Jimmy Dworski {James Belushi} has two days to go before his release from prison {he's a car thief you see}. Upon hearing a contest on the radio to win two tickets to see the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, he promptly phones in a wins the tickets. But after unsuccessfully haggling with the vengeful warden {Hector Elizondo} for early release, Jimmy breaks out of the big house and stumbles upon the treasured Filofax of advertisement executive Spencer Barnes {Charles Grodin}. As Spencer stumbles around a broken man without his Filofax, Jimmy starts to live the high life as Spencer Barnes.
Well it's not really an out and out buddy movie till the last quarter, something that some writers have failed to mention. The preceding three quarters of the film follows the two role switch protagonists as they go about their merry/miserable ways respectively. Sounds like Trading Places eh? Well yes, that's because it is really. Here in lies the problem with Taking Care Of Business {AKA Filofax}, it's been done far better before and director Arthur Hiller and writers Jill Mazursky/J.J. Abrams either hadn't the nous, or the need, to at least instill some much needed deviation from the formula of such movies. So in the pantheon of role swap comedies, Taking Care Of Business is pretty much little league. So with that in mind it's something of an unexpected surprise to find it's actually very likable, thanks to the spirited turns offered up by Belushi & Grodin.
Belushi here was on the back of buddy buddy comedies Red Heat & K-9, which, like or loath them? Garnered a cult fan base and showed Belushi to have an appealing comedic charm that people could warm too. Grodin had done the quite excellent Midnight Run with Robert DeNiro three years earlier, so both men were in familiar territory and both deliver entertaining contrasts of character. Belushi does his street wise child in a mans body act whilst Grodin lays on the softly spoken, anal whiner for maximum impact. The result of which just about stops the uninspired script from sinking the movie. Anne De Salvo, Loryn Locklin, Stephen Elliott, Veronica Hamel & Mako are in support, with Locklin not only providing a truly sexy moment, but also playing off Belushi's ebullience rather well.
With some nice gags, genuinely funny scenes, and its two enjoyable leads, Taking Care Of Business is just about worth giving your time to. But any expectation of a new and interesting slant on the Prince And The Pauper theme will only end up in crushing disappointment. 6/10
Well it's not really an out and out buddy movie till the last quarter, something that some writers have failed to mention. The preceding three quarters of the film follows the two role switch protagonists as they go about their merry/miserable ways respectively. Sounds like Trading Places eh? Well yes, that's because it is really. Here in lies the problem with Taking Care Of Business {AKA Filofax}, it's been done far better before and director Arthur Hiller and writers Jill Mazursky/J.J. Abrams either hadn't the nous, or the need, to at least instill some much needed deviation from the formula of such movies. So in the pantheon of role swap comedies, Taking Care Of Business is pretty much little league. So with that in mind it's something of an unexpected surprise to find it's actually very likable, thanks to the spirited turns offered up by Belushi & Grodin.
Belushi here was on the back of buddy buddy comedies Red Heat & K-9, which, like or loath them? Garnered a cult fan base and showed Belushi to have an appealing comedic charm that people could warm too. Grodin had done the quite excellent Midnight Run with Robert DeNiro three years earlier, so both men were in familiar territory and both deliver entertaining contrasts of character. Belushi does his street wise child in a mans body act whilst Grodin lays on the softly spoken, anal whiner for maximum impact. The result of which just about stops the uninspired script from sinking the movie. Anne De Salvo, Loryn Locklin, Stephen Elliott, Veronica Hamel & Mako are in support, with Locklin not only providing a truly sexy moment, but also playing off Belushi's ebullience rather well.
With some nice gags, genuinely funny scenes, and its two enjoyable leads, Taking Care Of Business is just about worth giving your time to. But any expectation of a new and interesting slant on the Prince And The Pauper theme will only end up in crushing disappointment. 6/10