MovieChat Forums > Taking Care of Business (1990) Discussion > surely this is a HUGE PLOTHOLE

surely this is a HUGE PLOTHOLE

posted 18 years ago by dennis_guilder1978
15 replies | jump to latest

I love this film and have had the recent pleasure of watching it again after about 10 years. When watching it last night however I discovered what could be a major plothole. When Jimmy and Spencer are at the ball game Jimmy catches the ball and the whole park and tv audience see him on tv, this prompts cops to chase him out of the stadium after recognising him. This is the part where they slide down the wire on Spencers filofax. My question is, surely if he was supposed to be a hostage in jail why would the stadium police try to catch him after he caught the ball because if they even new who he was they would have known he was a prison hostage who could not be at a ball game. Then again if they relised he did escape the prison and somehow the whole thing was a plan by Jimmy then surely this would render his whole break back into prison scheme and release pretty much impossible.
Does anyone else agree or did anyone notice this when they watched the film.
Great film by thew way, a childhood favourite.

[–] ScottishFilmFan 18 years ago

The guards weren't trying to catch him, they were asked by the match commentators to bring him up to the booth because he caught the home run ball.

All they were doing was trying to find him, but Jimmy assumed they were after him.

[–] jimborambo88 17 years ago

If I was in Jimmy's shoes, it wouldve been safe to make that assumption. better safe than sorry lol

This is kind of off topic. When I was small, my relatives were visiting on my birthday. this movie was my new favourite, and i made the toast speech 'a toast...to the cubs winning the world series, and big tits!' my relatives were staring at me in a weird way after that lmao

[–] aseddon130 17 years ago

what a great line that was ... to the cubs winning the world series, and big tits. awesome.

i saw this the other night and while watching it with my dad i said the exact same thing, he gave the same answer the second poster gave.

[–] MacDeth 12 years ago

What ScottishFilmFan said.

[–] Jack_Burtons_Mullet 17 years ago

As a previous poster explained, the stadium security wanted to escort Jimmy to the commentator's booth for an interview, nothing more. The bigger plothole is Jimmy's mom (AKA Jimmy) disappearing in the prison without a word from the warden. But, then again, this movie isn't focused on having a cohesive plot. That's interesting that J.J. Abrams wrote this script.

[–] philip_mostyn 17 years ago

"The bigger plothole is Jimmy's mom (AKA Jimmy) disappearing in the prison without a word from the warden. But, then again, this movie isn't focused on having a cohesive plot."

What gets me is....and this may well have been Covered already in another Thread....if Jimmy is from Chicago, as he frequently states, why is he in a L.A. Jail instead of, say, Joliet?

[–] CorumJI 15 years ago

> why is he in a L.A. Jail instead of, say, Joliet?

Uh, he committed his crimes in L.A., maybe?

But that would just be my take on things, YMMV... :oP

[–] iggytoole 15 years ago

that is a huge plothole. joe torre asked for him but the pursuit of the 2 cops was more intense than it should have been. clearly rationality wasnt the main concern of the director/producers. but i still like this movie.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] james-2974 15 years ago

good observation! Of course the whole movie is deeply silly, but i agree it can be distracting when the internal logic of the story is broken.

one possible explanation:
remember the commentator said "let's get that guy who caught the ball up here for an interview"? so maybe he asked the police to INVITE Jimmy up, but Jimmy mistakenlythought he was busted? then when he ran, they chased?

that said - when i watched the film, i took it that the police were really after him, and did not notice the issue you raise, so i guess the film-makers generally got away with it.

enjoyable film. harks back to a time when kinda "light" and kinda long movies still got made. nowadays everything has to be much more punchy and high stakes. shame.

I checked it out cos its JJ Abrams early work and was not surprised to find the structure excellently crafted. an exemplary screenplay for this genre.

[–] mcfly-31 14 years ago

The film is full of these (check the "100 Things I leared from TCOB" thread), but if you're able to go with it, you're fine. Biggest one for me: Jimmy gives Jewel a stolen car to drive home. Niiiiiice.

[–] CorumJI 13 years ago

>>>> i agree it can be distracting when the internal logic of the story is broken.

It's a COMEDY you nits!

It's allowed to take liberties with reasoning and even action and reality. Did you really go and pick apart the "logic" in Real Genius, The Princess Bride, or Heart And Souls?

[–] Filthy_Giuseppe 11 years ago

How is the guards wanting to bring Spencer to the announcer box after one of the announcers asks for him considered a plot hole?

In Sicily, Woman Are More Dangerous Than Shotguns

[–] corduroyg 7 years ago

the entire movie is 1 huge plothole. still enjoyable though.