Review of Trading Places (1983) by Stuart K — 22 Sep 2009

After hitting it big with The Blues Brothers (1980) and An American Werewolf in London, John Landis was offered this little comedy which harked back to the Frank Capra comedies of old. Landis creates a very funny comedy, and it has some wonderful performances to it's name.

It's still as entertaining now as it was when it first came out. It has the Duke brothers Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) and Mortimer (Don Ameche) who are two rich commodities brokers, and they have themselves a little wager for $1, Randolph bets that a street beggar could do well as a successful businessman.

So, they take beggar Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy), and give him the position of a commodity broker. This means that their prize commodity broker, Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) is framed for drugs and ends up on the street, with hooker Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) for company.

But then, Winthorpe and Valentine learn what the Duke brothers did, and plan a little revenge. It's a good little comedy, with a very good cast and a director on top of his game, (why isn't Landis making more films??) It's got a touch of Pygmalion here and more than a hint of The Prince and the Pauper there as well.

The scene with the gorilla on the train is hilarious, and Bellamy and Ameche almost steal the show as the two scheming brothers!!