Review of Big Business (1988) by Ben L — 20 Jan 2012

I've seen movies where an actor plays a set of twins, but this is the only movie I know of where 2 actresses both play a set of twins. The whole plot of this movie is perhaps a little over-the-top and crazy. However they manage to pull it off somewhat convincingly. I'm still not convinced that the displaced sisters would be genetically accustomed to a particular lifestyle, but the rest is plausible.

Of course now I'm over-thinking things because this is a comedy, not a documentary. And believe me they use the comedy of the situation tremendously. The mistaken identities are exploited to full effect, and make this one of the funnier movies from when I was growing up. I especially love when the girls keep swapping places at breakfast.

Tomlin and Midler are brilliant. They establish the speech patterns, body language, and overall attitude of 2 different characters tremendously. It is always crystal clear to the audience which version of Rose or Sadie is on the screen even though it constantly stumps the other characters. Big Business is a classic comedy that has actually aged quite well and still makes me laugh like it did 24 years ago.