Rating of
2.5/4
"Trading Places" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/19/12
A manipulative pair of wealthy brothers make a bet which sees a small time criminal and a Wall Street stockbroker filling each others shoes. John Landis was one of the most consistent directors of American comedies of the time and here we see Frank Capra dragged kicking and screaming into the 1980s; tits out, foul-mouthed and all. It's essentially a comedy of manners with the underlying message that all men are equal give the same opportunities in life, and the snobbery that often comes hand in hand with privelege takes a pummeling at Landis' deft hand. The rich characters of this film are shown at best to be laughable ninnies and worst, morally bankrupt racists, while Eddie Murphy's ghetto hustler's savvy means he is just at home on Wall Street as he is on the streets. It's one of Murphy's early films (in other words he was still funny) but it's really Aykroyd who steals the show and all the funniest moments come from his descent into poverty-stricken Hell ("Those men wanted to have SEX with me!") Maybe not as funny as I remembered it to be, it still has a nice mix of morality message and funny lines and the two stars are ably supported by Denholm Elliott as the Jeeves alike butler, Ameche and Bellamy as the insidious old coots and Jamie Lee Curtis' rack. One of the better comedies of the era and it has stood up pretty well.
