Taking Care of Business
A recently imprisoned baseball fan turns a lost executive Filofax into an unlikely ticket to luxury, while its rightful owner scrambles to recover his life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Mild
- breezy
- witty
- warm
- lazy sunday
- nostalgic movie night
What critics said
Critics found the broad premise and likable cast promising but largely undermined by weak laughs, a predictable script, and conspicuous plot holes.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jimmy uses Spencer Barnes's Filofax, money, cards, and mansion to impersonate the executive and enter a wealthy corporate world.
Jimmy poses as Barnes while the real Barnes searches for the missing Filofax and struggles to reclaim his identity.
The lost Filofax contains the cash, credit cards, address, and key that enable Jimmy's escape and assumed identity.
The prison escape and executive impersonation are framed as buoyant comic opportunities rather than grim criminal consequences.
Films like Taking Care of Business, and why
Trading Places
shared fish out of water comedy, mistaken identity, and class satire
Midnight Run
shared odd-couple pairing, comic misadventure, and criminal-on-the-run premise
The Secret of My Success
shared identity deception, workplace farce, and warm 1980s-1990s studio comedy tone
Stir Crazy
shared prison escape setup, broad comedy, and likable outsider protagonist
Movie Details
- Director
- Arthur Hiller
- Release Date
- 1990-08-16
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (192)
Cast
- Jim Belushi
- Charles Grodin
- Anne DeSalvo
- Loryn Locklin
- Stephen Elliott
- Héctor Elizondo
- Veronica Hamel
- Mako
- Gates McFadden
- John de Lancie
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Taking Care of Business about?
- A recently imprisoned baseball fan turns a lost executive Filofax into an unlikely ticket to luxury, while its rightful owner scrambles to recover his life.
- What is Taking Care of Business like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Taking Care of Business as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Taking Care of Business violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Taking Care of Business as mild.
- What did critics think of Taking Care of Business?
- Critics found the broad premise and likable cast promising but largely undermined by weak laughs, a predictable script, and conspicuous plot holes.
- Which films are like Taking Care of Business?
- Films with a similar feel include Trading Places, Midnight Run, The Secret of My Success, and Stir Crazy.
- How long is Taking Care of Business?
- Taking Care of Business runs 108 minutes.
- Where can I watch Taking Care of Business?
- In United States, Taking Care of Business streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
