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Big Business (1988)

 -  Comedy  -  10 June 1988 (USA)
5.9
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Ratings: 5.9/10 from 6,068 users  
Reviews: 33 user | 13 critic

In the 1940s in the small town of Jupiter Hollow, two sets of identical twins are born in the same hospital on the same night. One set to a poor local family and the other to a rich family ... See full summary »

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Title: Big Business (1988)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Barry Primus ...
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Iona Ratliff
J.C. Quinn ...
Garth Ratliff
Norma MacMillan ...
Nanny Lewis
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Desk Clerk
John Vickery ...
Hotel Manager
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Storyline

In the 1940s in the small town of Jupiter Hollow, two sets of identical twins are born in the same hospital on the same night. One set to a poor local family and the other to a rich family just passing through. The dizzy nurse on duty accidentally mixes the twins unbeknown to the parents. Our story flashes forward to the 1980s where the mismatched sets of twins are about to cross paths following a big business deal to closedown the Jupiter Hollow factory. Written by Col Needham <col@imdb.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Mixed up at birth, two sets of twins finally meet their match.

Genres:

Comedy

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

10 June 1988 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Sopa de gemelas  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Gross:

$40,150,487 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Jane Lew, the town where the doctor provides direction to the closest hospital, is an actual town in West Virginia. Jupiter Hollow is a commune, less than eight miles from Jane Lew, in the town of Weston, WV. See more »

Goofs

When Sadie and Rose are square dancing on stage, the man sitting in the first row has on dark Nike sneakers. The next shot of him shows him in white shoes and when the dancing moves to the audience, he is again in his dark shoes. See more »

Quotes

Sadie Shelton: My God it's me with a bad haircut.
Sadie Ratliff: Bad? I paid twelve bucks for this.
Rose Ratliff: I am gonna kick your ass!
See more »

Crazy Credits

Triplets try to check into the hotel. See more »

Connections

References Over the Top (1987) See more »

Soundtracks

"PENNIES FROM HEAVEN"
Written by J. Burke and A. Johnson
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
The Big Mix Up
21 June 2005 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

The 1988 film "Big Business," directed by Jim Abrahams, stars two well-known actresses, Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin, who both play duel roles of twins mixed up at birth in the 1940s. The names chosen for both sets of twins were Rose and Sadie. The Shelton twins were born to a wealthy couple from New York; the Ratliff twins are from a low-income family that lived in Jupiter Hollow. One of the Shelton twins was given to the Ratliff family and vice-versa. Jump forty plus years to the 1980s. The Shelton twins inherited their father's corporation Moramax in New York City, and the Ratliff twins work at the Hollow-Made Factory in Jupiter Hollow, the town in which they were born. Moramax is planning to shut down the factory and to strip-mine Jupiter Hollow. The Ratliff's come to New York City to save the factory and town from the Shelton's corporation. Both the Ratliff's and Shelton's stay in the Plaza Hotel in NYC, not knowing their real twins were also there. They end up meeting each other right before Moramax's big meeting, and Rose Shelton agrees with Sadie and Rose Ratliff to save the factory and Jupiter Hollow.

"Big Business" presents two central ideas. One idea is that two sets of twins can be born on the same night in the same hospital can be switched at birth and can meet one another later in life. Another idea would be that the "big guy" doesn't always win. The "big guy" in this movie would be the Moramax corporation and the "little guy" would be the Hollow-Made Factory. I say this because at the end of the movie the Ratliff's end up saving their town and factory from the Shelton's large corporation.

I thought that this movie was hilarious; it receives five stars. I watch this movie over and over and never seem to get tired of it. I loved how both Midler and Tomlin play two completely opposite roles, redneck and snobbish. The southern accents (in my opinion) were excellent. This movie is similar to the "Green Acres" television show, only the rednecks end up in New York City. I wish that the director would make a sequel to see how Jupiter Hollow, the factory, and Moramax are doing.


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