Wealthy, elderly brothers (Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche) switch the lives of snobbish Louis (Dan Aykroyd) and lower-class conman, Billy Ray (Eddie Murphy), and bet on the outcome. As Billy Ray succeeds in corporate life, Louis is left with nothing, but finds help in a beautiful and clever prostitute (Jamie Lee Curtis).
Quick Review: I never get tired of Trading Places. It combines P.G. Wodehouse-like class ridicule with a fish out of water story (well, two fish), sight gags, romance, action, revenge, redemption, and just a touch of exquisite nudity. Aykroyd and Murphy were in that brief period of their careers when both were funny (so very long ago). Jamie Lee Curtis was switching from sexy scream queen to comic actress (which she would perfect 5 years later in A Fish Called Wanda). Director John Landis’s masterstroke was casting veteran actors Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche as the vicious, rich old men who cause all the problems. Both had been forgotten by Hollywood, but hadn’t lost their talent. They give both life and cartoonish charm to their characters, which drive the story. Great acting, good jokes (well, except for the gorilla…), and a bit of sex, what more could you ask for?