Trading Places (C-Jay Edition)

Rating: R

Time: 118 minutes

Release Date: June 8, 1983

Starring: Eddie Murphy; Dan Aykroyd; Ralph Bellamy; Don Ameche; and Jamie Lee Curtis

My Synopsis: We open with various shots of Philadelphia…including a sighting of the Rocky statue while it was at the Spectrum (look up the uproar created by Stallone’s “gift” to the city) to  a day in the life of Louis Winthorp III a pompous arrogant jerk (Dan Aykroyd). Then we see a homeless man who supposedly has no legs named Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) begging for money from random people finally begging in front of two old and very rich brothers. Said brothers, Mortimer and Randolph Duke(Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche), own a commodities brokerage, which happens to be the employ of Louis Winthorp III . When Winthorp is leaving Duke & Duke he is bumped by a recently “healed” Valentine and quickly accuses him of trying to rob him. The police get involved and Valentine runs all throughout the Duke & Duke building. He is finally cornered in the head office and the Duke brothers spark up a debate on nature versus nurture. Mortimer believes that Valentine cannot be rehabilitated and Winthorp would pull himself up by his bootstraps if made homeless, Randolph disagrees. The wager is set and the next day they bail Valentine out of jail and promptly set up Winthorp to go to jail and have drugs planted on him. They get an associate named Beaks to pull this off for them. Beaks hires a prostitute named Ophelia to pretend that Winthorp is her dealer when Mr. Winthorp’s fiancé bails him out. The fiancé promptly dumps poor Winthorp and he’s left broke and without a ride to his home. Ophelia pays for the cab with the promise that she will be repaid double when they arrive. Only problem is Valentine has already moved into Winthorp’s home and the butler of the home, named Coleman, pretends he doesn’t even know Winthorp. This all leads to some hilarious pieces of cinema gold. Murphy owns this role and Aykroyd does great. When Valentine assimilates to the cultured life and Winthorp begins living a life of crime Randolph gets his winnings…one dollar. While the exchange is going on Valentine was hiding in the bathroom smoking a doobie, so he hears the whole exchange. This prompts him to find Valentine and seek revenge for the Duke’s dirty dealings. How will they pull it off? What part does Beaks play in the nefarious schemes of the Duke brothers? Does Belushi make a cameo in this epic John Landis film? I’ll tell you this much there is an epic scene in the train that is very humorous, as for the other questions you’ll have to watch and find out.

My Grade: 9

This movie is incredible. It doesn’t seem like it will be nearly as good as it turns out to be. Even when Aykroyd is contemplating suicide the film doesn’t become too serious and is lighthearted enough to make you laugh. In fact you will be laughing all the way through. If you’ve never seen this it is an absolute must see. If you’ve seen it once it’s definitely worth watching again. Heck if you’ve seen it 20 times…