Taking Care of Business (film) (original) (raw)

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1990 comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller

Taking Care of Business
Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan
Directed by Arthur Hiller
Written by Jill Mazursky J. J. Abrams
Produced by Geoffrey Taylor
Starring James Belushi Charles Grodin Anne De Salvo Mako Veronica Hamel Héctor Elizondo
Cinematography David M. Walsh
Edited by William H. Reynolds
Music by Stewart Copeland
Productioncompanies Hollywood PicturesSilver Screen Partners IV
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date August 17, 1990 (1990-08-17)
Running time 108 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million[1]
Box office $20 million

Taking Care of Business (released theatrically in the United Kingdom as Filofax) is a 1990 American comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring James Belushi and Charles Grodin. It is named after the song of the same name by Randy Bachman, recorded by the Canadian rock group Bachman–Turner Overdrive. The film is also known for being the first screenplay work written by J. J. Abrams, who later went on to make several blockbuster films, including Super 8 and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The film follows a work-obsessed businessman who is on a business trip and loses his Filofax which is found by a recent prison escapee who assumes his identity, moves into his home and proceeds to mess up his business dealings. A number of amusing situations ensue.

A convicted car thief and diehard Chicago Cubs fan, Jimmy Dworski (Belushi) wins tickets to the World Series. Unfortunately, he still has a couple of days left to serve in prison and the warden, Frank Toolman (Héctor Elizondo), will not let him leave and come back. With the help of other inmates, Jimmy stages a riot so he can sneak out of prison to see the game. On the way, he finds the Filofax of uptight and spineless advertising executive Spencer Barnes (Grodin), which promises a reward if it is found.

Over the next day, Jimmy takes on Barnes' identity—staying in the Malibu beach house of Spencer's boss, flirting with the boss's daughter, even taking a meeting with a powerful Japanese food company magnate named Sakamoto (Mako Iwamatsu). The fake "Spencer"'s unorthodox methods, such as beating the magnate at tennis and telling him about the poor quality of his food products, gets the attention of the taken aback Sakamoto. However his unconventional negotiations with the food company insult some of the executives, seemingly ruining Spencer's reputation.

Meanwhile, lacking his precious Filofax, the real Spencer Barnes is spiraling into the gutter. Losing all his clothes, his car and money, he has to rely on an old high school flame, the neurotic and overbearing Debbie Lipton (Anne De Salvo) who keeps trying to rekindle a relationship with him.

Finally Jimmy and Spencer come together at a meeting with the advertising executives, where Spencer's boss finally pushes him over the edge for Jimmy's work, and Spencer quits. As a consolation Jimmy takes Spencer to the World Series, where Jimmy makes a spectacular catch on a home-run ball hit by Mark Grace, who makes a cameo.

When security goes after Jimmy, who was spotted on the Jumbotron, they escape by using Spencer's Filofax to slide down a support wire and out of the stadium. Spencer patches up his marriage with his wife, who had become exasperated with his overworking. Jimmy sneaks back into prison with Spencer's help, serves his last couple of hours and is released, only to find Spencer waiting to pick him up. With the promise of a beautiful girlfriend and a well-paying job in advertising work with Spencer, Jimmy's future looks bright, as does that of his beloved Cubs, who won the World Series.

Baseball scenes for Taking Care of Business were filmed at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in California.

The film is notable for featuring John de Lancie and Gates McFadden together in scenes who were also in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television show at the time.

The film grossed $20 million in the United States.

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 33% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 3.1/10.[2] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[3] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[4] Caryn James of The New York Times labeled it as a film that "plays it safe and boring."[5] Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader wrote, "This is a pretty stupid comedy in spots, with holes wide enough to drive trucks through, and director Arthur Hiller is as clunky as ever, but the cast is so funny and likable that they almost bring it off in spite of itself."[6] Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "As a comedy, ‘Taking Care of Business’ has everything going for it but laughs. It's like a stand-up comic who invested his sense of humor in the Sunbelt Jokes Savings and Loan: It hasn't got a million of them," and that "There's something eerie about this movie: a kind of mix-and-match Trading Places, a cross-town Midnight Run with an Odd Couple who never meet."[7]

  1. ^ "AFI|Catalog".
  2. ^ "Taking Care of Business (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "Taking Care of Business Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  4. ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  5. ^ James, Caryn (August 17, 1990). "Review/Film; An Adman, His Filofax and a Thief". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  6. ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1985-10-26). "Taking Care of Business". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  7. ^ Wilmington, Michael (1990-08-17). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Taking Care of Business' Is Bankrupt of Laughter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-03.