The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Trading Places
Comedy · 1983
A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
Movie details
Trading Places
“They're not just getting rich... They're getting even.”
1983 Comedy 1h 56m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Trading Places?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Where it lives
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Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Landis
Written by
Timothy Harris · Herschel Weingrod
Dan Aykroyd
Louis Winthorpe III
Eddie Murphy
Billy Ray Valentine
Ralph Bellamy
Randolph Duke
Don Ameche
Mortimer Duke
Denholm Elliott
Coleman
Jamie Lee Curtis
Ophelia
Paul Gleason
Clarence Beeks
Court is in session
Put Trading Places on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.