Rating: 
Summary: movie
Review: You ever wonder what the others live like? Well you'll see when a rich white man and a poor black man switch lives based on a one dollar bet. Classic movie!
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Rewarding Comedy
Review: John Landis has done it again with this very intelligent comedy gem. Eddie Murphy gives a very good comic performance as a down-on-his-luck street hustler who gets the opportunity to "trade places" with Wall Street snoot Dan Aykroyd. Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche both do very well as two greedy, self-centered stock market moguls, who think that just because they have money they can tinker with people's lives. The whole cast does very well with this material. Especially, Jamie Lee Curtis, who delivers a very sexy performance as a hooker with a heart.If you enjoy this movie and would like to see what happened to Bellamy and Ameche's characters later on in life, be sure to check out "Coming To America" which also stars Eddie Murphy and was also directed by Landis.
Rating:
Summary: Trading Places
Review: Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd are perhaps one of the funniest duos of all time. They were hilarious together Saturday Night Live, so it's no surprise they repeat that same chemistry on the big screen. The movie ultimately about betrayal, greed, love, irony, friendship, deception, revenge, and comedy. The story basically tells you about two eccentric billionaires that decide to bet how two completely opposite individuals would react in different environments while cornering the stock market. Switching a homeless con artist Eddie Murphy to a rich stock broker while turning a successful businessman Dan Akroyd into a homeless drug attic. Upon discovering of this wager, Eddie and Dan form an alliance in their ultimate quest for revenge. The movie will take you on a great thrill ride that'll leave you begging for more. Overall, this is a must see film.
Rating: 
Summary: REALLY REALLY BAD
Review: How do they get the crop report to the US government? Clarence Beeks is on a ship to Africa. Does the US Gov't accept the orange crop report from any old idiot???
Seriously, I love this movie forever.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie but horrible DVD!
Review: One of the top 10 funniest movie of all time? Would you go that far? Has to be top fifteen-twenty range at least. It does not matter how many times you have seen this movie, every time it is on you watch it (which seems quit often), and every time you watch it, you laugh.
Trading Places is directed by John Landis (Beverly Hills Cop III, Three Amigos, Spies Like Us, Coming to America, and Animal house), who, indeed, has a very impressive resume. You should watch his movie based on that alone. However, he does have a pretty impressive cast he worked with. Notice Landis may have directed two of the funniest movies ever made in Animal House and Coming to America, and maybe three of the top ten comedies of all time when you throw in Trading Places.
Trading Places stars Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Belushi, Clint Smith, and Ralph Bellamy. I could go into the movie and the story, but I don't believe that is needed, unless you have been in a tent, on one of Mars moons, you have seen this movie.
The story and plot are great. The theme, subplots, background, and storyline are developed to perfection. Even with this crazy story, it almost seems like a believable scenario (the train scene is a little out of control).
You must, I repeat must have this movie in your DVD collection. One of the great movies of all time, and should be one of the first ten-fifteen DVD's you own. Hint: buy this movie.
Grade: A+
Rating:
Summary: Mind Your Manners
Review: What do you get when two Saturday Night Live performers from different generations team up with a "former" scream queen, a couple of Hollywood legends, and noteworthy director? Why, Trading Places, of course. It's a free for all that's a lot of fun.
A pair of millionaire Wall Street commodity traders, Randolph and Mortimer Duke (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) wager a bet that pits environment vs. biology and turns the lives of their two unsuspecting victims upside down. Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) is a streetwise hustler who gets dragged off the street and into the proper life of top Duke Bros. broker Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd), who in turn gets tossed out of his ritzy townhouse and on to the street. Both men struggle to comprehend their new lives. Billy Ray is forced to learn proper etiquette, manners, and business sense while uptight Louis must figure out how to get by, befriending a prostitute, Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) who takes him in and saves him from starvation--or worse. When the two innocent victims realize the scheming brothers' plot, they team up to teach the brothers a lesson and take control of their respective lives.
The team of Akroyd and Murphy is pure gold. Both men show off their respective comedic talents alone and as a team. Aided with plenty of punch by Bellamy, Ameche, Curtis, who proved that she could escape the clutches of killer Michael Myers if she had to, and scene stealer Denholm Elliott as butler Coleman. Director John Landis makes sure things stay funny while moving Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod's story along nicely. This film was a great pick me up for Ackroyd-pre Ghostbusters and a launch of sorts for Murphy's film career.
The movie is a true comedy classic from the 80's that has held up rather well. That being said, and given the film's popularity, I am perplexed as to Paramount's decision not to include any extras on the DVD. Heck, not even the theatrical trailer can be found. What gives? Retrospective material already exists out there--I have seen a few snipets. Trading Places deserves better. Until a special edition arrives...The movie is well worth a look
Rating:
Summary: Sumptuously funny!
Review: This is truly a wonderful movie, and it's hard to say that about many movies. Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis, and the Dukes are the primary reasons to watch this fun and funny romantic switcharoo caper. But!!! Denholm Elliott is just superb as the "not-if-we-beat-them-to-it" butler!
This is a great movie to watch on New Year's Eve, as it has that Christmastime/New Year's Eve timeframe and costume party train as well as the let's-get-rich-off-the-bad-rich-guys plot! It's a sumptuously funny movie that you can feel good about owning and watching again and again and that will take you into any New Year feeling really good!
5 stars, without hestitation!
Rating:
Summary: The leads are great, but so is the supporting cast - FUNNY
Review: This is a very funny movie, not least because Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis give nearly the best performances of their careers. To me it is one of the classic comedies. It is built on the "switching places" storyline, but with a fresh approach, some terrific characters you never forget (even the minor roles - the big guy who only says, "Yeah!"), great images (the traders rushing out of the stalls at the sound of the market open bell and the opening title shots contrasting wealth, the working class, and the wretched poor), very good writing, and some fine acting (view Denholm Elliot having to turn Louis away as if he never knew him. There is some real subtlety in the face, eyes, and voice).
Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche are PERFECT as the Duke brothers. Paul Gleason does a superb job as Clarence Beeks. Beeks is all bully, too clever by half, and ends up getting his just desserts along with the Duke brothers. James Belushi takes a small role and makes a mark for himself in one of his early roles. This performance is proof of the saying that there aren't small roles, just small actors. Louis' finance, Penelope, and the other rich friends are nicely overdone and enjoyable as for what they are and are not.
But the movie belongs to Murphy and his brilliant opening scene as the hustler in that cart, when he looks at the camera when they try to explain pork bellies to him, and when he is being choked by Louis and is croaking out, "It was the Dukes, It was the Dukes!" To Ackroyd as a perfectly snotty rich kid who spends his days pretending that he is a player. I particularly like the scene where he is getting the checks signed by the Dukes and he starts off assuming he is in with them because he makes them tons of money, and they dismiss him as if here like any other servant - without a thought. Ackroyd as Louis registers some real surprised hurt there. And the classic scene of him in the dirty Santa suit chomping off bites of his filthy beard along with the smoked salmon he stuffed in his coat at the party. And Jamie Lee Curtis as Ophelia has many memorable scenes. She always has a sparkle and a sense of humor and vulnerability. She has the strength to laugh off the hurt she feels when Louis realizes and cruelly and contemptuously says out loud that she is a prostitute. She is much more than eye candy, though she looks amazing in that opening dress and the bikini at the end and everything in between.
This disk has NO extras. Just the movie, some alternate language tracks and subtitles, and some choice of sound production. But no commentary or deleted scenes, or anything else. Still this is worth having and viewing every now and again just because it is funnier than most (not all) other comedies you are likely to find.
However, it has some uses in business education as well. If you pay attention you can learn a bit about how to make money by going short high and buying long low. But don't take any of the trading too seriously. It really doesn't work that way. Just enjoy it as a funny movie.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous comedy, Eddie Murphy at his best
Review: John Landis' comedy "Trading Places" is a combination of pseudo-intellectual farce, racism, power, nature vs nurture concept, slapstick and some deep look at social distinctions. Though it is a crowd pleaser, it has a good set of actors and is well put together. Eddie Murphy shows his genius here as a street hustler, when he is in prison and someone asks him, "How come you fought with 10 policemen and got slashed and did not have cuts?", he replies, "It is because I am a karate man. A karate man bruises on the inside." Compared to some of the comedies now like "Dumb and Dumber", this is a masterpiece. Every actor starting from Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, Delholm Elliot to the smaller actors play their parts very well.
It is sad that Eddie Murphy does not realize his own talent and makes so many bad movies for every good movie of his. I see Shrek, I remember how much I loved him back in 48 Hrs and Trading Places, but when I see Daddy Day-Care or The Haunted Mansion or Pluto Nash or Boomerang or The Distinguished Gentleman, I just want to cry at the waste of his time and mine. His Donkey in Shrek and its sequel are the high end of this, but be warned: Bad Eddie will return in Daddy Day-Camp and The Incredible Shrinking Man. Will he ever grow up?
Though the DVD does not have any special features, I am still glad that I have it. Whenever I am down, I can always pop it in my player and up goes my mood seeing the Dukes and Eddie and Dan shouting about the Haile Saleisee pavelion. I would recommend this DVD to anyone who loves comedy. Despite people complaining about its predictable storyline, the way it is played is superb and cannot be copied. In short, it is a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Beef Jerky?!
Review: Easily the greatest "Saturday Night Live" movie and the funniest movie of the 1980s, Trading Places is a biting satire, a slapstick, and just plain bad taste pick rolled into one.
Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd are at their comedic peaks in this film, Jamie Lee Curtis is a serious babe, and there's a guy in a gorilla suit! How can you go wrong? Maybe by hiring a street bum to replace your top stock broker...
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