Review of Trading Places (1983) by Dan G — 22 Jul 2013

You have to love a movie that is not only a great comedy, but actually inspired a real federal law regarding insider trading. Trading Places was a movie borne out of the beginning of the mid-80s Eddie Murphy craze, which hit its crescendo the following year with Beverly Hills Cop.

Aykroyd ditched his Saturday Night Live comedic persona to play the straight role, which he does more often than not in his post SNL performances. Murphy is hilarious in his role as Billy Ray Valentine, thrust into riches from rags by great curmudgeon-y characters played by the late Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy.

This movie is an overall crowd-pleaser that raises social questions that are meant to be pondered. There are a few slow moments for me in the film (the Franken and Davis stuff I never found to be funny) and I have to admit it's easy to get a bit lost during the commodity trading scene at the end.

But, all in all, the comedy definitely shines through.