trading places (stock market/gorilla rape film)

[madhair60]

watched this one again the other night. almost impossible to tear eyes from, incredibly compelling film. the brevity of it all, the unbelievable fast pace, two hours just melt away. fantastic framing of philly, some outstanding night shots as you'd expect from child murderer John Landis, and of course you get to see Jamie Lee Curtis'es massive wabs for absolutely no reason besides 80s excess T&A requisites. sorry for being sexist but the scene was a pivotal one for me as a youth.

last act goes off the rails a bit with the mentioned and utterly bizarre gorilla rape implication and of course dan aykroyd in blackface doing an IRIE MON PLANTAIN AN TING racism voice, but other than these two massive things it's a great time.

talk about Trading Places please

[Gulftastic]

Pissed up, depressed, eating through his dirty Santa beard Dan Ackroyd is easily the best acting he ever did.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah I like it.

Always love the baddie sleuth as well.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

It's definitely got some dodgy stuff in it. I suppose it could be argued that the various slurs are all in character for the people saying them, but that's a debate I don't feel qualified to wade into. It's a blinking funny film nonetheless. The entire cast are on top form, but I feel like Paul Gleason might just steal it with his angry swearing. "Bunch of fucking weirdoes."

[Gulftastic]

'5 dollars! Maybe I'll go to the movies...by myself.'

[Dex Sawash]

Pissed up, depressed, eating through his dirty Santa beard Dan Ackroyd is easily the best acting he ever did.

Can't see a smoked salmon without thinking about this shot

[Mister Six]

Is a tremendous film, although not patch on Coming to America.

I was quite surprised that they don't actually explain the mechanics of the big con at the end. Was it just assumed that everyone would know what was going on?

[sevendaughters]

yeah I have to say the bit where Jamie Lee Curtis takes her wig off is in my top 5 (don't know how to phrase this without sounding weird) erotic moments in cinema. What is my 'type'? That image there. Brassy short haired women with large tits. Sorry but not sorry either.

The film is a bit of a mixed bag. Like a lot of SNL alumni films it belies a certain sketch-comedy element that makes it feel bitty - the train scene is like the worst of SNL with added racism. But the vibrancy of the key performances do keep the head above water, and there's plenty of funny lines.

I presume the twins are meant to be a satire of the Kochs or other blue blood eugenicist geriatrics that America seems to have. The attack isn't really on capital, but just these guys. OK it's just a silly film, but I think it's things like this that keep me feeling a little detached. I'd like the sex worker to not be exploited thanks, not be a smart investor risking her life for an early retirement!

Might go and get some orange juice now and think on it some more.

[Bad Ambassador]

I remember reading that Don Ameche would apologise to Eddie Murphy before and after takes where he had to use epithets.

[monkfromhavana]

Love it, one of my all-time favourite films and one where I probably do have a blind spot to the problematic stuff. I quote it all the time

"I mean real scum, Randolph"
"Pork bellies, I knew it, I KNEW IT!"
"and pork bellies, which are used to make bacon, which you might find in a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich"

Also, the ensemble Winthorpe wears when he goes to see his "friends" at the squash club is one I would dearly love to have enough balls to replicate.

[The Bumlord]

Somewhat dodgy but great film for the first two thirds at least. JLC just looks incredible, I'm sure many impressionable young boys found themselves with oddly stirring winkies at those scenes over the years.

Plus Gus from Breaking Bad, "YEAH" and of course:




Apparently Ameche would only film that scene once as he hated swears.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Apparently they only did one take of this as Ameche hated using swear words.

Easily my favourite Eddie Murphy film.

There's a kind of similar film from 1981 (Denzel Washington's first acting role) which I have vague memories of watching as a kid

[badaids]

And she stepped.. on the ball!

[Gulftastic]

And she stepped.. on the ball!

The self congratulatory bits of business after Lewis's ex friends have finished their acapella nonsense is great.

[The Bumlord]

IS THERE A LAWYER IN THE HOUSE?

[Sebastian Cobb]

Hadley Freeman did a conflicted article version of this thread's "I like it but there's problematic elements when viewed through a modern lens" take.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/apr/08/my-guilty-pleasure-trading-places

Which is fair enough but a bit mad given she seems willing to look the other way completely when it comes to Woody Allen.

[sevendaughters]

JLC isn't a 'tart with a heart', I mean she is nice, but the final score on her character is a gigantic net profit.

Bored with 'problematic' as a take, to be honest. Think it assumes everyone who watches it will suddenly think gorilla rape and racism are fantastic ideas.

[The Bumlord]

JLC isn't a 'tart with a heart', I mean she is nice, but the final score on her character is a gigantic net profit.

She outright says it when she takes Louis back to her place.

I'm talking about a business proposition, Louis.
 
I help you get back on your feet and you pay me, in cash, five figures.

That's the deal and it's not subject to negotiation.

[Bad Ambassador]

A KARATE MAN BLEEDS ON THE INSIDE

[Famous Mortimer]

Bored with 'problematic' as a take, to be honest. Think it assumes everyone who watches it will suddenly think gorilla rape and racism are fantastic ideas.

I am too, but I don't think your two sentences follow each other. Lots of movies have horrible ideas slipped in for propaganda purposes, it doesn't hurt to be aware of them before you start watching (or you just don't want to see movies with overt racism in. Gorilla rape is A-OK with me).

[The Bumlord]

Egg Nog?

[Harry Badger]

Is a tremendous film, although not patch on Coming to America.

I was quite surprised that they don't actually explain the mechanics of the big con at the end. Was it just assumed that everyone would know what was going on?

They kind of do - early on we establish what goes on at the exchange - people speculating on the price of commodities, like orange juice, wheat and pork bellies (which are used to make bacon, which you might find in a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich).

Spoiler alert

The brothers plan to make a killing by hiring a goon to steal top secret data relating to the orange harvest. Aykroyd and co discover this, and steal it for themselves, swapping the data for false information. This leads the brothers to wrongly bet the house on orange juice futures going up rather than down, ruining them at the expense of Winthrop et al who have staked on the correct outcome.

[close]

Also there's the even more gratuitous nudity when the girl gets them out while dancing to Sylvester banger Do Ya Wanna Funk

[Vodkafone]

watched this one again the other night. almost impossible to tear eyes from, incredibly compelling film. the brevity of it all, the unbelievable fast pace, two hours just melt away. fantastic framing of philly, some outstanding night shots as you'd expect from child murderer John Landis, and of course you get to see Jamie Lee Curtis'es massive wabs for absolutely no reason besides 80s excess T&A requisites. sorry for being sexist but the scene was a pivotal one for me as a youth.

last act goes off the rails a bit with the mentioned and utterly bizarre gorilla rape implication and of course dan aykroyd in blackface doing an IRIE MON PLANTAIN AN TING racism voice, but other than these two massive things it's a great time.

talk about Trading Places please

Cheers Gary Norman

[Sebastian Cobb]

Now the light fades out
And I wonder why I'm trading in a place like this

[Goldentony]

Hadley Freeman

DO NOT CLICK THE LINK CONTAINED WITHIN THIS POST

[Vodkafone]

Somewhat dodgy but great film for the first two thirds at least. JLC just looks incredible, I'm sure many impressionable young boys found themselves with oddly stirring winkies at those scenes over the years.

Plus Gus from Breaking Bad, "YEAH" and of course:




Apparently Ameche would only film that scene once as he hated swears.

That clip misses the great double take by Alfred Drake after the "Fuck him!"

[The Bumlord]

Also there's the even more gratuitous nudity when the girl gets them out while dancing to Sylvester banger Do Ya Wanna Funk

It was the 80s maaaan

Also Denholm Elliot having a look is funny.

[Harry Badger]

It was the 80s maaaan

Also Denholm Elliot having a look is funny.

Pretty sure Murphy is on the verge of corpsing earlier in that scene.

[phantom_power]

I remember watching it round a friend's house off my nut and could not work out the end scheme no matter how much my friend explained it to me. I put this down to my baked head until I watched it again later and still couldn't work it out. It is weird because I had seen it loads before and the end never confused me. I think I just took it that they needed to look like they lost but actually won

[Sebastian Cobb]

They actually made explicit and clean takes of the JLC/Party topless scenes for the TV cut.

Which is presumably all I'd seen well into adulthood as I had a bit of a 'well I don't remember THAT!' moment when I saw it in a cinema a few years ago.