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.
