Yeah, it’s not really blackface. I’ve always thought of blackface as something that’s demeaning to the race. This was just a disguise, very much like Gene Wilder’s in Silver Streak.
@@scott-mercer actually 48Hrs. was Eddie's first film, in 1982. Best Defense was in 1984. I remember it when I went to see it, and was mad at my date (she begged to go see it) because the movie was so bad (IMO) and Eddie was used so sporadically in it. Murphy needed to bounce back after that turkey Best Defense, and that's when he followed up with Beverly Hills Cop, a fantastic film.
The night my grandmother died in 1988 after a long battle with cancer, my mother and grandfather popped this into the VCR. She stirred briefly from her haze, stated "Oh I love this movie," laughed, and drifted back into the haze. It was the last thing she ever said.
I hope they left it on for her. Even when they're not responding people at that stage are able to hear their surroundings. Im glad that there was an atmosphere she could enjoy. 😢
The guy playing Beeks is also the principal in "Breakfast Club". Two great roles. One of the baggage handlers is future US Senator Al Franken & the pawn broker is rock n roll icon Bo Didley
Fun Fact: Don Ameche, who played Mortimer Duke, really didn't like to curse, so he screams "Fuck him!", he actually apologized beforehand to the entire cast, crew on the set and did the scene in one take. A true professional. Another Fun Fact: The cop who says mockingly "it's an opera" back to Winthorpe is Frank Oz, the voice of Yoda. The more you know!
Frank Oz also appeared in another Dan Aykroyd movie: The Blues Brothers. Frank Oz portrayed a Correctional Officer who gave John Belushi back his belongings from when he entered Joliet Prison.
I never get over how talented Eddie Murphy was at such a young age. You accept him here as a fully formed movie star when in reality this was filmed when he was 21 and it's only his second movie.
@@graham974 Eddie's fall from being the top comic probably started around the eary 90s. I mean he's still making bank doing the donkey in the Shrek movies but its a lot less meaningful being a comic who sold out arenas and starred in his own movies.
@@joemckim1183 he aged out of the role, he played the same guy in every movie, but as he gets older he cant be the young hyper active type on screen, the nutty professor was his last major solo and he had moved past in by that point, Donkey is a perfect solution because its just voice work, he could be doing that at aged 80
The actor who plays the butler in "Trading Places" is named Denholm Elliott. Elliott played Dr. Marcus Brody alongside Harrison Ford (--> Indiana Jones) in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". In total, Denholm Elliott appeared in two Indiana Jones movies and many other productions. "Trading Places" is a great movie. Although it was filmed in 1983, it is still relevant today and absolutely worth seeing. Great reaction. 👏
Fun fact: This "sell high then buy back cheap to cover the 'Short Sales'" is exactly how that whole Gamestop fiasco happened a few years ago. They literally made a small fortune on this tactic, and because "outsiders" pulled it off, the stock market changed the rules for market trading.
*Coming to America (1988)* is a must-watch follow-up. Eddie Murphy and John Landis join forces again to hit it even further out of the park, and it's even an unofficial sequel to this movie. One tip: don't do any research before watching it, but make sure to check out the cast in the credits afterwards.
Aykroyd and Murphy were good friends already from the extended SNL community. Their chemistry in this when taking on the Dukes is just gold. I absolutely love the crazy shit going on in the train, between the accents and gorillas and DGAF staff, it's all so zany and great. Just a wild sketch they decided to keep in the film. And Don Ameche's meltdown when the Dukes are ruined is one of the all time great meltdowns in a comedy. It's still very weird to me watching Aykroyd and Murphy walk past the entrance to World Trade Center 2.
This was a pretty big movie for Aykroyd since a lot of folks in Hollywood thought he wouldn't work as an actor/comedian following the death of John Belushi (since they were such a double-act onscreen). This put those fears to rest and then with "Ghostbusters" the next year, it was completely forgotten.
Hey Sam and Daniel, one of my favorite Flicks ever. Great choice. ---- Even I laugh at the black face and the Jamaican accent. Don't worry if you laugh (ITS FUNNY STUFF!!!!!) Laughs a minute, I think Sam's face is still hurting after watching this flick.
Thw way Coleman told Billy on his first day "whatever you do, just be yourself, they cant take that from you", you can tell Coleman not only appreciated Billy's appreciation of Coleman, but also Coleman despised what the Dukes were doing and felt bad that Billy was caught up in it. Thats a good writing moment.
Going to love this, and I'm already looking forward to you guys reaction to " Coming to America" staring Eddie Murphy which takes place in the same universe.
This movie led to a new law being introduced called 'The Eddie Murphy Law' to stop the exact situation that happens in the movie from ever happening to the stock market in real life. The movie studio didn't want Jamie Lee Curtis in the movie but the director fought them on it. They thought she was just the scream queen from Halloween and still an unknown actress. And director John Landis always puts a fake movie poster called "See You Next Wednesday" in every one of his movies. In this movie, it's in Jamie's apartment on the bedroom wall. In American Werewolf in London it was in the subway tube :)
I was just going to add this point, yes I read that in University courses on Finance, etc and as you said it's called "The Eddie Murphy rule" based on the fact that it was insider training.
The rule was named after the film but it wasn't the film that lead to the rule. The rule wasn't introduced until 2010 and was a rule for the commodities market, it was already illegal to use insider info on the stock market long before the movie came out.
The shorter of the two Gorilla handlers was Senator Al Franken. He also showed up in the end of Ghostbusters 2. Former SNL cast with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy.
The term "blackface" has been redefined in the last couple of decades or so. The reason Eddie Murphy had no problem with what Dan Akroyde did here (and virtually no one else did either) is because, from the 1920s or so, up until recently, no one called that blackface. Blackface was a very specific type of theater where white people would put on super dark shoe polish, leaving a cartoonish 'lips' area unpainted, and then did stereotypical music in an exaggerated 'black voice'. It was incredibly insulting and came from racist motives. By the 1970s most people recognized blackface was horrible. But, no one considered realistic skin tone matching to be "blackface". For example, if you wanted to be Mr. T for Halloween, and you didn't have his skin tone, you would use makeup along with the mohawk to look like him. Anyone who saw you would know you were a fan of Mr. T. This was absolutely not called "blackface" or thought to be bad (even by most black people). It was just looking like the person. There was no cartoonish lip left in the makeup. There was not necessarily any racist motivation or intention to make fun of black people in general. But sometime after the 90s people started suddenly calling any realistic skin tone matching of a darker skinned person to be "blackface", maybe in order to give it the same negative connotation.
YAY! LOVE THIS MOVIE! It was originally going to star Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor as a stock broker and his chauffeur switch lives for a week in order to see how different their lives would have turned out.
Great reactions guys like always a fun-fact. The cop in booking that finds the PCP on Louis was Frank Oz, the famous puppeteer and voice for Yoda and many other Muppets and characters like Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Grover and Cookie Monster. He plays a similar role in Blues Brothers. Keep up the amazing work
In my opinion the whole train scene was just a reason to do a series of Saturday night live skits. It largely did not really fit into the movie but it was just pure comedy.
48 hours, trading places, Beverly Hills Cop no Comedian will ever start a career on fire like that again in the movies. Was a treat to see you both discuss it and debate it. Fun watch. Timeless Film
You guys laughed so much i can tell you loved it! ❤ The Duke brothers have a cameo in Eddie Murphys Coming To America that youd only get after watching this movie. The guy who played Clarence Beeks was always great at playing assholes. He was an incompetent cop in Die Hard, but he's best known as the school principal in The Breakfast Club.
Paul Gleason also played the Yankee executive who hired George Costanza at Steinbrenner’s behest. I’m real life, he very briefly played minor league baseball in the Cleveland Indians system.
Fun reaction! 😁 21:45 The silence was a play on the “when E.F. Hutton talks… people listen” commercials back from back in the day. 😊 18:38 This part always cracks me up. One of my favorite fourth wall breaks in any film. Eddie/Valentine’s expression like “do you see this? These mother-effers think I’m slow.” 💀😂🤣 Hope you guys get a chance to watch *Coming to America.* If you liked this movie, you’ll _love_ that one. 😊
Both Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd got their start on Saturday Night Live. I think that train black face "ba buya" song skit might have been inspired by an SNL skit.
Great reaction to a classic! Also, that's not Blackface. I'm a Black man. Trust me. Blackface would be a person wearing Black shoe polish, exaggerated large lips with bright red lipstick. It's an exaggerated and insulting depiction of Black people where the person acts dumb or slow. Akroid was just hilariously impersonating a Rasta.
One not so fun fact. In the outdoor scene where Murphy and Akroyd are walking into the stock exchange, they are standing right in front of the actual World Trade Center. It always hits me when Akroyd says "In this place, it's either kill or be killed" - right in front of the actual ground zero from a few years later.
Some additional interesting cast notes. The cop who announces that the white powder in a baggy he pulls from Louis’ coat is PCP was, Frank Oz. The Pawnbroker was early rock singer/musician, Bo Diddley. One of the two baggage handlers tending the Gorilla on the train was, Al Franken. Also, after Billy Ray and Louis get off the train and are walking to the commodities exchange in NYC, they pass in front of the ground floor of one of the twin-towers of the WTC. The exterior steel frame work is unmistakable.
27:54 - "Egg nog?" DECADES of class resentment boiled into those two words! Denholm Eliot as Coleman the butler is simply fantastic this this film! His character is rather dry and understated, but he does SO much with it! Earlier, when he's pretending to not know Winthorpe, just before he closes the door for the last time, there is a flash across his face that says, "My old boss may be a pompous ass, but nobody deserves this. I hate what my bosses the Dukes are doing, and I hate myself for the part I am being forced to play." All in a single half a second. SO good!
When I was in the army in the '80s I only owned two movies on VHS. This one and Enter the Dragon. I seen them both many times. And they just get better every time.
YOUR INTRO MUSIC IS LIKE A WARM HUG WHEN I NEED IT THE MOST. ALL ALONE I AM & FACING MANY CHALLENGES. I FIND COMFORT & PEACE IN YOUR VIDEOS. THANK YOU. SINCERELY. THANK YOU BOTH.
If you haven’t seen Coming To America, there is an Easter Egg from this movie in it. It is an Eddie Murphy led movie with a lot of cameos. I love your reactions! 💕 Have a Merry Christmas!🎁🎄
Good intro. to Eddie Murphy movies - others mention it here, but _48 Hours_ and _Beverly Hills Cop_ are good follow ups for an Eddie Murphy playlist. Dan Aykroyd - _The Blues Brothers_ an all time favorite. Fun as always!
I love how they have to warn us about blackface before movies these days lol. It was the 80's. That's how we got our kicks back then. There was no internet lol.
Frozen concentrate orange juice was a huge supermarket product back in the 1970s and 1980s. It was relatable to audiences at that time. PS. There is a restaurant in Philly today named Winthorp and Valentine.
If you haven’t seen it yet TBR and Samantha the movie “Coming to America” staring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall has a small tie in with “Trading Places.”
While the Dukes are fresh in your mind, watch "Coming to America", which also has Eddie Murphy. There's a brief connection between the movies, and that's all that I'll say to avoid spoiling it.
Nice to see you guy's enjoyed it! If you haven't watched "Coming To America" yet, you'll catch a cameo of the Dukes in that movie, alluding to this movie. Lot's of great Eddie Murphy movies. Lots already named. Eddie's 1st movie I think, was "48 Hours" with Nick Nolte. Great movie!! I don't think other reaction channels have done it, possible due to the harsh language Nolte's character does to Eddie's character, but it's explained why later in the movie.
Absolutely love this movie. My mom took me to see it when I was 11. You should also check out Beverly Hills Cop with Eddie Murphy and A Fish Called Wanda with Jamie Lee Curtis.
Eddie Murphy was only 20 yesrs old when this was filmed. $80,000 in 1983 = $254,371 now. That's a tasty starting salary. The $42,000 that she had saved would be, $133,545. And the $394,000,000 that's the Dukes lost would be $1,252,779,178 today. The cop who found the PCP in Wimthorp's pocket was Frank Oz, the voice of Miss Piggy and Yoda. The pawn broker was legendary blues guitarist, Bo Diddly. The shorter of the two guys handling the gorilla on the train was comedian Al Franken, who later went on the become a U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota. A few more John Landis joints you guys should check out... The Blues Brothers, with Danny Akroyd and John Belushi. Also, An American Wherewolf in London! Animal House, also with Belushi. 1941, yet another Landis/Belushi film.
7:52 - That man playing Coleman the butler is late actor Denholm Elliott (1922-1992). You likely recognize him from the Indiana Jones series of movies with Harrison Ford. He was Indie's right hand man, Marcus Brody.
You're going to have more Jamie Lee Curtis in this one than you've had before. 13 year old me is very happy about this. You recognized an insanely young Giancarlo Esposito in the prison scene, and the butler Denholm Elliot was Marcus Brody in the Indiana Jones films. No one ever recognizes Frank Oz though. Or Al Franken. Or Paul Gleeson... the guy who played every jackhole in the 80's if William Atherton wasn't available. Make sure to check out Coming to America as well.
To be fair though, Frank Oz's face was never as well known as his name, for obvious reasons. I also don't think I've ever seen any reactors recognize James Eckhouse (who plays the jail guard who comes to release Valentine from his cell), maybe because most RU-vid reactors are too young to have watched Beverly Hills 90210. As for Paul Gleeson, in Die Hard they needed so many jackholes that they used both him _and_ William Atherton 😀
Both Trading Places and Die Hard are examples, in my opinion, of movies with perfect casts top to bottom (starring, supporting, and cameo roles). That Paul Gleason was in both as a colossal douche underscores my point. Other examples with expansive casts: Heat Tombstone LOTR Trilogy
Not related but could you please react to “ SELENA” 1997 Starring Jennifer Lopez the true & tragic biopic of the 90s music Icon Selena! Aka The “Queen of Tejano music“ Grab your tissues!
Director John Landis has a thing for guys in gorilla suits. He loves old Hollywood movies that have stuntmen playing real gorillas. He can name a certain stuntman who made a living playing gorillas in movies and guest shots on TV shows . The Duke Brothers make a cameo appearance in the next Landis/Murphy movie "Coming to America" ! Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche are veteran actors of classic Hollywood and can be seen in movies from the 1930's !
He had such a thing for guys in gorilla suits, that he wrote, directed, and starred in a low budget comedy in 1973, "Schlock" in which he played the title character, a prehistoric ape man. He got to wear a gorilla suit through the entire film.
After this ya'll definitely need to watch another Eddie Murphy movie" Coming to America "...you'll see why about midway through the movie👍 Another great rags to riches movie ya'll have'ta react to with Richard Pryor and John Candy is " Brewster's Millions "...
Dan Akroyd\Eddie Murphy comedy movie with Dan Akroyd in black face may have been their nod to Richard Pryor\Gene Wilder's comedy movie Silver Streak in which Gene Wilder was in black face for a scene. BTW both Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd are star SNL alumni veterans. Edit: Both Don Ameche - Mortimer Duke and Ralph Bellamy - Randolph Duke were very well known Hollywood movie stars from the 1930s -1970s. Don Ameche had been out of movies and the limelight for 13 years before John Landis sought him out to play the role of Mortimer Duke in 1983...the role started a successful comeback tour for which lasted until his death in 1996.
This film has such an excellent cast, all brilliantly working together. And PS, Denholm Elliot (Coleman), you probably recognize from the Indiana Jones films.
The point with the briefcases was that they had to return it to Beeks once they had the real report otherwise he would know it had been compromised. The flaw is that having discovered the switch, he would probably know that they already had it unless he was still confused about which was the original - unlikely.
I own this move on dvd for years. It NOW says black facee? Wow how pc we have become. Its sad people just sit here and take it outta fear. Nobody was offended when this cameout. We LAUGHED. i remember.
You guys are my favorite movie reactors! Always the right amount of showing the movie, you're not hung up on people going to your patreon, and insightful commentary 🎉
