And so, we come to the last of our Christmas films for more ‘mature’ audiences, though it’s safe to say a bunch of these, while definitely not suitable for children, have been incredibly (but enjoyably) puerile. Though not all have been classics, it’s definitely been a nice respite from a torrent of festive feel-good schmaltz. Today’s final ‘grown-up’ is one that’s rightfully regarded as a classic, though parts of it, particularly its use of racial caricatures have not aged too well. Yes, it’s 1983’s Trading Places from director John Landis, featuring blistering turns from Eddie Murphy and Dan Ayrkroyd at the height of their 1980s powers.
This one tells the tale of two ridiculously wealthy and callous Philadelphia bankers Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) who debate whether genetics or upbringing is more vital to success. In a nasty experiment they make a twisted bet where they fire top broker Winthorpe (Aykroyd) and frame him for a crime, forcing him onto the streets. At the same time, they take homeless jive-talking hustler Billy Ray (Murphy) and try to make a successful stockbroker out of him. Role reversal hilarity ensues as the guinea pigs eventually realise they’ve been played by the cold-hearted and casually racist fatcats, so they team up, along with ‘hooker with a heart of gold’ Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) to get their revenge.
The movie is frequently hilarious, never more than in moments where poor Winthorpe, having gone abruptly from riches to rags, struggles to cope with his new life. Having hit rock bottom, the image of the once successful toff, drunk and disheveled, wearing a manky Santa suit and chowing down on a big hunk of fish on public transport is truly hilarious. And that’s before a dog pees on him.
Murphy steals the show in just his second big screen outing, exhibiting the uproarious cocksure charm, presence and authority that would see him become one of the biggest stars of the decade. He’s brilliant as the constantly jabbering conman, pulling a hustle as a blind man with no legs, but even better when focusing his grifting talents on taking the stock market by storm and introducing his unsavoury street acquaintances to the unbridled privileges of a Wall Street-style life of luxury.
It's a shame, then, that the film also features some questionable moments featuring Aykroyd in dodgy ‘blackface’ makeup and a few too many throwaway uses of the ‘N’ word. As we’ve seen already, the ‘80s were a different time, but it’s still uncomfortable to watch. There are also some mixed messages about the whole ‘80s ‘greed is good’ credo, with the film’s crescendo seeming to suggest that insider trading is reprehensible unless it’s the good guys doing it. Mind you, even though I’ve seen this one a couple of times, I’ll be damned if I could really tell you exactly what happens at the stock exchange at the end.
This is another film that isn’t overly festive but does take place over the Christmas and New Year period, with Landis smartly using the holiday season to emphasise the gulf in class between those struggling to survive on the freezing streets and the rich, stuffing their faces as fancy Christmas banquets. The recent Trump presidency makes this film seem more prescient than ever, demonstrating that capitalists like to toy with the poor, making false promises while really just looking out for themselves. The shady dudes at the top like to dangle that carrot of the ‘American Dream’ – that you too can be rich if you work hard enough – though the truth is they might let you have a sniff, but there’s no way they want to share that pie. The scene where Randolph and Mortimer agree that Billy Ray is a great success but that they’d never let a black man take a top job leaves me fuming, as you just know this sort of stuff still goes on, four decades later. But, hey – it’s still really satisfying to watch a movie where the money-grubbing Scrooges get screwed.
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