Michael_Elliott Taking Care of Business (1990) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A better than you'd expect comedy about mistaken identity as criminal Jimmy Dworski (James Belushi) escapes from prison so that he can catch a World Series game and once on the outside he finds the filofax of a rich man (Charles Grodin) and takes his identity. Soon Jimmy is trying to live the lifestyle of a rich guy while the real one gets into one mess after another when no one believes who he really is. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS certainly isn't a film you're going to label a masterpiece but if you're a fan of the two stars then they bring enough energy to their performances to make the film worth seeing. I remember watching this in the theater at the age of ten so revisiting it all these years later really didn't have me enjoying it as much as I did back in the day but I still found it to be fairly entertaining. I think the main draw of the film is the performance by Belushi who was born to play this type of fast-talking criminal who isn't shy about speaking his mind and insulting anyone who gets into his way. Belushi was pitch-perfect in the part and it really gave him a chance to break out from his brother's shadow and for the most part the actor took advantage of it. There are some very funny moments where he goes up against some high-end rich folks and the actors comic timing couldn't have been better. Grodin doesn't get as much to do and that's a shame because he too is perfect at playing these pampered type of characters. One wishes the screenplay had done a little more with him but the actor still makes the most out of it. Hector Elizondo has a couple good moments as the warden, Anne DeSalvo plays an annoying "friend" to Grodin and Loryn Locklin is quite attracted as Belushi's love interest. Fans of the original DAWN OF THE DEAD will enjoy seeing Ken Foree playing one of the criminals. I think the film does have a few problems and one is certainly the screenplay that really doesn't offer us anything we haven't already seen. This movie was obviously influenced by TRADING PLACES but one wishes this film would have pushed the boundaries a tad bit more. Another problem is that this thing almost clocks in at 110-minutes, which is way too long as things start to run out of gas around the 90-minute mark. With that said, fans of Belushi and Grodin will still want to check this out.

lastliberal No football this weekend, so what are you going to do? I didn't feel like driving an hour to see a flick on the big screen, so I scoped out this little comedy. I am certainly glad i did because it had the right combination of stars to make it really funny.James Belushi was perfect as the con out of water looking to see the Cubs in the World series. he looks like a con and really carried the film as someone who was just stumbling through impersonation another.That other was Charles Grodin, the perfect person to play a tight-assed executive who was more in need of a blow-job than anyone I know.Add a wacky Anne De Salvo, Hector Elizondo as a perfect warden, and Mako, and you have the makings of a good movie. A quick peek at Loryn Locklin, and I do mean quick despite the movie;'s "R" rating, and it's all good.It all worked out great in the end as you would expect.Check it out.

MovieAddict2016 Taking Care of Business: 2/5 StarsA buddy movie is only as good as its buddies -- Gibson and Glover, Hoffman and Cruise, Milo and Otis, Hanks and Hooch. But there is one more element a buddy movie needs: A script. "Taking Care of Business" apparently forgot about the script and went straight on to its business.Jim Belushi and Charles Grodin are the film's main stars. They've both been in buddy films before. Belushi was in "K-9," and Grodin was in "Midnight Run" with Robert De Niro, the better of the two (by far). So it's more than generous to say they have had experience with these kinds of films. So why, oh, why didn't they realize what they were getting into when they signed onto this film?Belushi is the messy one, a Chicago Cubs fan who escapes from his minimum-security prison to cheer his team on at the World Series. Grodin is the neat one, a Filofax-fixated adman who loses his precious date book on the way to shmooze a client in Los Angeles. You'll never guess who finds and attempts to return the daily planner to the Malibu address inside. Belushi is a kind, sweet, gentle man, who just happens to be an excellent car thief. He drives over to Grodin's home in LA-style environments, to find no one home. But along the way he is mistaken for Grodin himself, and is given the good-life. Meanwhile, the real Grodin has been beaten up on his way to Malibu, drugged out and unconscious. But Belushi doesn't care, because he doesn't know Grodin, and why should he care if he has single-handedly taken his every identity? Directed by Arthur Hiller, "Taking Care of Business" is a "Trading Places"-story with new faces and a lesser script. It's not an awful film, it's not even a bad film, but it's not particularly original, entertaining nor exciting. Charles Grodin, who I have always enjoyed on-screen, really ruined his own career. I really like the guy, but when he had fame, he went for the cheap films. I know he said he never really liked acting a whole lot, but still...you'd think that he would at least try to go for something good now and then. "Taking Care of Business" isn't bad. But it's not nearly as good as it should have been. The script was forgotten and the actors came up with material gags along the way. Proof of this is how no one realized the audience could never care for these apparently brick-like, shallow, one-dimensional figures. Jim Belushi is supposed to be a sweet guy, but he's a car thief and God-knows what else. Things like this make the audience confused: Are we supposed to be caring for these characters as events in their lives roll out on screen in humorous ways, are we supposed to identify with them, or are they there simply as excuses for cheap gags? Personally, I could go another lifetime without trying to find out.

critic2-2 Everybody would like to have Jim Belushi as a friend or brother. He truly seems to have fun in everything he does, it shows in this movie. I won't tell you the story but it is almost like some of the screwball comedies of the 1930's. The entire cast does a excellent job. Loryn Locklin as Jewel is a pleasure for anyone to see at the pool. And who has not seen an old classmate like Debbie, played to the hilt by Anne DeSalvo was really funny and sad at the same time.Rent it you will enjoy yourself.