[yasr_overall_rating]
TRADING PLACES
A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
With “Trading Places” turning 35 this year, and “Coming to America” turning 30, Paramount has released both titles in celebration of these milestones.
“Trading Places” was one of Eddie Murphy’s funniest movies. He got to play zany and comical but also straightlaced and formal, showing both sides of his artistic range. Here, he plays Billy Ray Valentine, a homeless man living on the streets of Philadelphia. Dan Aykroyd plays Louis Winthorpe III, a wealthy investor who is at the top of his game and who lives in a lavish apartment, with a beautiful fiancée. When Billy Ray and Louis accidentally bump into each other on the street one day, Louis, scared for his life at the sight of a homeless man who he assumes is trying to assault him, calls the cops and has him arrested. When one of Louis’ bosses, Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy), bets his brother Mortimer (Don Ameche), that he could take Billy Ray out of jail, and turn him into a well-respected Wall Street trader, and turn Louis into a homeless vagabond, Mortimer accepts his wager.
The two brothers set Louis up in front of his co-workers and friends and implicate him in a dishonest act, a result of which he is arrested and thrown in jail, just as Billy Ray is bailed out. When they inform Billy Ray that they want to offer him a job to make up for what happened with Louis, he reluctantly agrees. At the same time, Louis is branded a thief, fired from his job, and dumped by his fiancée. He winds up on the streets and comes across Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis), a hooker with a heart of gold and when he tells her that is actually rich but that he has been framed for a crime he did not commit, she takes pity on him and agrees to take him home to her place. While Bily Ray is flourishing in his new job, in the bathroom one day smoking a joint, he overhears the Duke brothers and quickly realizes that both he and Louis had been set up by the two men and that the next step in their plan, is to put Billy Ray back on the streets and return Louis to his former position. Billy Ray quickly tracks down Louis and tells him what happened and between them, they hatch a plan to become very rich and give the Duke brothers a taste of their own medicine.
“Trading Places” happened very early in both Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd’s careers and as a result, neither of them hold back. Murphy is at his best when playing the eccentric and imbecilic outcast while Aykroyd is perfect as the smug and arrogant investor, so much so that at times, you just want to reach into the screen and strangle the pretentiousness out of him. Jamie Lee Curtis is fine as the call girl who, against her better judgment, feels sympathy for the disgraced Louis and agrees to take care of him. The rest of the cast is filled out with wonderful supporting character actors including Denholm Elliott, Frank Oz, Robert Earl Jones, and Paul Gleason, who between them all, help elevate the film to classic status. Director John Landis was on a roll here, after the success of “Animal House,” “The Blues Brothers,” and “An American Werewolf in London,” and a few years later, he would re-team with Murphy on “Coming to America.”
COMING TO AMERICA
An extremely pampered African Prince travels to Queens, New York, and goes undercover to find a wife whom he can respect for her intelligence and will.
In the years since “Trading Places,” Eddie Murphy had become one of Hollywood’s biggest names, starring in films such as “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “The Golden Child,” and his own standup special, “Eddie Murphy: Raw.” With “Coming to America,” he proved he still had the golden touch as it went on to be another global success but it would be his last big blockbuster for many years, as the subsequent movies he made, “Harlem Nights,” “Another 48 Hrs.,” “Boomerang,” plus many more, were big-budget duds. Not even the return of Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop III,” which was once again directed by John Landis, could resurrect Murphy’s floundering career. It wouldn’t be until 1996 with the release of “The Nutty Professor,” and then again in 2001 with “Shrek,” that his waning star began to shine brightly again.
“Coming to America” tells the story of a prince named Akeem (Murphy), who hails from the fictional African nation of Zamunda. On his 21st birthday, his parents, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) and mother, Queen Aoleon (Madge Sinclair), have arranged for him to marry his future wife. At the last minute, however, he refuses to go through with the nuptials, vowing to go to America where he can find a woman who will love and respect him for who he is and not what he has. Against his parents’ wishes, he sets off along with his royal servant and best friend, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), where they land in New York and insist on staying in meager accommodations in Queens, much to Semmi’s chagrin, who is used to being spoiled in the royal palace. They find jobs at a local fast food restaurant called McDowell’s where Akeem begins to fall for the owner’s daughter, Lisa (Shari Headley) but he has competition in rich and obnoxious Darryl Jenks (Eriq La Salle), the heir to Soul Glo, a Jheri curl–like hair styling spray.
When Darryl announces at a party at Lisa’s father’s house, that he has just proposed to her and that she has accepted, blindsided by the news and outraged, she storms out of the house and ends their relationship. She finds solace in Akeem, who is only too keen to spend time with her and over time, they fall for each other. Semmi insists that Akeem tell her who he really is so they can go back to Zamunda but he refuses, stating that he will tell her when the time is right but when Semmi sends word back to Zamunda that he and Akeem’s funds have run out, Akeem’s father, the king, along with the queen, and their royal entourage, make their way to New York, where they plan on bringing him back home. Naturally, this ruins Akeem’s plans and when Lisa discovers that he is actually a prince and that he wasn’t honest with her, she ends their relationship. Heartbroken, Akeem returns to Zamunda and prepares to go through with the wedding but his mother and father have a surprise waiting for him!
By this time, as I stated earlier, Murphy was a huge star and the few moments of spontaneity and genuine humor from him, feel forced. Arsenio Hall appeared to be having more fun and in watching the behind-the-scenes featurettes about the making of the movie, director John Landis stated that while Murphy went to Paramount and championed for him to direct, they did not get on well during production. In a roundabout way, Landis claimed that Murphy’s status as a big star had gone to his head and he felt like he wasn’t being treated accordingly. Landis still praises Murphy’s performance but this was something I had known about for years. For a long time, Murphy has been known to be a prima donna on film sets, and unfortunately, that sort of behavior, to me, is unacceptable. I have been an indie filmmaker for over 30 years and have worked with a lot of wonderful actors and along the way, even in independent circles, you’d be surprised at just how often an actor will try to put themselves above everyone else, proclaiming they are the most important person on set. In the end, “Coming to America” has some laughs but throughout, almost everything about it feels contrived. Even John Landis states that he missed collaborating with the Eddie Murphy he worked with on “Trading Places,” an actor who was eager to learn and fun to be around but over time, they obviously put their differences aside as they would team up together again in 1994 to make “Beverly Hills Cop III,” but the less said about that film, the better.
