31 days of festive-ass flicks, day 24: trading places

YOU GUYS, tonight I actually managed to finish watching all of the movies for 31 Days of Festive-Ass Flicks [CALENDAR] and I have never felt so FREE. I don’t EVER have to watch a holiday movie again if I don’t want to! I AM DONE. Now I just have to write eight more posts. CRIES. Starting with this one.

Movie number 24 was Trading Places which, despite my love of 80s movies, I had managed to never see.

I really liked it. And I laughed a lot. And I cringed a lot. And I reignited my passion for Jamie Lee Curtis a lot. And it was funny and good and enjoyable and nicely set into a holiday tradition of dark humor and capitalist critique.

This is another one where I wrote a lot of notes, but where they don’t really say anything of value/interest. And where I haven’t formed any particular coherent/interesting observations to make. It’s basically a lot of me going OH WHAT YES I LOVE IT DAN AYKROYD FOREVER JAMIE LEE CURTIS EDDIE MURPHY COLEMAN THE BUTLER OH I LOVE THIS OH NO NOT BLACKFACE JIM BELUSHI OH THAT IS THE WORST PERSON IN GORILLA SUIT EVER AND THEN THE “REAL” GORILLA IS ALMOST WORSE WAIT NO BESTIALITY RAPE JOKES OH LORD THEM FACES

And, like, that’s not real interesting.

I liked that Eddie Murphy just like, takes to the job no problem. And I love him distrusting everything. And I love Jamie Lee Curtis taking Dan Aykroyd in like the beautiful perfect broken baby bird that he is. And I love them scheming and taking down those old fuckers and stuff.

Anyway, STUFF:

I LOVED the old-ass technology. Car phones! Green-on-black computers! Everything is so almost-current-but-so-many-years-behind in this. LOVE IT. The 80s were a good time to have money.

Love the flawless 80s decorating. Oversized plants and vases and black bathroom fixtures. And Eddie Murphy awkwardly bathing in them.

Super-erotic arrested Dan Aykroyd.

Eddie Murphy breaking the fourth wall and STARING HARD when they’re explaining bacon to him. Like, this got the hardest laugh out of me BY FAR. I rewound it like four times and laughed harder every time.

Dream couple?!

THAT STUPID HIDEOUS TERRIBLE GORILLA OH GOD

And last, my favorite. Eddie Murphy’s and Dan Aykroyd’s little SMILES when they’re in the train station with Coleman the Butler and Jamie Lee Curtis. Just. I died forever. THEM FACES 5EVER.

So, yeah, I liked it a lot and I will likely watch it many more times in my life.

And as always, gawd bless festive breasts.*

* I hope my appreciation of nudity in movies comes off with the lighthearted intention with which it is written. I think it’s pretty clear by now that I am a feminist and that I also love bodies of all kinds and that I am also SUPER pro-nudity. We exist in a culture that has and continues to systematically base a woman’s worth on her appearance and that shouldn’t be the case. No woman should ever be coerced, forced, shamed, or made to feel worthless because of her decision to show or not show her nude body in any place or media. I hope that Jamie Lee Curtis showed her wonderful breasts of her own choice and with the great gusto they deserve. I really love her character too and I hope that we’re nearing the day where she could’ve appeared in this without having to be a love interest.