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Taking Care of Business
Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan
Directed by	Arthur Hiller
Written by	Jill Mazursky J. J. Abrams
Produced by	Geoffrey Taylor
Starring	James Belushi Charles Grodin Anne De Salvo Mako Veronica Hamel Héctor Elizondo
Cinematography	David M. Walsh
Edited by	William H. Reynolds
Music by	Stewart Copeland
Production companies	Hollywood Pictures Silver Screen Partners IV
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date	August 17, 1990 (1990-08-17)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$20 million

Taking Care of Business (released in the United Kingdom as Yer Maw) is a 1990 American comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring James Belushi and Charles Grodin. It is named after the song of the same name by Randy Bachman, recorded by the Canadian rock group Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO). The film is also known for being the first screenplay work written by J. J. Abrams, who later went on to make several blockbuster films, including Super 8 and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Plot

A convicted car thief and diehard Chicago Cubs fan, Jimmy Dworski (Belushi) wins tickets to the World Series. Unfortunately, he still has a couple of days left to serve in prison and the warden, Frank Toolman (Héctor Elizondo), will not let him leave and come back. With the help of other inmates, Jimmy stages a riot so he can sneak out of prison to see the game. On the way, he finds the Filofax of uptight and spineless advertising executive Spencer Barnes (Grodin), which promises a reward if it is found.

Over the next day, Jimmy takes on Barnes' identity—staying in the Malibu beach house of Spencer's boss, flirting with the boss's daughter, even taking a meeting with a powerful Japanese food company magnate named Sakamoto (Mako Iwamatsu). The fake "Spencer"'s unorthodox methods, such as beating the magnate at tennis and telling him about the poor quality of his food products, gets the attention of the taken aback Sakamoto. However his unconventional negotiations with the food company insult some of the executives, seemingly ruining Spencer's reputation.

Meanwhile, lacking his precious Filofax, the real Spencer Barnes is spiraling into the gutter. Losing all his clothes, his car and money, he has to rely on an old high school flame, the neurotic and overbearing Debbie Lipton (Anne De Salvo) who keeps trying to rekindle a relationship with him.

Finally Jimmy and Spencer come together at a meeting with the advertising executives, where Spencer's boss finally pushes him over the edge for Jimmy's work, and Spencer quits. As a consolation Jimmy takes Spencer to the World Series, where Jimmy makes a spectacular catch on a home-run ball hit by Mark Grace, who makes a cameo.

When security goes after Jimmy, who was spotted on the Jumbotron, they escape by using Spencer's Filofax to slide down a support wire and out of the stadium. Spencer patches up his marriage with his wife, who had become exasperated with his overworking. Jimmy sneaks back into prison with Spencer's help, serves his last couple of hours and is released, only to find Spencer waiting to pick him up. With the promise of a beautiful girlfriend and a well-paying job in advertising work with Spencer, Jimmy's future looks bright, as does that of his beloved Cubs, who won the World Series.

Cast

• James Belushi as Jimmy Dworski / Spencer Barnes
• Charles Grodin as Spencer Barnes
• Mako as Mr. Sakamoto
• Héctor Elizondo as Warden Frank Toolman
• Veronica Hamel as Elizabeth Barnes
• Stephen Elliott as Walter Bentley
• Loryn Locklin as Jewel Bentley
• John de Lancie as Ted Bradford Jr.
• Gates McFadden as Diane Connors
• Anne De Salvo as Debbie Lipton
• Andre Rosey Brown as "Heavy G"
• Burke Byrnes as Prison Guard

Reception

The film received negative reviews, with Caryn James of The New York Times labeling it as a film that "plays it safe and boring."

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 33% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 3.1/10.

Production

Baseball scenes for Taking Care of Business were filmed at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in California.

The film grossed $20 million in the United States.

See also

• List of American films of 1990

References

1. "AFI|Catalog".
2. James, Caryn (August 17, 1990). "Review/Film; An Adman, His Filofax and a Thief". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
3. Wilmington, Michael (August 17, 1990). "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Taking Care of Business' Is Bankrupt of Laughter". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
4. Kempley, Rita (August 17, 1990). "'Taking Care of Business' (R)". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
5. Gleiberman, Owen (August 31, 1990). "Taking Care of Business". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 27, 2017. We gave it a D (emphasis in the original).
6. Novak, Ralph (September 10, 1990). "Picks and Pans Review: Taking Care of Business". People. Vol. 34, no. 10. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
7. "Taking Care of Business (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved November 30, 2022.

External links

• Taking Care of Business at IMDb
• Taking Care of Business at Box Office Mojo
• Taking Care of Business at Rotten Tomatoes

• 1990 films
• 1990s screwball comedy films
• 1990s sports films
• Hollywood Pictures films
• American baseball films
• Films directed by Arthur Hiller
• American screwball comedy films
• 1990s English-language films
• Films scored by Stewart Copeland
• Films with screenplays by J. J. Abrams
• 1990 comedy films
• Chicago Cubs
• 1990s American films