Parents' Guide to

Trading Places

By Alex Orner, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

1980s comedy pokes fun at the rich; has sexism, stereotypes.

Movie R 1983 116 minutes
Trading Places Movie Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Trading Places Movie: Scene #1
  • Trading Places Movie: Scene #2
  • Trading Places Movie: Scene #3

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 7 parent reviews

wimvdam
wimvdam Parent of 11-year-old
January 4, 2024
age 10+

Great for mature GIRLS.

I think this is a great movie for people who can handle violence, nudity, and really bad words. But for people who can handle it, this is a movie that has a lot of humor. My favorite scene was when Clarence Beeks was a female gorilla. I also like how it has many positive messages. But I would say that this movie can be inappropriate to some people. From his 8 and 11 year old daughters.
kristin1234
kristin1234 Parent of 16-year-old
December 26, 2021
age 16+

Overall, it was funny with a good message.

I watched this with my 16-year-old and felt totally comfortable with her seeing it. There is nothing sexual in it. There are several scenes where women are topless — there was one scene where there was dancing at a party and two women take their tops off and dance. But I don’t recall there being partners when they were dancing (it was a big group) and there was certainly no sexual grinding or anything like that. I took that scene as an opportunity to point out that nowadays if someone did that, they would be filmed and it would be posted on the Internet, so it’s not something anybody would do now. There were also a couple of other scenes where Jamie Lee Curtis gratuitously took her top off when changing but there was nothing sexual that happened. There was also swearing occasionally throughout, but nothing my child has not heard. There was one use of the N-word, which is always shocking, by one of the people of the lowest character in the movie. There was also use of the word Negro twice also by people of low character. There was also a reference to a woman who was a prostitute as a whore, a word I personally hate. Finally, there was a scene where Dan Aykroyd painted his face to appear African-American, which was part of a kind of ridiculous plot point. All that said , it was funny and good-humored with a good message about respecting people in all walks of life.
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What's the Story?

TRADING PLACES tells the story of greedy, wealthy Wall Street brothers Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) Duke, who bet on whether environment or heredity defines a man. The pawns in their game are smart-mouthed street hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) and affluent investment executive Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd). The bet entails taking Winthorpe's power and money and giving it to Billy Ray to see whether nature or nurture will take over. When both Valentine and Winthorpe get wind of the brothers' scheme, they join forces to turn the tables on the Dukes.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (15 ):

This bawdy comedy insightfully raises issues about economic inequality and class structure in America. Both Aykroyd and Murphy make Trading Places memorable with their performances, and there are fun cameos by Al Franken and Jim Belushi. But the movie uses so many stereotypes, plus a near constant stream of sexist content, that you may want to find your conversation starters about wealth and morality elsewhere.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the overall message of Trading Places. Does positive behavior come from nature, or nurture? Are people who are born with money more or less likely to commit crimes? Do you agree with the film?

  • Why do some movies objectify women? What effect does it have on you, as the viewer? Would you feel differently if male characters were objectified instead? And what's the difference between a camera that objectifies its subject versus a neutral depiction?

  • A party in Trading Places shows White characters wearing traditional clothing from different cultures as costumes, including one character donning blackface. Is this OK? Why, or why not?

  • How do characters use teamwork to take down the Duke villains? Why is this an important character strength?

Movie Details

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