The comedy involves a rich businessman,
Louis Winthorpe (Dan Aykroyd), who one
day collides into Billy Ray Valentine, a
homeless man. Because Valentine is
black, Winthorpe is convinced that Billy
Ray was attempting to steal his bag when
they ran into each other, which places
Valentine behind bars. At that
confrontation, Louis' boss's (Randolph
and Mortimer Duke) begin to ponder
whether Valentine would make for a good
replacement for Winthorpe, so they pull
a nasty trick for the hell of it and bet
one dollar that they can successfully
turn the homeless guy around to run the
company.
In how to con Louis out of office (who
is a hard working man), they plant drugs
in his jacket which places the character
in jail as well. Bailing Valentine from
prison, Randolph and Mortimer let him
into their mansion to run the show while
Winthorpe must confront the ruthless
streets for survival, as his old fellow
butler claims to not even know him
anymore and refuses to let him inside
the house. Once released from prison,
Louis is met by Ophelia (Jamie Lee
Curtis), who takes him in as he has no
place else to stay. The rest of the
story has Winthorpe fighting to get his
position back and Valentine attempting
to figure why exactly he is where he is.
Trading Places is a
classic comedy that while is not one of
the best films ever made or outstanding
for that matter, it's one of those very
good flicks that will always be
remembered as the years go on. It lacks
qualities to drive it to the top of the
chart, but really, the point of the ride
is to be entertained and Trading Places
succeeds in that very well. Being
R-rated, we are allowed to watch Eddie
Murphy in a role that permits him to use
foul language like most fans would
expect, as the comedian is known to be
funny when you let his mouth run without
the restrictions of the MPAA (there have
been exceptions). Murphy carries a few
scenes that I will always remember due
to his facial expressions along with his
physical humor of the moments, or even
just his very heavy enthusiasm that
makes the scene so enjoyable. The
comedian has the rare ability to make
you laugh or simply smile with his
bright grin even if the on-screen
presence is all that does it. And in
Trading Places, the actor's talent is
inserted to lively status.
Dan Aykroyd, while
good, doesn't match up the charisma of
Eddie Murphy in the film, but still
manages some humorous spots here and
there. The script doesn't hand over much
meat to digest on his part, but as the
story progresses Aykroyd is able to have
more fun with the words or even simply
from the noises coming out of him.
One of Trading
Places' many goals is to give the
audience a view of the opposite life of
a character. Meaning, turn a millionaire
into a homeless person and vise versa
and compare the lifestyles that unfold.
In doing so, we can get an experience of
what it is like for someone not as lucky
as another person or a life that just
couldn't be reached for someone without
assistance or a gateway.
The performances
throughout the great cast are all very
good, with Denholm Elliot (the butler)
very genuine and believable in his role,
along with Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche
(Duke's) supplying witty fun in their
deliveries.
Trading Places can be
a blast to watch and has some very
memorable lines in store, but it doesn't
rise up to be any more more than a
really fun adventure. The cast does a
very fine job of performing their parts
to fun but even to a compelling level,
but the story itself does not hold gems
within itself that would classify the
film as anywhere near a masterpiece nor
one of the best films ever made. It's
simply one of the more enjoyable
comedies produced and one that fans of
John Landis, Dan Aykroyd and Eddie
Murphy will never forget.
Movie
Grade:
B+
DVD
Grade:
D-
DVD contains no special features.
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