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FILM DETAILS

Certificate 15

Cast Dan Aykroyd Eddie Murphy Ralph Bellamy Don Ameche Jamie Lee Curtis.

Directors John Landis.

Screenwriters Timothy Harris Herschel Weingrod.

Running Time 118 minutes

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Trading Places
Rags to riches and riches to rags in this role reversing comedy

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Plot
Brothers Mortimer and Randolph Duke are wealthy commodity brokers, who decide to mix one of their bets with a little social experiment. So after setting up one of their leading employees, Louis, for crimes he didn't commit, they give his job and home to a homeless hustler, to see what happens to both of them.

Review
A fish-out-of water comedy employing the old role-reversal ruse, Aykroyd is the aristocratic guru of a commodity brokerage owned by two conniving elderly brothers (Bellamy and Ameche) who gets sucked into a Prince And The Pauper life swap with street hustler Eddie Murphy, the result of a wager.

Saturday Night Live activist Murphy, capitalising on the promise he showed in 48 HRS, steals the show as the quick-witted Billy Ray Valentine in what is certainly more mainstream fare than the earlier SNL staffed capers, enhanced by a sort of fairytale factor as the riches-to-rags Aykroyd teams up with hooker Jamie Lee Curtis (wife of SNL's Christopher Guest, incidentally) to exact revenge

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Average user rating for Trading Places

Family Comedy?!

First off, this is NOT a family comedy. And is more then DECENT. Since when can a family film have swearing, breasts, drugs and even some mildy racist language? Still, this is another Eddie Murphy comedy film from the 80's. And he does super-fine. Aykroyd is also very good as the richie-turned-poor. But the show stealer is the short but funny character, Clarence Beaks. In the end though, this ends up being a funny and light-hearted piece of comedic genius from Landis (An American Werewolf In Lon... More

Posted by lostboys96 at 23:16, 04 February 2012 | Report This Post

4 Stars???

A "decent family comedy"? First off, this is an exceptional comedy. The term "decent" doesn't do this movie justice. Second, is this really considered a "family comedy"? I'm not sure about anyone else, but when a movie features a prostitute who bares her breasts, drug & alcohol use and at least one "n" bomb, I don't think that qualifies as a good ol' fashioned family movie. This is definitely an adult comedy for the ages. ... More

Posted by Turd Ferguson at 22:11, 03 August 2011 | Report This Post

This still is a highly enjoyable, typical `80`s film from a period when Eddie Muprhy still was funny. Have seen numerous times already but it`s still a fun watch. 7,0/10 ... More

Posted by TheGodfather at 19:23, 03 January 2010 | Report This Post

I'm a karate man! ... More

Posted by Cujo at 00:27, 16 December 2008 | Report This Post

One of my favourite films of all time. 4 stars Empire? "Do you know who you're fucking with? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE FUCKING WITH!?! IN CELL BLOCK 4...ON THE 9th FLOOR..." ... More

Posted by Pat Roach at 13:00, 18 October 2008 | Report This Post

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