Big Business

Coincidences can work very well as the basis for comedy plots. However, if coincidences are too convenient or too numerous, they might create certain problems. This is what happened to the script for Big Business, 1988 comedy directed by Jim Abrachams.

The plot begins in late 1940s West Virgina where rich New York businessman Hunt Shelton (played by Nicolas Coster) happens to travel with his pregnant wife Binky (played by Deborah Shelton). She goes into labour and Shelton is forced to make detour to local hospital in small town of Jupiter Hollow just as Garth Ratliff (played by J. C. Quinn), one of impoverished residents, brings his pregnant wife (played by Patricia Gaul). Both women bear two twin girls, who are both named Sadie and Rose, but the midwife confuses the babies, making the both set of twins living separate and very different life. Four decades later Sadie Ratliff (played by Bette Midler) is the heir of father’s business empire who adapted well to cutthroat ways of 1980s Wall Street capitalism, much to the displeasure of her sister Rose (played by Lily Tomlin) who dreams about quieter and gentler way of life. Sadie plans to make massive profit by engineering liquidation of a factory in Jupiter Hollow, and that is something that infuriates local activist Rose Ratliff (also played by Tomlin) who travels to New York to stage PR campaign directed at Sheltons’ company shareholders. She is accompanied by her sister Rose (also played by Midler) who sees this as opportunity to leave her rural home and experience life of glamour and adventure in the big city she was always dreaming of. By chance, both twins get rooms in Plaza Hotel, where they are constantly mistaken for each other, leading to all kind of strange situations.

Script by Dori Pierson and Mark Read Rubel is based on the idea which isn’t particularly original, being used by comedy authors through centuries, including Shakespeare in his The Comedy of Errors. They try to give some originality by having two instead one set of twins and allowing two main stars to play four instead of two characters. However, a lot of plot in the second part is based on annoyingly convenient circumstances and main characters annoyingly failing to bump into each other until rather predictable, but weak and unconvincing finale. Two things rescue this film from sinking below mediocrity. One is confident direction of Jim Abrachams, experienced comedy author in his first solo project following his work with Zucker brothers. He puts large budget to good use, including special effects that allow Midler and Tomlin to play different but same-looking characters in the same shot. The other and more important factor is cast, especially Bette Midler who is enthusiastic both as semi-villainous Wall Streer vulture and as inexperienced country bumpkin. Tomlin is also good, although not that impressive. Somme supporting cast members also give good impression, like character actor Joe Grifasi as horny hotel clerk or Fred Ward as Rose Ratliff’s macho boyfriend who is completely at odds with the “cool” ways of New York that he shares room with two of Sadie Shelton’s underlings (played by Daniel Gerroll and Edward Herrmann) blissfully unaware that those two men might practice what was in those days dubbed “alternative lifestyle”. Michele Placido, one of the rare Italian actors who reached status of international star (thanks to his role of Inspector Corrado Cattani in popular TV series La piovra).

Big Business is today most interesting as a window to the times when Hollywood still dared to view class rather than racial or gender identities as the main source of social friction in America. Film clearly takes side of poor but proud blue collar inhabitants of West Virginia against ruthless evil capitalist of New York. Today’s film makers would probably take the opposite view and consider West Virginia characters as Trump-loving troglodites unworthy of “cool” and “hip” Manhattan elite. Those uninterested in Hollywood comedies as litmus test for changes in cultural and political trends, on the other hand, would probably enjoy this mildly entertaining but ultimately forgettable comedy.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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