Trading Places: Difference between revisions

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* [[Affably Evil]]: The Dukes.

* [[Angry Black Man]]: Billy Ray to a certain extent.

* [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking]]: Winthorpe's descent into criminality is summarized as "pilfering in our club, embezzling funds, selling drugs, and now he's dressing up like Santa Claus."

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: Winthorpe's descent into criminality is summarized as "pilfering in our club, embezzling funds, selling drugs, and now he's dressing up like Santa Claus."

* [[Aside Glance]]: It's a John Landis film, so this is [[Signature Style|to be expected]]. Billy Ray does it twice.

* [[Bad Santa]]: Winthorpe as Drunken Santa With A Gun.

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* [[The Dragon]]: Clarence Beeks.

* [[Driven to Suicide]]: Winthorpe makes ''two'' back-to-back suicide attempts.

* [[~~Everythings~~ Better With Monkeys]]: Although Beeks may disagree.

* [[Everything's Better With Monkeys]]: Although Beeks may disagree.

** [[Berserk Button|Monkey?]] ''[[Berserk Button|Monkey?!?]]'' ''[[Berserk Button|He's a fucking gorilla, you clown!!!]]''

* [[Exact ~~Eaves Dropping~~]]: Valentine hears the Duke's sinister deal and all the important details.

* [[Exact Eavesdropping]]: Valentine hears the Duke's sinister deal and all the important details.

* [[Fanservice Extra]]: The topless girls at Billy Ray's party.

* [[Fauxreigner]]: Half of the gang's disguises on the train, complete with the [[Norse By Norsewest|wrong accent]] from Ophelia. Justified as there was a New Year's Eve costume party going on in another car on the train.

* [[Fingertip Drug Analysis]]

* [[Get Out]]: Valentine to the freeloaders in his new house, complete with a [[Precision F Strike]] in the non-TV version

* [[Get Out!]]: Valentine to the freeloaders in his new house, complete with a [[Precision F-Strike]] in the non-TV version

* [[History Marches On]]: Modern commodities markets have "breakers" that prevent prices from changing as rapidly as depicted in the film, precisely to avoid the sort of mess the Dukes tried to cause and profit from, as well as the kind of mess they ended up getting themselves into. These limits were added a few years after the film was made. The law that changed this is even informally known as the "Eddie Murphy Rule", though it may have had more to do with the real-life events that inspired end of the film (see [[Ripped ~~From~~ the Headlines]] below).

* [[History Marches On]]: Modern commodities markets have "breakers" that prevent prices from changing as rapidly as depicted in the film, precisely to avoid the sort of mess the Dukes tried to cause and profit from, as well as the kind of mess they ended up getting themselves into. These limits were added a few years after the film was made. The law that changed this is even informally known as the "Eddie Murphy Rule", though it may have had more to do with the real-life events that inspired end of the film (see [[Ripped from the Headlines]] below).

* [[Hoist By His Own Petard]]: Nearly everything the Dukes come up with wind up being used to bring them down, from the two men whose lives they decide to mess with to their own 'foolproof' plan to corner the market. Even the prostitute they get to assist the plan winds up working against them. If you look at how they train Valentine to be a successful broker, and likely trained Winthrope when he was younger, you could say they literally trained the gentlemen who destroyed them.

** Perhaps lampshaded when as the dejected Dukes realize how far they've fallen and they watch the triumphant Winthorpe and Valentine laughing at them, Mortimer asks Valentine "After everything we've done for you?"

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* [[Large Ham]]: Winthorpe, constantly.

* [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: Listen to the lovely ''a capella'' song that the [[Upperclass Twit|Upper Class Twits]] perform for Penelope and the other girls in the scene where Louis tries to borrow money. The song's about how all the girls are complete sluts.

* [[Mean Character Nice Actor]]: Don Ameche was nothing but a gentleman in [[Real Life]], and apologized constantly for his use of the N-word, and for his [[Precision F Strike]].

* [[Mean Character, Nice Actor]]: Don Ameche was nothing but a gentleman in [[Real Life]], and apologized constantly for his use of the N-word, and for his [[Precision F-Strike]].

** Likewise Paul Gleason, who played Clarence Beeks. He could make Eddie Murphy ''and'' Dan Akroyd laugh.

* [[The Mistress]]: It's a bit part, but the hot blonde who whispers into Valentine's ear at a fancy dinner is billed as "President's Mistress".

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'''Mortimer:''' Well, that's ridiculous! Unless that crop report...<br />

'''Randolph:''' God help us! }}

* [[Paper Thin Disguise]]: No one seems to notice that Beeks is wearing an obviously fake gorilla costume.

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: No one seems to notice that Beeks is wearing an obviously fake gorilla costume.

** Subverted with the good guys in the train car with Beeks. Their disguises are so pitiful and Beeks already knows what they all look like (especially Winthorpe and Ophelia) from prior encounters, so he figures them out almost immediately.

* [[Phony Veteran]]: Billy Ray's con scheme at the beginning of the movie.

* [[Politically Incorrect Villain]]: The Duke brothers.

* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]: The Duke brothers.

{{quote| '''Mortimer Duke:''' Of course there's something wrong with him. He's a ''negro''. Probably been stealing since he could crawl.}}

* [[Precision F Strike]]: Mortimer Duke. So precise that actor Don Ameche didn't even want to say it (he abhorred swearing) and did only one take of the shot.

* [[Precision F-Strike]]: Mortimer Duke. So precise that actor Don Ameche didn't even want to say it (he abhorred swearing) and did only one take of the shot.

** Also a precision N-strike in the [[Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults]].

* [[Preppy Name]]: Louis Winthorpe III, Penelope Witherspoon and their country club friends.

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* [[Pygmalion Plot]]: Half of the Dukes' bet, this is the transformation they put Billy Ray through to make him an upper class gentleman. {{spoiler|They have a [[Pygmalion Snapback]] planned as soon as they're done with him, though.}}

* [[Riches to Rags]]: Happens to Louis at the beginning, and to Randolph and Mortimer at the end.

* [[Ripped ~~From~~ the Headlines]]: The Dukes' attempt at cornering the frozen concentrated orange juice market was inspired by the "Silver Thursday" crash of March 27, 1980, when the Hunt brothers of Texas tried to corner the silver market and failed to meet a $100 million margin call.

* [[Ripped from the Headlines]]: The Dukes' attempt at cornering the frozen concentrated orange juice market was inspired by the "Silver Thursday" crash of March 27, 1980, when the Hunt brothers of Texas tried to corner the silver market and failed to meet a $100 million margin call.

* [[Salt and Pepper]]: Winthorpe and Valentine.

** The working title was even "Black and White".

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** When the crop report becomes public, the price plummets. Winthorpe and Valentine fulfill their buy-later commitments at increasingly rock-bottom prices, which locks in huge profits for both men.

** The Dukes, having committed to buy a lot of frozen OJ at an outrageously high price, desperately try to unload before their huge loss gets any worse, but their trader faints before getting very far. The New York Mercantile Exchange officials demand payment from the Dukes, but since they don't have enough capital, they end up bankrupted.

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Randolph has a heart-attack and Mortimer loses his mind (with a bonus [[Precision F Strike]]) {{spoiler|after Winthorpe and Valentine bankrupt them}}.

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Randolph has a heart-attack and Mortimer loses his mind (with a bonus [[Precision F-Strike]]) {{spoiler|after Winthorpe and Valentine bankrupt them}}.

* [[Wham Line]]: "Do you really believe I would let a ''nigger'' run our family business, Randolph?" cements the idea that ''both'' of the Duke Brothers want nothing to do with Valentine after the experiment ([[Exact ~~Eaves Dropping~~|and makes Valentine aware of this fact]]). After this line, the plot changes from "let's watch this hilarious swapping of lifestyles" to "let's watch them take those miserable SOBs down!"

* [[Wham Line]]: "Do you really believe I would let a ''nigger'' run our family business, Randolph?" cements the idea that ''both'' of the Duke Brothers want nothing to do with Valentine after the experiment ([[Exact Eavesdropping|and makes Valentine aware of this fact]]). After this line, the plot changes from "let's watch this hilarious swapping of lifestyles" to "let's watch them take those miserable SOBs down!"