
I get it. I do. There are parts of this movie, considered a classic, that have not aged well. For me, this is a perennial - I tend to watch it regularly over the holiday season for its connection to Christmas and New Years and I still find it funny. The blackface, not funny. Did I find it funny in 1983? Probably, but I was also thirteen. I also saw Soul Man in its initial run.
Misogyny ran rampant in movies up until recently (and there's probably current examples, still). Back to the Future, beloved by millions and despite the Oedipal shenanigans had a an attempted rape scene kicking off the third act. People still think Biff is a funny villain, though. 48 HRS. - wanna talk about racist? Oof. That could give Trading Places a huge run for its money. Eddie Murphy is still a beloved actor/comedian, but he had some of the most homophobic and/or misogynistic routines of anyone at the time, and he was a superstar.
None of it's forgivable, but it hasn't ruined the these movies for me (okay, Soul Man was never good). In the case of Trading Places the racism (blackface notwithstanding) is part of the story, underlining just how evil the Dukes really are (calling Randolph the warm, smiling face of bigotry is spot on by the way). What Louis, Billy Ray, and Ophelia (and even Coleman) find out along the way is that they are all smart, decent people despite their class, professions, and societal differences and work together to hatch a plan that's honestly taken me years to figure out.
In other words, yeah - there are things in it that would not and should not fly today. But I still love this one (and my Dan Aykroyd-autographed DVD copy, too).
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