Trading Places (1983)
Release Year: 1983
Nation: United States of America
Alternative Title: Die Glücksritter, Un fauteuil pour deux, De mendigo a millonario, Entre pillos anda el juego, Una poltrona per due, Os ricos e os Pobres, Rollebyttet, Trocando as Bolas
Director: John Landis
Writer: Herschel Weingrod, Timothy Harris
Production & Genre
Producer(s):
Companies: Cinema Group Ventures, Paramount Pictures
Genre: Christmas Film, Comedy, Comedy Film
Awards & Similar
Awards: N/A
Similar:
Keywords
Keywords: absurd, african american lead, amused, beggar, broker, butler, christmas, christmas eve, christmas party, commodities, disrespectful, dramatic, exhilarated, fish out of water, hilarious, hoodlum, investor, irreverent, millionaire, mischievous, new year, new year's eve, philadelphia, pennsylvania, prostitute, rags to riches, rich snob, riches to rags, stockbroker, wager, wrongful arrest
Story
In 'Trading Places', two wealthy brothers make a wager that a person's life circumstances are due to their environment rather than personal qualities. They select Louis Winthorpe III, a wealthy investment broker with high social standing, and Billy Ray Valentine, a streetwise con artist, for this experiment. On Christmas Eve in Philadelphia, they switch the men's lives: Winthorpe is left penniless on the streets while Valentine takes his place at the commodities exchange. As Valentine starts making trades based on insider information from a fellow broker, he begins to accumulate wealth and power, much to the shock of Winthorpe who struggles to adapt to his new circumstances.
Summary
Directed by John Landis in 1983, 'Trading Places' is a comedic exploration of social mobility and the nature versus nurture debate. Set during Christmas in Philadelphia, it follows Louis Winthorpe III and Billy Ray Valentine as they swap lives due to a bet made by two wealthy brothers. The film humorously depicts their struggles adapting to unfamiliar environments while questioning societal perceptions about class and intelligence.
