this film, the more and more grating is Lily Tomlin's voice. She seems to want to convey stress by panting and panting and panting, only relieved by flapping her hands and losing her shoulder pad before panting and flapping some more.

If I were the New York City Sadie, I would have dumped this this nails-on-the-chalkboard Sis long before she inherited.

I saw this movie again last night and I laughed at it all over again.It is so much more funnier than so many comedies today, I think its unfair, the lack of repect it gets.the idea is obviously very silly and was probably used before back in the 50's but that does'nt take from the film at all.The two main actresses play two very different characters (each!!), and the fact that you see all four as completely different people show how brilliantly Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin have pulled it off.Lily Tomlin seems to have loads of fun with her outrageous country girl character.Its just ridiculous and unbelieveably funny at the same time.The plot is well thought out and it is clever the idea they have for the way the girls managed to end up staying in the same hotel at the same time.Better Midler is fantastic aswell, both as a superb**ch and a a little miss fancy from the country.Look, just don't put too much thought into this movie just watch it and suspend reality for a while.Let yourself get into the confusion and the mad situations the characters get themselves into and it'll just be sheer fun all the way.In the scene where the country Rose came into the Morromax offices for the first time, I nearly laughes myself silly.

Nobody in the eighties made a huge success than Bette Midler, she was a comedy Queen in that period, like this movie who she plays twice, if one Bette Midler is good try to imagine on double acting, fantastic, this turn she plays a rich and arrogant business woman instead your twin sister who is poor and so friendly, together with another twin sister played by Lily Tomlin not so funny this time, when all sisters end up meeting the confusion is done, all kind weird situation was placed in this clever comedy, Bette as unmistakable style as walks and as talks, singular to say at minimum!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2007 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

This is one of those movies that has a lot of jokes and a lot of different relationships going on (two sets of identical twins with their significant others). I actually watch this film whenever it is on television and it just comes across as a no-brainer type movie without much to say. Just watch it and say "Ho-Hum."

The backup actors to Tomlin and Midler actually have better lines to work with. Maybe the character of rich Midler needed to be super mean to make this more than a seven out of ten. But the show really never went anywhere but it had a candy bar ending which probably saved it for the rerun mill on television.

The stage curtains open ...

"Is this how we dress for the office? You look like a blood clot!"

"Big Business" (1988) starring Bette Midler, Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, and Lily Tomlin, is a light and fun comedy by Director, Jim Abrahams - who also brought us "Airplane!", "Top Secret!", "Ruthless People", and the "Hot Shots" movies. I first saw this the year it came out when I was about 19 or so, and had a lot of fun with it. Even at that young age, I felt it was entertaining and funny, and whenever I see it now, it always takes me back to a good time. Both Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin take on duo roles in this "feel good" romp.

Two very different couples (one "high class" and one "small town") happen to be in the same rural clinic having their babies at the same time. Ironically enough, they both have a set of twins and they both name their twin daughters the same - Rose and Sadie. As fate would have it, the absent-minded nurse mistakenly swaps babies placing one from each couple together. Years later, both sets of sisters couldn't be more different from each other. Rose and Sadie Ratliff are raised in a poor rural area while Rose and Sadie Shelton in a wealthy uptown setting. Rose Shelton (Tomlin) hates city life and yearns for something simpler and stress free, while Sadie Ratliff (Midler) wants out of her small town life and yearns for room service and the glitz and glamour of big city life. When the Ratliffs travel to New York in an attempt to save their small factory, which the Sheltons own, things come to a head with hilarious results.

This is your classic comedy of mistaken identity that is chalk full of near misses, awkward situations, and confusion and mayhem. To be honest, if I had never seen this movie when it first came out, it probably wouldn't be so high with my rating of 7 stars out of 10. The routines do get a bit tired after a while, but I still really like it. The payoff is a bit lacking, and who everyone ends up with is questionable, but this film was more about the experience of it all rather than the ending anyway.

If you want a fast paced comedy that will keep you smiling from start to finish with an 80's flair to it, you can do a lot worse than this movie. I would recommend it. It's only 97 minutes long without a dull minute in there anywhere. It's been about 35 years now since I first saw it (has it really been that long?), but it still holds up fairly well. "Big Business" is worth your time.

Watchable, and fun, but not much left over when the credits roll. The leads do a good job with the dual roles. Plucky, light entertainment, recommended to those who enjoy light comedy; especially from the stars and that late 1980's era. Fun, but slight.

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.

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 ****

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!

Back in the 1940s in the small town of Jupiter Hollow two families are ready to bring new babies into the world. One family is stinking rich from the city of New York, the other poor and living in the country. After both families introduce twins a dopey nurse accidentally switches the twins. Jump ahead 40 years or so and the two rich "twins" are ready to sell off a factory in Jupiter Hollow where they were born. Meanwhile the other "twins" go to New York City to fight the sell off of the company. So both sets of twins are at the Plaza Hotel in New York City not knowing that they were switched at birth.

Some good laughs along the way and both Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler show their strong ability to play comedy and play two completely different characters in the same film. It was directed by Jim Abrahams who did AIRPLANE and NAKED GUN so you know its got to be funny. He also does a very good job in keeping the pace going for really the entire film. Also includes tune 'Higher Love' by Steve Winwood. Also starring Fred Ward, Edward Hermann and Michael Gross.

This movie is one of my guilty pleasures. I've seen it 10 or more times(I own it). It never fails to make me laugh. The pace is comic perfection and the supporting cast (one of my favorites is Deborah Rush in the opening sequence)obviously enjoyed making this film. It's a ridiculous story with a heart of gold that will never fail to brighten your day.