Taking Care of Business (1990)

An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writers:

Jill Mazursky, J.J. Abrams (as Jeffrey Abrams)

Stars:

Jim Belushi, Charles Grodin, Anne De Salvo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Belushi	...	Jimmy (as James Belushi)
Charles Grodin	...	Spencer
Anne De Salvo	...	Debbie
Loryn Locklin	...	Jewel
Stephen Elliott	...	Walter
Hector Elizondo	...	Warden
Veronica Hamel	...	Elizabeth
Mako	...	Sakamoto
Gates McFadden	...	Diane
John de Lancie	...	Ted
Thom Sharp	...	Mike
Ken Foree	...	J.B.
John Marshall Jones	...	LeBradford (as J.J.)
Andre Rosey Brown	...	Heavy G
Terrence E. McNally	...	Hamilton

Storyline

Jimmy Dworski(Jim Belushi) is a criminal serving the last 48 hours of a jail sentence. He wins a couple of baseball tickets by calling a radio quiz show. With help of other inmates, he escapes to go watch the game. When by chance he finds the Filofax of executive Spencer Barns(Charles Grodin) who loses it while traveling on a business weekend. Jimmy finds cash, credit cards and the key to a big mansion. He jumps on the opportunity and starts posing as Barns. While the real Barnes is trying to find his Filofax he gets in all sorts of trouble. How will things turn out when the two finally meet?

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Plot Keywords:

filofax | baseball ticket | radio | jail | baseball | 

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Taglines:

Jimmy finally got a new life. Trouble is, it's somebody else's.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Filofax

Filming Locations:

327 Winston Street - Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$20,005,435

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jim Belushi is a real life die hard Chicago Cubs fan, who's actually sung "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on numerous occasions in Wrigley Field in honor of late Cubs announcer, Harry Caray .

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Goofs

Jimmy is in a prison at the beginning. There is a warden and they have prison jobs and it is a prison facility. However, the mistake is that they are wearing shirts with "County Jail" on the backs. A county jail is not a prison.

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Quotes

Spencer Barnes: [inside the prison] Look me up when you get out.
Jimmy Dworski: OK. I get out in about 20 minutes.
Spencer Barnes: In that case, forget it.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Charles Grodin/B.B. King/Amy Yasbeck (1990)

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Soundtracks

Mean Old World
Written and Performed by T-Bone Walker
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
by Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

`Taking Care The Absolutely Funny !!!'

Funny, funny, funny and funny! This is the only word to define this lively comedy starring to James Belushi and Charles Grodin and directed by a master as Arthur Hiller. The pasted 80's were the best years for the American comedy, started to the later John Belushi till to the Chevy Chase's `Flecht' came to the Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd `Ghostbusters' the entertainment industry had generated a great lot to funny comedy, that it's true many funny movie are do still now, but the elegance and intelligence in the old movies are insuperable and unequalled. `Taking Care A Business is a comedy that it's do in the early 90's but it include all the 80's funny spirit thanks to a fast script and a professional directed to Arthur Hiller, but also thanks to the two leading players Belushi and Grodin two great comedians and also two great actors(You can see them in many drama movie). Belushi is surprising in his naturalness and expressiveness, he succeeded to give at his character a reality dimension where it's very believed his carefreeness and his `live a day at the time'. Grodin is very funny and professional in the measured and unlucky business man. The story is easy and simple in fact it's based to the classical Hollywood theme `the guy changed'. A rich business man Spencer Burns, lost his precious note-book where there all his life during a business travel, and this note-book is found to a likely jail man Jimmy Dworsky (Belushi) that he's escaped for see the baseball macht of his favourite league. Naturally the lucky fugitive take the place to the Spencer. You can not consider this movie as a great movie or a social flick with many reflection, but you must see the movie only for that's it's, a long and crackling unity to funny and laugher. And if I see under this aspect I give to the movie a good 8 to rate.