Nilda Whitsitt's blog ::...between the ages of 17 and 40. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut... of 17 and 40. In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed the first time...
Perhaps no other comedy has ever captured the essence of the times in which it was made better than 1983's Trading Places, directed by John Landis and starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis. In the decade of the 80's, especially the early part of the decade, it seemed as if the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and the middle class seemed destined to slide into oblivion. As stock traders' portfolio's grew fatter and fatter, tent cities known as "Reagan Ranches" sprang up across the countryside. Cocaine use was widespread among the nouveau riche as President Ronald Reagan, in his genial, favorite Uncle kind of way tried to declare ketchup a vegetable for school children's lunches. It is in this backdrop that the 80's movie classic Trading Places takes place, giving we hoi polloi a glimpse into the "beautiful people's" lives. Trading Places kind of borrows from Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper" and is set in a swanky section of Philadelphia, PA. The film begins with a montage of shots of some of the more historic parts of the city, then segues into an inside look at one Louis Winthorpe III, played by Dan Aykroyd. Winthorpe, as he is known to his uber-rich bosses at Duke and Duke, a huge firm that has been in the Duke family for decades, is an insufferable preppy with a Harvard degree and a large bank account with many perks in his position as the Head of Duke and Duke. The evil Duke brothers, Randolph and Mortimer, played by Hollywood veterans Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy, seem enamored of their boy Winthorpe as he has put millions into their already deep pockets. Not so enamored, however, that the brothers would not be above putting Winthorpe in harms way as a "sociological experiment". Randolph and Mortimer have a running debate of heredity vs environment, with Randolph insisting that a man of "proper breeding" would , like cream, rise to the top regardless of any adverse circumstances he might encounter. Mortimer is equally insistent that given a few severe setbacks, that any man, regardless of breeding, might turn to crime if his situation was dire enough. Then, along comes street hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy), pretending to be a disabled Viet Nam veteran. Here's where the Trading Places comes in. As Billy Ray makes a hasty exit to avoid Philly police, he bumps into Winthorpe who's carrying a briefcase containing Duke and Duke payroll checks. Winthorpe assumes Billy Ray is attempting a robbery and has him arrested. As the scheming Duke brothers look on, the light bulb goes off in their heads. What if they framed Winthorpe for crimes, put Billy Ray in Winthorpe's job, gave him Winthorpe's house, butler and all the other amenities? In the brothers eyes, this was the perfect way to settle their long-running debate, so they shook hands on the bet, for their usual amount, ONE dollar. As an example of their penny-pinching ways, we see the ultra-rich Dukes give their butler a $5 Christmas bonus. The poor, underwhelmed man sarcastically says "5 dollars, maybe I'll go to the movies, ...by myself". To which Randolph replies: "half of it was from me". In one exchange, Mortimer tells Randolph "Mother always said you were greedy!" Randolph snorts "she meant it as a compliment". It's at this point that the Trading Places begins. Winthorpe has drugs planted in the pocket of his expensive jacket, along with money reported missing from members of the exclusive club to which he belongs. The Dukes bail Billy Ray out of jail, get his charges dropped and tell him in a limo ride that they would like to give him a chance at a better life, running their firm. The Dukes stand idly by as Louis Winthorpe III is booked by a sadistic police officer who seems totally unconcerned as Winthorpe explains that in the holding cell "those men tried to have sex with me!" All his cash, credit cards and his tickets to La Boheme (it's an OPERA!) have been confiscated. As his shocked and horrified fiancee looks on, Ophelia, a hooker played by Jamie Lee Curtis kisses Louis and tells him she'll do all those things he likes in exchange for more drugs, like before. The basic concept of Trading Places is that the better Billy Ray's life becomes, the worse things get for Louis. The now poor slob can't access his bank accounts or cards, they'be been frozen by the Feds, and Louis is reduced to sleeping on Ophelia's couch until he can get back on his feet. Meanwhile, Billy Ray is hosting parties in his new digs, complete with a jacuzzi. In fact, probably the most famous line from the film is when Coleman the Butler, played by Denholm Elliott, and the Dukes show Valentine one of the top perks of his new job. "When I was a kid, when we wanted a jacuzzi, we had to fart in the tub" Billy Ray exclaimed. The Trading Places continues until Winthorpe is caught trying to plant drugs in Valentine's desk. Billy Ray sneaks a joint out of the stash unnoticed and when he goes into a bathroom stall to indulge, overhears a conversation between the Duke brothers. They had been ready to return the pair to their old lives, trading places once again, but Randolph was adamant that he didn't want Winthorpe back due to his boorish behavior. When asked by Mortimer if he wanted Valentine to continue in the job, Randolph snorted "do you honestly think I'd have a ------ running our family business?" That sends Valentine looking for Winthorpe, who he finds after Louis has had his leg urinated on by a dog during a failed suicide attempt. Louis has overdosed on drugs and hit rockbottom by then. With the help of Ophelia and Coleman, Winthorpe is nursed back to health, swearing vengeance on the evil Dukes. The pair learn of a plan by the Dukes to corner the frozen orange juice market by having their private eye, Clarence Beeks, played by Paul Gleason, to intercept the top secret crop report. By knowing the results of the report in advance, the Dukes figure to make a killing. Only, the pair didn't count on Winthorpe and Valentine teaming up to stop them. "It seems to me that the best way to get back at rich people is to turn them into poor people" Valentine opines to Winthorpe. By getting their hands on the crop report and giving a fake to the Dukes..., well, I won't completely give away the ending. Let's just say that the Dukes get their comeuppance for their evil experiment, and the ruthless Beeks winds up in a gorilla suit being shipped in a cage with a real gorilla. Winthorpe, Ophelia, Coleman and Billy Ray meet with a much better fate. Trading Places' funniest moments are, of course, the double fish-out-of-water scenes involving the manicured Winthorpe trying to make it on the street and the hustler Valentine trying equally hard to fit in with the hoity-toity bluebloods who hang with the Dukes. Dan Aykroyd is a scream as the priggish Winthorpe, a man Ferris Bueller might describe as being such a "tightass" that he could turn a lump of coal into a diamond overnight. Louis Winthorpe III is the kind of guy who pronounces 'been' like 'bean', as in "Penelope, where have you 'bean'? Eddie Murphy's considerable comic talents are put to good use as the two SNL alums (although not on the show at the same time) play extremely well off each other. Paul Gleason is over the top as the tough guy PI Beeks, but in a good way. Lastly, Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy are perfectly cast as the oily, aristocratic Duke brothers, men who think nothing of turning others' lives upside down on a whim. Minnesota Senator Al Franken, yet another SNL alum, has a small role as a dim-witted baggage handler on a train going from Philadelphia to New York. Some of the final scenes were shot in the World Trade Center. Trading Places runs right around 2 hours and is rated R for brief nudity and some coarse language. If you have seen it before years ago, it's the sort of movie that holds up well with repeated viewings. If you've never seen Trading Places, it's an 80's classic movie you simply must see to get a feel for the decade of the 80's. Or if you just want to laugh. The 80's classic comedy Trading Places is available at the following outlets online: http://www.fast-rewind.com/cgi-bin/PFR.cgi?TUID=tradingplaces&PFRCategory=All&PFRCountry=US&EUID=US010101 www.hollywoodvideo.com/movies/movie.aspx http://www.familyvideo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=49372&gclid=CIO8haLpipkCFQ4MDQoduws_mQ http://search.half.ebay.com/trading-places_W0QQmZmovies http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_d_0_14?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=trading+places+dvd&sprefix=trading+places |
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