Classics: A Review of Trading Places By Lauren Ennis

The new year is the perfect time to create a new you. For street hustler Billy Ray Valentine and wealthy stock broker Louis Winthorpe III this annual effort at reinvention is taken to a whole new level in 1983's Trading Places. This modern take on The Prince and the Pauper is a social satire of 80's America that continues to garner laughs and spark conversation today. Trade up this new year with Valentine and Winthorpe in Trading Places.

The story begins with Wall Street tycoons Randolph and Mortimer Duke engaging in a sibling rivalry. While debating the impact of nature versus nurture the bored brothers decide to implement a social experiment to test their theories. The concoct a plot to take two men from opposite ends of the social spectrum and switch their lives, placing a bet on whether or not the men will be fundamentally changed by their altered circumstances. Their unwitting test subjects are career criminal Billy Ray Valentine and the Dukes' firm's managing director, Louis Winthorpe III. Through a series of schemes the Dukes frame Winthorpe for drug dealing, theft, and soliciting a prostitute, effectively ending his personal and professional lives. Meanwhile, Valentine is installed in Winthorpe's home and job. The experiment follows the brothers' plan until Valentine overhears their scheming and realizes that they plan to return him to the slums when their wager is over. He then seeks out Winthorpe and the unlikely pair set out on an uproarious plan of their own to turn the tables on the Dukes and find their own piece of the American Dream along the way.

Trading Places combines 30's screwball comedy style antics with sharp social commentary to relate a madcap adventure that still packs a comedic punch forty years after its release. Through its depiction of Valentine's meteoric rise and Winthorpe's devastating fall the film explores the transactional nature of modern society and the ways in which we are shaped by our circumstances. In this way, the film casts a scrutinizing gaze upon society's obsession with wealth and status, which has become even more consuming in the social media era. The interactions between the characters also allows the film to examine the racial and class divisions of its time without resorting to stereotyping or lecturing. The film additionally subverts the expectations surrounding these social divisions by having the characters reach the realization that it is the machinations of elites like the Dukes that divides them far more than any individual differences. By having the disparate characters unite in their effort to reclaim control of their lives the film offers a message of camaraderie and personal empowerment that is desperately needed today. Even as it delves into weighty themes the film never loses sight of its role as a comedy, finding humor in the foibles of human nature and the absurdity of society. Start your new year with the smart set in Trading Places.

The film remains a comedy classic thanks to the brilliant work of its cast. Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche convey class and callousness in equal measure as the ruthless Randolph and Mortimer Duke. Kristin Holby personifies snobbishness as Winthorpe's frigid fiancée, Penelope. Paul Gleason oozes sleaze as corrupt security expert Clarence Beeks. Denholm Elliott infuses Winthorpe's butler, Coleman, with warmth and charm. Jamie Leigh Curtis proves that she is more than just another horror scream queen in her by turns sweet and sassy portrayal of prostitute Ophelia. Even surrounded by an exemplary supporting cast the film belongs to Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy as Winthorpe and Valentine. Aykroyd perfectly walks the line between tragedy and comedy in his at once haughty and heartbreaking turn as Winthorpe. Murphy turns in one of the best performances of his career in his hilarious depiction of street smart hustler turned sophisticate Valentine. 

At once a biting social satire of 80's America and a timeless comedy of mores and manners Trading Places has more than earned its place as a comedy classic. The script's blend of social commentary and slapstick ensures that it continues to offer laughs and lessons that resonate today. The charismatic performances of the cast carry the story with effortless charm. This new year raise your glass along with Winthorpe and Valentine in Trading Places.