It may be mid-June, but it’s never too early to think about Christmas, and an iconic festival movie has a special reason to celebrate this year. A status swap comedy starring Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis, released in 1983. trading places He turned 40 this month. Yes, despite its reputation as a Christmas favourite—thanks to the haunting image of Aykroyd transforming from filthy banker dressed in a dirty Santa suit and drunkenly chewing salmon—director John Landis’ comedy initially hit theaters during the peak summer months. like the heels of blockbuster movies Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi And War games.
After the June 1983 release, trading places It was a huge hit, emerging as the fourth biggest box office hit of the year. In the four decades since then, it has been tirelessly reassessed through a more culturally sensitive lens, cementing a legacy as both a classic that boasted ’80s comedy gold and a controversial relic of its time with timeless pieces. quite a few Very good.
However, for at least one of the three lead actors, the film still holds a singular place in their narrative filmography. Speaking to us from the set of the yet-untitled December movie, Aykroyd says, “I count that movie as A-3.” Ghostbusters: Afterlife more “It was clever and funny and there was a lot going for it. It was really satisfying.”
for the original Saturday night live cast, trading places He came at a crucial time in his burgeoning film career. After early success with Landis’ 1980 hit Blues Brothers next to him SNL partner John Belushi starred in slightly less acclaimed romps such as Aykroyd 1981’s. neighbors and the 1983s Doctor Detroit Before she cleverly reunites with Landis.
trading places Aykroyd stars as Louis Winthorpe III, a wealthy and smug investor who changes their lives with a street kid swindler named Billy Ray Valentine, played by then.SNL Wonder boy Murphy. The transition is the result of a brutal claim orchestrated by hardcore Wall Street millionaires Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) and Mortimer (Don Ameche), and Louis enlists the help of Curtis-played Ophelia, a prostitute, to help him regain his high status. Together, the trio try to reverse the situation of the smug old men responsible for their class-based crisis.
Akyroyd remembers taking on the role: “Paramount, like Eddie, approached me and I was hired basically through executives at the studio.” “I loved the role. [Herschel] weingrod and [Timothy] Harris wrote that movie. They wrote it on a fax machine – one in Michigan, one in Los Angeles, and they created pages by sending it back and forth.
After that trading places It was such a hit after its release (making over $90 million worldwide on a $15 million budget), Murphy became one of the highest paid movie stars of the decade. Meanwhile, he paved the way for Curtis to get rid of him. Halloween fear links and Aykroyd will march towards what’s coming Ghost Hunters success after just one year.
“[Eddie] He was just beginning to develop his comedic talent and comedic voice. “Seeing such emerging talent and being a part of it was part of the history of cinema,” says Aykroyd. “Jamie Lee Curtis and I became good friends and have remained so to this day.”
Topping them all was Landis, who became one of the most dominant comedy directors of the decade. Aykroyd attributes the film’s success entirely to Landis’ vision and had worked with the director only three years before that. Blues BrothersHe knew exactly what to expect on set.
“We had a great director, so that always helps,” he explains. “We also had 100 percent total support from the studio until its release. They were behind us the whole way. basically just what i did [Landis] an old-school director like Cecil B. DeMille told me. The only thing missing is the riding whip, the boots and the megaphone.
Photo: Stanley Bielecki Film Collection/Getty Images
“He’s an action director, so as long as he leans in and gives close notes on my performance, that’s not his style,” Aykroyd continues. “He’s waiting for you to come packed with your bags, knowing your lines and what tone and intonation to put in them, and if he wants to change something, he’ll shout it throughout the set. I have always enjoyed working with John because he is a true movie buff. He understands better than most people I work with. He loves movies and has made some great movies in his career.”
Despite a financial and critical blow in 1983, the intervening years have not been kind. trading places. While its comedy and nostalgia still resonate (it still scores solid on Rotten Tomatoes), the film’s intricate details are hard to miss. For starters, Curtis has the prostitute character and his profession has little bearing on the overall plot aside from being eye-catching for the mainly male cast. Could he literally have another job and fulfill his role in the same way? Probably.
Then there is the everyday racism and homophobia, which was a disturbing feature of the time it was made. And while it’s augmented for comedic effect at the expense of the characters who use it, it still makes for a disturbing viewing. For example, heavy allusions to gorilla rape as a counterpart to Paul Gleason’s treacherous Clarence are disturbing, but perhaps laughable enough to be played as a joke.
But the not so easily forgiven scene includes Aykroyd’s costume choice during the movie’s fancy dress finale set on New Year’s Eve.
“Well, my face was black in that movie and I probably couldn’t get away with it now,” admits Akyroyd, now thinking of the scene in which he appears as a Jamaican character with rasta hair and a Caribbean accent. Eddie and I were improvising there. Eddie is a Black man and all Black people around him, and I don’t think they even blink. There was no objection then; nobody said anything. It was a good comic book beat that stayed true to the story.
He acknowledges, however, that the scene cannot be replicated today. “I probably wouldn’t have chosen to play a dark-faced role, and that wouldn’t have been allowed. “I probably wouldn’t be allowed to speak a Jamaican accent, a white face, or a Black one,” she says. “In these days we live in, everything goes out the window. I would have a hard time getting a British accent and getting away with it. They’d say, ‘Oh, you’re not British, you can’t do that’.”
Speaking of memorable scenes, we had to ask: Did Santa really eat that salmon covered in his dirty beard?
Aykroyd smiles, “Of course I ate salmon from the beard.” “Absolutely. Buy it after you get it, I can tell you.
Despite its focus on inequality between the rich and the poor – an important theme that is as current and pervasive as ever these days –trading places It has become one of the most enjoyed holiday classics alongside others. Die Hard And scrooged. As for his legacy 40 years later, Aykroyd is pleased to find the film’s fans: “Right there, it’s a wonderful life or A Christmas Story” he tells us. “trading places It is one of those movies that people love to watch at Christmas. That’s when I hear his name the most. I am proud of that.”