Review of Trading Places (1983) by Melvin W — 01 Feb 2013

Billy Ray Valentine: Hey that's the motherf- I mean... that's the gentleman that had me busted. .

"They're not just getting rich... They're getting even.".

Trading Places is one of the best comedies of the 80's and maybe ever. It's my personal favorite Eddie Murphy film and probably tied for my favorite Dan Aykroyd and John Landis film(the other of course being The Blues Brothers). What we have here was an instant comedy classic, that is as much fun as it is funny. There's not a moment of wasted screen time. It's smart, it injects a variety of different forms of humor, and it's fast paced and widely entertaining. There's not much more you can ask for from a comedy. This is the cream of the crop. .

So, two greedy, manipulative, and corrupt investors make a bet. The bet involves two totally different men. One, Louis Winthorpe runs the Duke brothers investment firm and has made them a lot of money in the process. He comes from a good environment. The other is Billy Ray Valentine, a hustler who makes his money acting like a wounded Vietnam vet. He came from a bad environment. One of the Duke brothers believes that if they throw Louis into the bad environment, he will become a no good thief. He also believes that if they put Valentine into the good environment, he will be able to run the firm just as well as Louis. The other doesn't. It's all part of a fun wager until, Louis and Valentine get wise to it.

There's a lot to love about the movie from the great performances from Murphy and Aykroyd to an Oscar nominated score. The versatility showed by Murphy and Aykroyd is what makes their performances so memorable. They both give two different performances within the same movie. Both must act like poor, beaten bums and like wealthy, high class investors. Neither of them waver at any moment and it's pure comedic gold. Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Paul Gleeson, and Jamie Lee Curtis are all very good as well.

Trading Places is a must see comedy for all film lovers out there. It's one of those select few comedies that really stands out above the rest for me. It's up there, for me, with movies like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This is a comedic masterpiece and there's just no other way to describe it. If you haven't seen this before, watch it as soon as possible.