Trading Places

How does one begin to talk about the classic Dan Aykroyd-Eddie Murphy 1983 comedy Trading Places? In some respects, it's still a rather relevant film, considering it being frequently referenced with the very recent events with the GameStop stocks reminding people of certain plot points in this film. It's also a very well written and smart comedy looking at social classes. At the same time, there are also certain elements that, when viewed through a contemporary lens, are very problematic that some viewers may struggle with.   

Louis Winthorpe III (played by Dan Aykroyd) is a stuffy Upper Class Commodities Broker who works for a firm run by Randolph and Mortimer Duke (played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche). When he crosses paths with homeless con man Billy Ray Valentine (played by Eddie Murphy) one fateful morning and mistakes Valentine for a mugger, a scuffle ensues that results in Valentine getting arrested. This incident also inspires a bet between Randolph and Mortimer. The bet is that if Winthorpe were to lose his position in society, he would turn to crime just as easily as Valentine has. Likewise, if Valentine were to be given a job in their firm and comfortable place to live, he would become just as respectable as Winthorpe. They set about to systematically dismantle Winthorpe's life, framing him as a thief and drug dealer to ensure his friends all turn their backs on him and get his accounts frozen after embezzlement charges are leveled against him as well. They also bail Valentine out of jail and set him up with a job at their firm and set him up in a nice new home, which was Winthorpe's house along with Winthorpe's butler, Coleman (played by Denholm Elliott). In a meltdown of dispair, Winthorpe finds some help from Ophelia (played by Jamie Lee Curtis), a prostitute that was hired by the Duke's stooge Clarence Beeks (played by Paul Gleason) to help set up Winthorpe. She allows him to stay in her apartment and agrees to help him get back on his feet but expects him to repay her once he is exonerated. Meanwhile, Valentine proves to be quite adept at the Commodities exchange using his well honed street smarts to correctly anticipate if the prices will go up or down. But it's only a matter of time before Winthorpe and Valentine discover the Dukes are behind their sudden change of fortune - and what they intend to do once their bet is resolved. 

The film was directed by John Landis from a script by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. The three of them do craft a very entertaining comedy of rags to riches with a counterpoint of riches to rags while crafting two interesting character arcs for both Winthrope and Valentine in the process. They do a solid job setting up the plot so that it is reasonably plausible that Winthorpe's entire social group would turn their backs on him, framing him as a thief, embezzler and heroin PCP Angel Dust dealer to ensure they all look down on him completely. Likewise, they give the Duke Brothers enough credibility that when they bring Valentine into the fold he's accepted almost immediately. Although, it helps that it turns out Valentine is a natural at Commodities and since his tips yield wealth, it would make sense why he becomes popular since he can make them wealthier in the process, which would certainly fit with the film's decidedly satirical theme. I also have to give the filmmakers credit for not dumbing down the climax of the film at the Commodities exchange and trusting that the audience with at least get the gist of what was happening (although there are videos on YouTube that helpfully explain things in greater detail for those who want further clarification). However, there are some elements to the film that maybe have not aged too well. The N-word is thrown around several times in the film, although only to show the bigotry of certain characters, but figured it was worth mentioning. There is also a sequence where Winthorpe disguises himself as a Rastafarian complete with blackface that will certainly have some viewers cringing (even though part of the joke is how bad and unconvincing of a disguise it is). I was still able to enjoy the movie despite these elements but it is definitely something where the viewers mileage may vary.  

This film has a fantastic cast and the three main stars of the film were all in a transitional point in their careers. Eddie Murphy was still in the process of transitioning from Saturday Night Live to feature films with only the film 48 Hours under his belt so far. Dan Aykroyd was similarly having to prove he could carry a film with someone else after the then recent passing of frequent comedy partner John Belushi. Jamie Lee Curtis was coming off a string of horror films that had dubbed her the "Scream Queen" and eager to move on to other types of roles, fearing she would be typecast otherwise. Eddie Murphy is great here, playing with his quick-witted personality that he would hone even further the following year as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop. Still, he does a great job capturing Valentine's arc as he goes from the quick-witted con-man at the start and sees her personality change once he's brought into the Dukes world and given a job, a nice house, and respect. Eddie captures this transition perfectly in the film when he invites a bunch of people from his old neighborhood back to his house for a party and when he sees how much they are disrespecting him and his house proceeds to kick everyone out. Dan Aykroyd similarly has a lot of fun with his role, starting out the film as the fussy and uptight Winthrop only for his character to fall from his lofty position until he completely hits rock bottom. Jamie Lee Curtis shows she was equally adept at comedy as she was with horror in this film as the intelligent and driven Ophelia who has some very unique ideas on her chosen profession. Likewise, Denholm Elliott makes the most of his supporting role as Coleman, Louis' butler, who is forced to go along with the Duke Brother's bet as apparently he is their employee rather that Louis'. He has a great moment when Louis first returns to his house and Coleman has to pretend not to know him. It's such a small moment, Elliott really conveys the regret he feels having to do that.   

Overall, despite the film's more problematic elements, Trading Places has remained a comedy classic since it first premiered and remained a cultural touchstone all these years later. It has even inspired rules to be implemented on Wall Street to prevent certain events in the film from playing out in real life (see: The Eddie Murphy Rule). If you ask me, that's a pretty cool distinction.