Touchstone Pictures
Back in 1979, Bette Midler made her big screen splash in The Rose, earning herself an Oscar nomination and certain big screen stardom (technically, Midler made her debut as an uncredited extra in the 1966 movie Hawaii), but after a terrible experience on the movie Jinxed, Midler seemed to sour on making movies.
But it was Disney, of all places, that brought Midler back to the big screen in the late 1980s with the hit films (under its Touchstone banner, allowing the G-rated studio to release PG-rated fare) Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People and Outrageous Fortune. Jim Abrahams was part of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team, responsible for the comedy classics Airplane! and Top Secret, that was directing Ruthless People but they were looking to expand their talents by going off in their own directions, so the Disney folks approached Abrahams with another potential film for Midler, Big Business. The project was attractive to Abrahams even though he had never directed on his own, and usually worked on a project the group had written. It was a daunting task with the huge technical issues on top of everything else.
Big Business tells the story of not-so-identical twins Sadie and Rose Ratliff from Jupiter Hollow. The small town idyll is being threatened by Moramax, a corporation looking to basically strip mine the area, so the sisters launch a campaign to save their home with Rose the more socially conscious of the two. Raising enough money to go to New York to confront the Board of Moramax directors, they have no idea they are about to face another pair of mismatched twin sisters — Sadie and Rose Shelton. Hilarity ensues as the Moramax team and various significant others don’t realize who they’re dealing with from one minute to the next, culminating in the moment all of the sisters come face to face to face to face for the first time, having a ‘separated at birth’ moment (thanks to a confused nurse who helped deliver the two pairs of twins).
Big Business was the first (and so far only) screen pairing of comedy legends Midler and Tomlin, and Abrahams was able to strike comedy gold with the pairing … even though the studio felt some of Midler’s mannerisms were just a tad over the top, an issue Abrahams fought them on because he believed that’s what audiences wanted from Midler. It was the right call, and it allowed the other actors to play a bit more broadly than they normally would have. The chemistry between the two stars is perfect and the script allows them some classic, quotable dialog (‘You’re in America now, speak American,’ Sadie Ratliff says to an Italian businessman believing he’s speaking with Sadie Shelton).
Of course, the big selling point of the movie was seeing two Midlers and two Tomlins on screen at the same time, and Abrahams and his effects team do some clever camera trickery to have one enter the scene while the other exits, or has one passing the other in a scene. The big payoff comes as they all encounter each other in a scene that was mind-blowing in 1988 but shows its technical limitations today. It’s still a great moment nonetheless thanks to the stars’ performances (and according to Abrahams, one take that had to be used to match with the other take of the Midlers wasn’t even the best performance of the 17 shot, it just happened to be the one that lined up best).
In addition to the leads, the film includes a list of great actors in supporting roles including Barry Primus (a friend of Midler’s), Fred Ward, Michael Gross and Edward Herrmann. And a very young Seth Green. Besides the technical aspects, the film is also a bit groundbreaking, especially for a Disney movie, in that it features a gay couple (Herrmann and Daniel Gerroll) who aren’t simply mincing stereotypes but capable businessmen who seem to be the only ones who can contain their bosses, no matter how frightened of them they may be. It’s a refreshing portrayal from a movie made in 1988.
Despite all the doubts and reservations Abrahams had about his own abilities, he was able to produce a comedy classic that still holds up well to this day. Big Business has been released on Blu-ray by Disney, but Kino Lorber has produced a new edition that looks and sounds terrific. The film’s 1080p transfer looks terrific even when upscaled to 4K. The movie’s soundtrack is also presented with its original 2.0 soundtrack as well as a new 5.1 surround mix that gives the film’s score and New York City sound effects room to breathe, but otherwise isn’t really that robust of an addition. In both cases, the dialog is clear and crisp throughout.
The disk also includes a new commentary track with director Abrahams that is entertaining in places but falls a little short on details of the making of the movie. Abrahams has a lot of ‘I don’t remember’ answers when questioned about the specifics of a scene — and we knows he’s watching the movie as he speaks — referring back to some of his other projects. He doesn’t even seem to know how the climactic meeting of the two sets of twins was accomplished (there was obviously a blue screen involved but Abrahams claims there was not), or that Edward Herrmann passed away a few years ago. It’s good to have Abrahams on the record, it just would have been better had he come prepared to actually talk about the movie, which he admits he hasn’t seen in full since 1988. The disk also includes the Big Business trailer, and trailers for other Kino Lorber comedies.
While the special features may be lacking (some participation from Midler and Tomlin would have been very welcome), the image and sound quality are impressive and the movie itself is simply one of the funniest comedies ever made, extremely rewatchable thanks to a great script and the performances of Midler and Tomlin, giving each sister her own distinct personality. Big Business is definitely one to add to your movie library.
Big Business is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber which generously provided Hotchka with a Blu-ray versions of the film for reviewing purposes.
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