It is hard to imagine a time when Eddie Murphy was anything but ubiquitous in popular culture, but there was a time when his name was not associated with all the major works that we think of today. In the middle of his star-making tenure at Saturday Night Live, Murphy starred in one of his earliest film roles as Billy Ray Valentine in Trading Places. The film was helmed by director John Landis after a series of huge comedy hits in the form of Animal House and The Blues Brothers, the latter of which was key to securing the other star in the film, Dan Aykroyd. The film had originally been developed as yet another potential hit for Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, but an off-set accident prevented that from happening. The executives at Paramount Pictures are not complaining though, as the film went on to become the fourth highest grossing film of the year and secured a place as a beloved holiday favorite for many. As Paramount celebrates the upcoming release of Coming 2 America with upgrades for many of Murphy’s most notable films, we take the opportunity to revisit this comedy touchstone and see how it holds up under modern scrutiny.
The concept of nature vs. nurture is one that has been argued amongst academics for the longest time. It is through this eternal question that we get the basis of our plot in this outrageous comedy. Dan Aykroyd plays Louis Winthorpe III, a wealthy Ivy-League-educated commodities director at the prestigious Duke & Duke. This firm is run by two competitive brothers; Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) and Mortimer Duke (Don Ameche), who have opposing viewpoints on the big question at hand. One day Louis has a misunderstanding with a street hustler named Rudy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) which leads to Valentine being unfairly booked for attempted robbery. These two could not be more different, and the painfully small minded brothers use their dynamic for another one of their famous bets. Randolph believes that individuals are a product of their environment, while Mortimer staunchly states that people are born with their inherent traits. When they pull the strings and instigate a switch in lifestyle for these two, Rudy is suddenly blessed with more money and opportunities than he knows what to do with while Louis crumbles at the first sign of discomfort.
In terms of pure laughs, this is a film that does not hold up spectacularly well. The movie relies quite heavily on the inherent energy that Murphy brings to the role of Valentine. It is obviously the more showy role, as everyone wants to see what a person would do if they suddenly had a windfall of money. These early scenes of him adjusting to his new lifestyle are some of the most humorous. Every scene with Valentine is big and loud, and he does not really fluctuate until he gets settled into his new role at Duke & Duke. In one of the few instances where the film does not fumble on problematic material, Trading Places does not specifically lean on the fact that Murphy is an African American for humor. Instead, they use his situation in life to derive laughs and further the plot, such as how he knows the ways in which poor people act around Christmas. Dan Aykroyd has never been a performer that has inspired the biggest laughs from me, but he does a fine job here. His petulance at the beginning of his downfall is believable, and watching him hit rock bottom is darkly funny. The movie seems to slow down somewhat in the middle before picking up steam when the duo come together for a common purpose.
If there is a standout in this film outside of the highly energized Murphy, it would be the memorable turn of Jamie Lee Curtis as Ophelia, the prostitute with a heart of gold. The archetype itself is very cliche, but you cannot fault Curtis in her endearing performance. In addition to such tropes, the movie feels dated in a multitude of ways, especially in its use of homophobic slurs and a cringeworthy blackface scene. I would never want this to be censored, but these moments did suck what comedy was present out of the room. I can understand why Trading Places is considered a classic in many circles; the performers are game, it harkens back to screwball comedies, and it even has the benefit of a Christmas setting to evoke warm nostalgia. Yet, comedy has evolved quite substantially in the last forty years, and jokes of the type in this film have morphed into something more relevant to modern audiences. Compared to many of his films, Landis shows a tremendous amount of restraint, which is to be admired. If this film has been a part of your life for quite a while, it is doubtful that it will have fallen out of your good graces to any significant degree. If you happen to be coming to this film for the first time, it is likely that you will be left wondering what all the hype was about in the end.
Video Quality
Trading Places gets a much-needed Blu-Ray upgrade with a stellar 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K remaster supervised by director John Landis. This presentation is a knockout that preserves the filmic look with proper film grain and texture throughout. The level of clarity and detail on this release is truly something to behold. There are very subtle details in the production design that are visible here for the first time from minute details on outfits to some of the production design on display in Ophelia’s apartment. The black levels are extremely deep and allow for true detail to come through. There are a lot of bold colors in the film that pop off the screen with an immaculate vibrancy. Skin tones are natural and lend themselves to showcasing an amazing amount of detail. Paramount has done an excellent job of restoring this, as all print damage has been cleaned up without messing with the natural look of the film. Those who have been waiting for this one to be treated with the proper respect on Blu-Ray should feel it was worth the wait.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack that sonically represents the film perfectly. The activity focuses heavily on the front channels with the thematically appropriate score from Elmer Bernstein filling the room appropriately. Music is used skillfully throughout the presentation, but it never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. The classic screwball dialogue, especially when delivered so fervently by Murphy, comes through clearly and never falls victim to any digital anomalies. Rear speakers get some occasional activity with ambient sounds, but it is not a standout in that regard. There is a subtle amount of low-end support when the scene calls for it, as well. This track accomplishes everything it needs to do really well.
Special Features
- Filmmaker Focus – John Landis on Trading Places: A nine-minute interview with director John Landis in which he discusses his history with the film, how he came to cast each key character, the decision to have Jamie Lee Curtis cut her hair, how he actually did not understand a lot about the financial details of the film and more. This is brief, but very informative as a retrospective piece.
- Deleted Scene: A three-minute unused scene in which Clarence Beeks (Paul Gleason) is actually shown stealing the information that is critical to the finale of the film. The scene proves to be an interesting watch, but it is a bit long and meandering and would have slowed the film down.
- Deleted Scene with Commentary: A two-minute featurette in which executive producer George Folsey Jr. tells a story about why the prior scene was not included in the theatrical cut of the film due to pacing issues and how it impacted the flow of the finale.
- Insider Trading – The Making of Trading Places: A nearly nineteen-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the development of the film, casting, creative fights in the film, the throwback humor and more. This is pretty entertaining and informative.
- Dressing the Part: A nearly seven-minute look at the costumes in the film with Costume Designer Deborah Nadoolman and others in which it is explained how they wanted the costumes to be distinctive and suit the characters without being distracting. A lot of care was put into this aspect of the film.
- The Trade In Trading Places: A five-minute look at the commodities world that is featured in the film with people in the industry in which they explain how the system works and how the film helped clarify the process for people.
- Trading Stories: An eight-minute selection of interviews from the publicity tour of Trading Places in which cast members answers questions including who they would trade places with in real life, the responsibility of being idolized, advice they would give and more.
- Industry Promotional Piece: A four-minute piece in which director John Landis introduces an improvised video that was shown to distributors that is quite amusing.
- Theatrical Trailer: A three-minute trailer for the film that gives away a lot of the funniest moments in the film.
- Isolated Score: An option to watch the film with only the delightful score audible.
Final Thoughts
Trading Places is a film that owes a great deal of its success to the incredibly strong cast that are completely committed to their performances. While I personally feel the film is a bit dated in many respects, I can understand why it is considered to be a classic comedy by many. Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment have given the film a much-needed upgrade on Blu-Ray with a gorgeous A/V presentation and some entertaining special features. For fans of the film, there is no question that this is worth the upgrade. Recommended
Paramount Presents Trading Places is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
