Sunday Matinee #32 Trading Places
A dollar in 1983 is like three dollars today!
Hi, big thinkers and movie goers. Welcome to a new R-Rated Movie Club entry. I hope you had a good weekend and wish you well as you prepare for the week to come. I appreciate your readership as I have fun with this creative outlet. Here we go!
Quotes with Notes
Genesis 45:8
Full Text: Genesis 45:1-15 (Revised Common Lectionary)
12th Sunday after Pentecost (August 20, 2023)
Sign up for a free course at EnterTheBible.org to learn more.
Context: Last week in Genesis 37, we saw Joseph’s brothers beat him up, take his robe, throw him in a pit, and sell him off into slavery in Egypt. But oh how the tables have turned as we reach Genesis 45. Now, Joseph is a trusted leader in Pharaoh’s court, his homeland is in the midst of famine, and his brothers have come to him seeking aid. At first, they don’t recognize him, and Joseph takes advantage of this. Just when they are about to give in to despair, he reveals his identity. They are afraid of what he will do to them because of what they did to him. Instead, he has a surprise for them all: forgiveness.
See the post Rack Focus: Switching to the Old Testament to learn more about the whole story.
8 So it was not you who sent me here but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Trading Places | 1983 Cinema Group Ventures, Paramount Pictures | IMDB
Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, Jamie Lee Curtis
Written by Timothy Harris & Herschel Weingrod | Directed by John Landis
Context: The Duke Brothers (Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche) are high-stakes players on Wall Street. For their own bemusement, they bet one dollar on whether they can force up-and-coming commodities broker Louis Winthorpe (Dan Aykroyd) and street hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) to trade places and see what happens. When their pawns realize the game they’re in, they turn the tables. Winthorpe and Valentine corner the market and the Dukes are financially ruined. They confront the pair on the trading floor.
Louis Winthorpe: Happy New Year!
Randolph Duke: Winthrop.
Mortimer Duke: Valentine.
Billy Ray Valentine: Hey, how did you all make out today?
Mortimer Duke: How could you do this to us after everything we’ve done for you?
Billy Ray Valentine: Oh, see, I made Louis a bet here. Louis bet me that we couldn’t both get rich and put you all in the poor house at the same time. He didn’t think we could do it. I won.
Louis Winthorpe: I lost. One dollar.
Billy Ray Valentine: Thank you, Louis.
Commentary:
After twelve weeks of summer entries going through Genesis, we now reach the climax of this family dynasty story. We looked at the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Esau, and now Joseph and his brothers. The young dreamer’s brothers had beat him up, threw him in a pit, took his precious coat, and sold him into slavery. But to everyone’s surprise, Joseph found his way in Egypt and became one of Pharaoh’s top advisors. When a famine hit his homeland and his family came seeking aid, Joseph relished the opportunity to see what happens when his brothers are at his mercy.
He exposes to them that he is their brother, that he lived, and he has done well. They are afraid at first that he might seek revenge. Instead, he reassures them that this is a good thing, and God turned what was terrible into that which is good.
We get to see into Joseph’s head all along. We know his plot to send for his brothers, to tell them they must let their youngest brother stay with him forever, and all the other pieces he puts into place before his big identity reveal. As the “audience,” we are ahead of the brothers and right alongside Joseph.
The last few chapters of Genesis remind me a bit of the last half of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo. We all know that Scottie (James Stewart) is convinced that “Madeline” and Judy (Kim Novak) are the same person. Their journey toward the finale is captivating and grueling. We know what he knows, and we see her eventually figure it out, too, and it just keeps going. This works here, because like the Genesis story, we’re ahead of the brothers and ahead of Judy, but we’re right alongside Joseph and Scottie. Contrast that with a movie like The Matrix where we are ahead of Neo (Keanu Reeves) and we just want the movie to get going.
Joseph’s reveal is joyful for him and his brothers. That isn’t the same for the reveal in Trading Places. It’s a good day on Wall Street for Louis Winthorpe (Dan Aykroyd) and Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy), but not so much for the Duke Brothers (Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche). Randolph and Mortimer Duke cast Winthorpe into a pit of poverty, took his precious coat, and gave it to Valentine to see what would happen. Was it for bragging rights? A Nobel prize? No, but a dollar!
We get to see Winthorpe and Valentine team-up to take down the Dukes. We’re right alongside them and take delight in watching the Dukes set themselves up for failure. When Winthorpe gives Valentine one dollar for their little bet about ruining the Dukes, their smiles are infectious.
In real life, revenge doesn’t solve anything. In the movies, it can be a lot of fun to watch, even if it’s not something to emulate. As for stories like Joseph and his brothers, revenge is given up for forgiveness, followed by reconciliation. What has God called you to, revenge or forgiveness? Has anyone ever sought revenge on you? What has forgiveness looked like in your life?
Speaking of “Old Hollywood” like Vertigo, both Bellamy and Ameche are old school, too. Both experienced a slight career resurgence in the 1980s, and Ameche took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1986 for Cocoon after 50 years in the biz. Both were known for playing “nice guys” most of their careers (while it’s hard not to want Walter and Hildy to get back together in His Girl Friday, it’s also tough not to love Bellamy’s Bruce Baldwin fiance character). Well, there was that time Ralph Bellamy played an evil (literally!) physician in Rosemary’s Baby.
On a final note, I watched Trading Places a ton as a kid from a VHS tape we recorded off ABC and the “Edited for Television” version. The uncut R-rated version with its swearing and nudity is still very foreign to me!
A Word of Encouragement
Be kind to yourself and watch out for each other. May what you seek be found, and may what is found have an abundance of love at its center. And to today’s preachers, may the sermon you crafted and the prayers you lift reveal the everlasting presence of the Holy Spirit. God’s peace and good movies to you!
Thank you for being an R-Rated Movie Club reader. Subscribers receive weekly entries plus the monthly Feature Presentation. Paid subscribers get Bonus Content including bonus essays, early previews and podcast audio, the ability to leave comments, and more. Take your subscription to the next level today.