Stars:
Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Kristin Holby, Denholm
Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis
Writer:
Elmer Bernstein
Based
On A Story By: Malcolm Campbell
Director:
John Landis
Feature
length: 116 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Surround Sound, and French
Language Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 20
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Surround Sound, and Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1982/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
This
classic comedy starring Eddie Murphy is now 20 years old and I have to admit
that I still remember going to see this at the movie theater with grammar school
friends after school and even have someone mentioning Murphy and films like
“48 Hours” and “Trading Places” in my grammar school yearbook. Time
really does fly. This film features an early non-scream queen role for Jamie Lee
Curtis as well as a still thin Dan Aykroyd and great supporting roles by Don
Ameche and Ralph Bellamy, who would reprise their character roles for a quick
cameo in “Coming To America.”
Two
wealthy old power players set a bet that they could switch their golden boy (Aykroyd)
with con man and hustler (Eddie Murphy) with an effect that given different
environments Murphy’s character will become a reformed man while Aykroyd will
turn to crime in order to survive. With comedic results the plan works until the
two guinea pigs realize they have been played and strike back by hitting these
two old cronies where it will hurt them the most, their wallets.
In
many ways one can see the “Regan Era” politics slipping into the backdrop of
the film, which clearly satirizes the rich and poor alike, but in a very callous
manner given these post “PC” times. The film in hindsight is also pretty
racist. I doubt Murphy would be comfortable reprising some of these scenes he
does here in a contemporary film. Stereotypes aside, “Trading Places” is a
good comedy, and I am not standing on a box preaching here about some of the
elements that caught my eye because while this film is essentially a series of
stereotypes, it is never-the-less a funny comedy and a comedy that teaches a
lesson of sorts, and also a product of a the early 1980s before Murphy became a
superstar (Aykroyd has top billing here) and before the second African American
film renaissance hit and effected American films in the late 1980s and early
1990s with filmmakers like Spike Lee who have made an impact on the collective
consciousness of American cinema. Bottom line is whether or not you agree with
Lee’s films or any other filmmaker, no one can deny that the way African
Americans are portrayed on film and television has changed. Of course there are
now a lot of reverse stereotypes, which is examined brilliantly in
“Bamboozled,” but in 20 years things have changed and this film is an
interesting artifact of comparison one can make with any of Murphy’s more
recent film roles. This is of course a simplification on my part, but since this
is a DVD review and not a sociology paper, I will conclude by stating that in
the end it is up the viewer to analyze or not analyze this point of make his or
her own decision.
The
anamorphic widescreen transfer is certainly the best home video presentation of
“Trading Places” that I have ever seen and while not terrifically dynamic,
the English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is a nice touch and consumers
also get an English Dolby Surround Soundtrack as well as a French Language
Monaural Soundtrack coupled with English Captions and Closed Captions for the
hearing impaired as options. Unfortunately there are no extra features included
on this DVD at all, which is a surprise since this ranks among the most popular
“Murphy” films in the Paramount catalogue. The menus are nicely rendered and
are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“Trading
Places” will debut on DVD-Video from Paramount Home Entertainment on Tuesday,
September 24, 2002.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.