Review of Trading Places (1983) by Manicure — 25 Dec 2020

It's hard to talk about those films that became part of popular culture by being broadcasted every Christmas. "Trading Places" might work as a background to your family dinner, but honestly, it's just a poorly written and mediocre film, even for the '80s standards. This kind of stereotyped comedies are usually redeemed by the lighthearted mood and the chemistry between the characters, but this one felt a bit too stiff and unemotional. Not to mention that it requires so much suspension of disbelief that you might wonder if they actually hired professional writers for it. There are a couple of funny moments, but they are mostly thanks to the actors' improvisation and Murphy's generally strong performance. The rest generally falls flat or could have been handled better.

I appreciated, though, how it actually deals with serious topics like suicide, hookers, and insider trading in its own lighthearted way. There is also quite a lot of female nudity, swearing, and racial language for a family film, and I mean that as a compliment.