Trading Places came out in 1983 and it’s CRAZY how many memorable scenes were in it. I haven’t seen it in more than twenty years but there are so many great moments, so many funny performances and such catchy writing that it’s wedged itself into the Gen-X cultural zeitgeist, never to be driven away.
Having not seen it in years, I’m praying that it still holds up and that it isn’t old-school racist. While I’m positive that we could look at it and say that it’s a story about how people with means can succeed regardless of race,– which makes it ahead of its time — it could also probably be framed as ‘elite white banking culture is something to aspire to,’ which is less good. Without watching it to refresh my memory, here are a bunch of things I remember almost 40 years after seeing it for the first time. How many of them do you remember as well?
I remember Kristin Holby in a completely overlooked performance as Penelope, Winthorpe’s fiance, waiting at the jail to pick him up when he’s discharged and a thicc dude with an accent shoves some sleeping lady out of the way, sits down, invades her personal space and asks her if the purse she’s holding is her purse. In the next scene I remember her breaking up with him and calling him ‘Louie’ with such an edge in her voice. It was also heartbreaking to see how quickly he was excluded from his peer group and how she moved on to the next Todd later in the film. Is Penelope the original Karen, or sort of a starter pre-Karen Karen? Maybe.
I remember Dan Aykroyd’s Louis yelling sell [something something] at [some number]! at the end of the movie to fuck over the Duke Boys and I never knew what he was saying but everyone around him exploded and Eddie Murphy had a shit-eating grin on his face and took his time taking their tickets or something.
I remember a topless girl waiting for Eddie Murphy’s Billy Ray in his bed and him kicking her out of his apartment and getting fired up about his old crew of people trashing his new place.
I remember how cool and kind and human Jamie Lee Curtis’ Ophelia was – though I forgot that her character’s name was Ophelia.
I remember the last shot, with the winners in the lap of luxury. My friend group still says “Looking good Billy Ray!” to each other.
I remember Paul Gleason’s Clarence Beeks pausing in a phone booth, looking at the person waiting to use the phone after him and saying “fuck off.” It still kills me. Such a direct way to establish who this guy is.
I still quote Inga from Sveden on the reg.
I remember two cops lifting Eddie Murphy up out of a wagon and him thanking them because he could walk again. The most stunning thing about this clip, though, is how cops used to be. Damn.
I remember Billy Ray Valentine not believing when the Duke Brothers were telling him that he owned everything in his apartment. Why would he?
I remember the amazing Denholm Elliot (R.I.P.)
I have no idea wtf Eddie Murphy is chanting before he says “beef jerky time” but I remember it like it was yesterday.
I remember Eddie Murphy’s Billy Ray bullshitting some guys in jail that he knew karate and something called the ‘quart of blood technique.’
I remember future senator Al Franken as a baggage handler.
This doesn’t get enough love, but I still think about Dan Aykroyd pulling stolen fish out of his filthy Santa costume and eating it on a public bus in front of two horrified riders. I mean, holy shit. My stomach still turns watching it. Any time I find a hair in my food, it’s the worst thing ever, but part of my mind always harkens back to this scene and how a destroyed Winthorpe debases himself with stolen fish.
That’s some horrific shit right there. What a remarkable movie to have so many memorable moments. I’m going to have to watch that bad boy again.
What do you remember about Trading Places?
