Big Business

Directed by Jim Abrahams, Big Business details the wacky shenanigans that ensue after two sets of twins (Bette Midler’s Sadie and Lily Tomlin’s Rose), accidentally separated at birth, find themselves coincidentally converging on the same hotel for a pivotal meeting. Filmmaker Abrahams delivers a fairly forgettable comedy that boasts little in the way of memorable sequences or even overt laughs, which is a shame, really, given that both Midler and Tomlin tackle their respective roles with an enthusiasm and gusto that’s generally difficult to resist. (And this is to say nothing of an exceedingly capable supporting cast that includes Fred Ward and Edward Herrmann.) There’s just never a point at which the whole thing coalesces into something palpably entertaining, though, with the somewhat desperate nature of Dori Pierson and Marc Reid Rubel’s screenplay paving the way for a frenetic yet mostly tedious second half. (It’s apparent, ultimately, that Abrahams is going for the vibe of a door-slamming farce but the director is simply unable to achieve that kind of briskly-paced lunacy.) It doesn’t help, certainly, that one’s efforts at discerning the separate twins from one another are occasionally rather challenging (to say the least), and there’s little doubt, as well, that the climactic stretch is hardly able to pack the knee-slapping punch that Abrahams is clearly striving for – thus cementing Big Business‘ place as a somewhat watchable yet entirely disposable bit of ’80s filmmaking.

** out of ****