Episode 281 - Trading Places
About this episode
The episode discusses the film Trading Places and its connections to 1980s comedy and Hollywood's evolving representation of black stars.
In this episode of the show our trip through John Landis comedies of the 1980s continues with Trading Places . Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about this movie as less an example of the 80s-native edgy sketch comedy but rather an evocation of the spirit of classic screwball comedies in the style of Frank Capra and Howard Hawks. We talk about the chemistry between Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, Hollywood slowly waking up to a possibility that a black star could carry a movie (but still only in an ensemble or a buddy setup) and where John Landis and his edge fits in all this. Finally, we discuss the infamous blackface scene and the gorilla gag, while also wondering about how exactly trading worked in the pre-digital era. Tune in and enjoy! Hosts: Jakub Flasz & Randy Burrows Head over to uncutgemspodcast.com to find all of our archival episodes and more! Follow us on Twitter (…
People in this episode
Hosts: Jakub Flasz, Randy Burrows
Topics covered
- John Landis comedies
- 1980s film
- screwball comedy
- Hollywood representation
- blackface
- film analysis
Keywords
- Trading Places
- John Landis
- Dan Aykroyd
- Eddie Murphy
- screwball comedy
- 1980s
- blackface
- Hollywood
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: John Landis
Books & works: Trading Places, screwball comedies, Frank Capra, Howard Hawks
More episodes of Uncut Gems Podcast
- Episode 286 - Stakeout
- 80s Icons 07 - E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
- Episode 285 - Dragnet
- Mike Nichols Marathon 19 - Closer
- Episode 284 - Running Scared
- Episode 283 - Three Amigos
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