Filofax - Ich bin Du und Du bist nichts

Jim Belushi is fun in one of his most engaging roles: Jimmy Dworski, a car thief and die-hard Chicago Cubs fan who escapes from prison in order to attend a pivotal World Series game. Along the way, he happens upon the forgotten Filofax organizer belonging to uptight, ambitious Malibu executive Spencer Barnes (Charles Grodin). The whole weekend ahead of him, Jimmy first figures to return the organizer (a combination wallet and daily planner) to Spencer and collect the reward advertised inside. Instead, he ends up pretending to *be* Spencer for the weekend, leading to the expected wacky mishaps as unwary people expecting a different sort of behaviour from this Spencer character get something else entirely.

Although quite predictable, formulaic, and overlong (the script is by Jill Mazursky (daughter of Paul M.) and J.J. Abrams (his earliest screenwriting credit)), "Taking Care of Business" is indeed a cute comedy that travels far on Belushis' easygoing charm and the perfectly cast Grodin. Spencer will have a long road towards meeting this temporary nemesis, enduring some hardships, while Jimmy will enjoy this brief opportunity to live in the lap of utter luxury. (That Malibu mansion is a wonder to behold.) Entertaining side characters also help a lot: Anne De Salvo as a persistent, annoying, but endearing old school chum of Spencers', Mako as a tough Japanese businessman, Stephen Elliott as Spencers' ailing boss, Hector Elizondo as the weaselly prison warden, Veronica Hamel as Spencers' fed-up wife, the enticing Loryn Locklin as the boss' daughter, Ken Foree as a convict, and 'Star Trek' universe actors Gates McFadden and John de Lancie, as employees in Makos' company.

The picture is silly, and reasonably amusing, and may not exactly be very believable, but it serves as a good diversion for people who aren't demanding something of substance. One does feel good for the unlikely lead duo when all is said and done.

Naturally, the title invites the expected use of the classic Bachman-Turner-Overdrive hit tune.

Seven out of 10.

"Taking Care of Business" is a sort of "Trading Places" knock-off with Belushi playing an irrepressible and always upbeat con who escapes from prison to attend the World Series and stumbles into the identity of a lost workaholic exec (Grodin) after finding his Filofax personal organizer. A rather ordinary but lively B-movie romp, "TCoB" makes a fun watch for guys in need of a little decompression after a hard day's work. (C+)

Taking Care of Business is a movie that was never meant to win any Oscars. It's a silly comedy that pretty much does what silly comedies are supposed to do. If you love the '80s (this movie was filmed '89) and miss the simplicity of that era, then you'll probably enjoy Taking Care of Business. Yes, there's cheesy dialogue and overacting and all that good stuff. The bottom line is that the jokes work. Not to mention that both Belushi and Grodin are perfect in their roles. Grodin does what is expected of him and Belushi plays the type of happy go lucky character he should've always played. This is a great movie for those who want a short and well deserved break from the digital age.

I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it, although the script is not brilliant the cast made a great effort and made it very convincing, James Belushi plays nice guy convict Jimmy Dworfski as he plans to escape prison for the weekend to see the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, getting his fellow in-mates to cover it up. While out he finds business executive Spencer Barnes (Charles Grodin) filofax and takes over his life. Belushi & Grodin are great together in this feel good comedy, as a lover of Baseball I was drawn to this even more, but if you're not you'll still find it just as enjoyable. This is the best James Belushi film I've seen!

This movie was one of the funniest James Belushi films. He is ideal as a convict who wins tickets to the Cubs' World Series game, has to break out of jail to attend, get his fellow inmates to cover for him, and break back in before the warden knows what has happened. In between, he finds uptight executive Charles Grodin's little black book and assumes Grodin's life, turning it upside down and being a better "him" while he poses as Grodin.

Belushi and Grodin are magnificent in the leads, and the film is overall very funny. See it if you get the chance; you will not regret it! I happened to love it myself.

*** out of ****