“Trading Places” is a classic 1980’s comedy, though not one of my favorites. Its clever financial storyline, hilarious bad guy tandem, and topical commentary on race/socioeconomic status is spoiled by shock-value profanity and a long party sequence that contains unnecessary nudity. This film could have helped to better our society by reaching audience members of all ages with its themes but traded this opportunity for an R-rating. Definitely not worth it. I wouldn’t share this film with anybody solely because I’m not comfortable with the content. The story is interesting with its modern take on The Prince and the Pauper. The reason that Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd trade places is a little silly, but the resulting situations fit well with each of their comedic styles. My favorite part of the film is Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche as the Duke Brothers. They play perfectly off of each other and provide more humor than the comedians. Denholm Elliot is also excellent as the butler. I didn’t feel that Murphy and Aykroyd were actually that funny until the train car scene, which was hilarious in spite of Aykroyd’s blackface character (!?!?!?). Maybe the issue is that “Trading Places” hasn’t aged well, but it is more likely that I would’ve had just as much distaste for this one in 1983 as I have for Seth Rogen’s crass moves these days. This was one of the highest grossing films of the year but give me Kevin Kline in “The Pirates of Penzance” any day.
[Pictured: The train car scene is the only one that managed to make me laugh out loud]
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