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Rating: What's more punctual than a Japanese high-speed train? The answer is simple: Trading Places on Christmas Eve.
Who knows if John Landis ever imagined such a success for one of his films. And if he ever thought that one of his movies could become a Christmas classic for the inhabitants of the boot-shaped country.
Tonight, the classic will air for the twenty-fifth time. Twenty-five, a very relevant number, I'd say. Class of 1983, released in American theaters six months before Christmas and in Italian ones just after the departure of the Three Wise Men, is a piece of our childhood (I believe I can extend this sentiment to many) and our lives. You understand well that the nostalgia operation takes on explosive contours if we consider that since the late '90s, the masters of the airwaves decided to give it the most relevant of temporal (and seasonal) allocations. The magic of Christmas, combined with the stomach-tightening nostalgia of times gone by: you are the evil geniuses of TV ratings.
Let's make sense of this narrative and get to the beginnings and the legendary protagonists. Initially, the original title of the film was to be “Black & White” (quite risky), and the leads were supposed to be Gene Wilder (Young Frankenstein) and Richard Pryor (The Toy), already famous for their comedy “Stir Crazy” and future stars in the film they would make together in 1989 “See No Evil, Hear No Evil”. Fate had it that Pryor, before the final decision, was involved in an accident, sustaining some disabling burns, which of course took him out of the running for the part. The immediate thought for a replacement was the king of sporadic laughter, the standout from “Saturday Night Live”: Edward Regan “Eddie” Murphy. People were already crazy about him for the aforementioned TV show, and additionally, Eddie had just taken the cinema world by storm with his legendary portrayal of the con artist Reggie Hammond, alongside the blonde Nick Nolte, in “48 Hrs.” It's not hard to imagine that a benign arrogance had already possessed the young stand-up comic from New York. I mention arrogance because it was he who did not want Gene Wilder as a shooting partner, so as not to appear as a second choice replacement for Pryor. These were not the only difficulties during the long casting process. For the role of Mortimer Duke, the greedy brother of Randolph Duke, Don Ameche was chosen, but not before causing a commotion by hiring an unsuspecting namesake, convinced that the original had died. With Google at hand, they wouldn't have made that mistake, for sure.
The legendary Coleman could have been played by Ronnie Barker, a now-deceased British actor, had he not turned it down because he was too lazy to leave his homeland. And I must say, thank goodness, since Denholm Mitchell Elliott still remains today in the ranking of the best butlers ever, after the legendary Geoffrey Butler of the Banks household (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).
The journey was also tortuous for the splendid Jamie Lee Curtis, who at the time had participated in some B-movie horrors and was considered more of a scream queen than a regular actress. Her fortune came by participating in the horror documentary “Coming Soon” with Landis, who noticed her and deemed her suitable for the role of the prostitute Ophelia.
Dan Aykroyd had been a distinguished co-star in the musical comedy “The Blues Brothers” and was considered again by Landis (even if Paramount wasn't convinced), who had already worked with him on that occasion. Dan had worked so well alongside John Belushi that he was perfect as a co-star alongside a scene-stealer like Murphy.
“Trading Places” (this is the original title of the film) was shot between New York and Philadelphia. Although the Italian title is, in my opinion, more fitting, the original one refers to the main theme of the story: the stock market and the role swap.
I watched the film for the first time when I was eight years old and even then, I hadn't understood a blessed thing about everything revolving around frozen orange juice and the like. Not that I have it all under control today, but I’d say it's clearer. The intrigue that arises from the meager and insignificant bet by the Duke brothers causes untold damages and even at the time, the idea was to show that everything revolved around money, from greed to social redemption.
The immortal soundtrack of Trading Places was composed by Elmer Bernstein, who used the opera “The Marriage of Figaro” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as the background theme for the score. The Marriage of Figaro tells the story of a servant who is wronged by his wealthy employer, Count Almaviva, and gets revenge by revealing the Count's schemes. More fitting than this.
I love the imagery in the opening titles, where we see a lively Philadelphia of the early Eighties, with the cars of the time, people walking on the sidewalks of the suburbs, eventually moving downtown, where the legendary Billy Ray Valentine plays his part as a homeless person. How can you not love the slicked-back hair and the expression of a wealthy snob of Louis Winthorpe III, subservient to the rich, snooty fiancée Penelope, niece of the stingy uncles, the Duke brothers.
After twenty-five years, Dan Aykroyd for us nerds is mostly Ray Stantz from Ghostbusters, armed with a trap and proton pack. An absolute legend. And who forgot his face during Ophelia's topless scene after Louis' image crashes. And the gum spinning in her mouth, behind that fake man-eater smile of a seasoned woman. And the train that takes us and the gang to New York towards the end of the film, how much did it make us laugh and continues to do so? Despite the primeval sodomy at the finale, it's at this point that the revenge surfaces. The good guys, initially turned against each other by a bet with Scottish overtones (I don't mention Genoese for nationalism), win and the bad guys succumb. The keenest Eddie Murphy fans and those familiar with his films will know where we will meet the Duke brothers again in poverty. A brilliant cameo that not everyone knows or remembers.
In short, in twenty-five years, Trading Places has been a highlight of the Christmases from my childhood, teenage years, and adulthood. I've followed it, I've kept it solely as background noise while wrestling with wrapping paper, bows, and tape. I've immortalized it forever by buying DVDs and then Blu-ray discs. And I will introduce it to my daughters, hoping that the folks at Mediaset will continue the tradition without playing tricks.
I am ready this time too, and woe betide anyone who disturbs me. We won't even be there for Santa Claus himself.
And best wishes to all.
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