History Film / TradingPlaces

* PragmaticVillainy: While the Dukes intend to throw Billy Ray back to poverty, they were going to wait till after they went through with their plan to corner the frozen concentrate orange juice market to that. After all, Billy Ray already became notable enough to be featured in the local financial times and having him depart so suddenly would cast greater suspicion on them than they'd want.

* IgnoreTheFanservice: When Valentine regrets throwing the party at the Winthorpe estate, he goes upstairs to check on some people Coleman told him were up there. When he goes into the bedroom, a naked girl in the bad tells him she "wants" him, Valentine just tells her to [[PleasePutSomeClothesOn get dressed]] and leave.

Valentine eventually finds out about the experiment as well as the brothers' plans to undo all the success he's been having just for their own amusement, then befriends Winthorpe in order to turn the tables on the Dukes. The duo plans appropriate revenge involving a frozen-concentrated-orange-juice crop report, a train to New York, a commodities exchange floor, and the help of Ophelia and Winthorpe/Valentine's butler, Coleman.

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "Now."[[note]]Billy Ray and Winthrop choosing the exact moment to undermine the Dukes on the trade floor, knowing they gave the Dukes bad info.[[/note]]

* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: [[spoiler:Nearly everything the Dukes come up with winds up being used to bring them down, from the two men whose lives they decide to mess with to their own 'foolproof' plan to corner the market. Even the prostitute they get to assist the plan winds up working against them. If you look at how they train Valentine to be a successful broker, and likely trained Winthrope when he was younger, you could say they literally trained the gentlemen who destroyed them]].

-->'''Coleman:''' ''[to Louis]'' My life savings, sir. Try not to lose them.\\

* BadBadActing: Winthorpe , Valentine, Coleman and Ophelia do an absolutely ''awful'' job pretending to be a Jamaican Rastafari, ForeignExchangeStudent from Cameroon, a drunk Irish priest and a DumbBlonde tourist from Sweden respectively. [[spoiler:Beeks sees right through them.]]

* BaitTheDog: The Dukes start off as condescending jerks but they seem to be impressed with Valentine's CharacterDevelopment. [[spoiler: Then they gloat about sending him back to the poor house, proving they are still condescending jerks]].

* IgnoreTheFanservice: When Valentine regrets throwing the party at the Winthorpe estate, he goes upstairs to check on some people Coleman told him were up there. When he goes into the bedroom, a naked girl in the bad tells him she "wants" him, Valentine just tells her to get dressed and leave.

** Winthorpe wasn't particularly nice to begin with, either. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better.]]

* LikeADuckTakesToWater: Valentine surprises the Dukes with how easily he took to understanding the business, despite his unconventional methods. [[spoiler:They still plan on getting rid of him after the bet, though.]]

* MistakenForCheating: Invoked by Clarence Beeks who pays Ophelia to act like she's involved with Louis while he's reconciling with his fiancée Penelope, to further sabotage his life. However, [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Ophelia soon takes pity on Louis]], so she [[ThisBedOfRoses takes him in]] and [[BecomingTheMask later falls in love with him for real]].

* UncleTomFoolery: The movie subtly deconstructs this character dynamic.

* HatedByAll: [[spoiler: For all their wealth and supposed respectability, the Duke Brothers are such corrupt, nasty pieces of work that Winthorpe and Valentine plot their revenge against them for playing around with their lives all for a one-dollar bet. Winthorpe's butler, Coleman (after being ordered to participate in their scheme to ruin Winthorpe's life) ruefully refers to them as scumbags, and it's implied the NYMEX officials don't like them very much since they gleefully sell their seats and don't seem to offer them any help when they go bankrupt.]]

* HatedByAll: [[spoiler: For all their wealth and supposed respectability, the Duke Brothers are such corrupt, nasty pieces of work that Winthorpe and Valentine plot their revenge against them for playing around with their lives all for a one-dollar bet. Winthorpe's butler (after being ordered to participate in their scheme to ruin Winthorpe's life) ruefully refers to them as scumbags, and it's implied the NYMEX don't like them very much since they gleefully sell their seats and don't seem to offer them any help when they become bankrupt.]]

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: [[spoiler: For all their wealth and supposed respectability, the Duke Brothers are essentially this, with Winthorpe and Valentine looking for revenge against them for playing around with their lives all for a one-dollar bet. Winthorpe's butler (after being ordered to bar Winthorpe from his house) ruefully refers to them as scumbags, and it's implied the NYMEX don't like them very much since they gleefully sell their seats and don't seem to offer them any help when they become bankrupt.]]

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: [[spoiler: For all their wealth and respectability, the Duke Brothers are essentially this, with Winthorpe and Valentine looking for revenge against them for playing around with their lives for a one dollar bet. Winthorpe's butler ruefully refers to them as scumbags and it's implied the NYMEX don't like them very much since they gleefully sell their seats and aren't sad about them becoming bankrupt.]]

* 0%ApprovalRating: [[spoiler: For all their wealth and respectability, the Duke Brothers are essentially this, with Winthorpe and Valentine looking for revenge against them for playing around with their lives for a one dollar bet. Winthorpe's butler ruefully refers to them as scumbags and it's implied the NYMEX don't like them very much since they gleefully sell their seats and aren't sad about them becoming bankrupt.]]

* TheSociopath: The Dukes. You can't get any more sociopathic than enjoying destroying people's lives, especially if they are your own employees, for no reason than sheer amusement, and gleefully plan to throw their replacement, who turns out to be quite adept at their work, in the gutter. And even when Randolph collapses from a heart attack, Mortimer's only response is "Fuck him!"

* TheSociopath: The Dukes

* JerkToNiceGuyPlot: Louis starts the movie as a classist and racist [[UpperClassTwit jerk]] who has a homeless man arrested over a misunderstanding. The Duke brothers, wanting to settle a bet over NatureVsNurture, arranged for the two men to swap circumstances, which involves [[TraumaCongaLine ruining Louis' career, kicking him out of his home, and turning all his friends against him]]. Spending some time broke, homeless and friendless [[BreakTheHaughty finally breaks down some of Louis' arrogance]], and he starts becoming noticeably less mean.

* TookALevelInKindness: Winthorpe starts the movie out as a bigoted, elitist snob, but his experiences over the course of the movie help him grow as a person and shed his more negative qualities. His development is subtly shown near the end of the movie, where he tells a cabbie to keep the change after paying him.

* HumiliationConga: How the Dukes ruin Winthorpe's reputation and entire life. You can't help but feel sorry for the guy.

* SomethingWeForgot: [[spoiler:As Randolph Duke is being wheeled past Winthorpe and Valentine, he yells, "Where in hell is Beeks?" "Beeks!" Valentine muses [[SomethingWeForgot "Yeah, I forgot all about that guy!"]] Cut to a cage being loaded onto a ship bound for Africa, containing the amorous gorilla and Beeks, who's still in the ape costume Winthorpe and Valentine put him in when they locked him in the cage.]]

* ScaryBlackMan: The credits refer to the two characters Valentine runs into while in a jail cell as "Big Black Guy" and "Even Bigger Black Guy." Though they're less scary after getting drunk at his house party.
-->'''Even Bigger Black Guy:''' ''Where are your bitches, [[SarcasmMode "Mr. Big Time Pimp?"]]''\\

* NorseByNorseWest / YodelLand: Ophelia's [[CriticalResearchFailure costume]] when portraying "Inga from Sveden."

* SexyScandinavian: Ophelia disguises herself as this. But doesn't realize [[CriticalResearchFailure lederhosen are Bavarian/Austrian.]]

* PsychopathicManchild: The Dukes. Despite being extremely wealthy business who are well into their later years, they are ultimately nothing more than overgrown children who enjoy sadistically destroying people's lives for no other reason than sheer amusement and are just as willing to toss his replacement, who proved himself highly adept, back into the gutter due to racism and sheer petulance. [[folder: Mortimer's VillainousBreakdown is a ''monstrous'' tantrum reminiscent of a child who lost a game. Even when his brother is being carried away by a strecher, Mortimer continues to angrily rant and complain]].

-->'''Louis:''' My God. The Dukes are going to corner the entire frozen orange juice market!
-->'''Ophelia:''' Unless somebody STOPS them.
-->'''Coleman:''' Or beats them to it!
-->''(Everyone turns and look at him)''
-->'''Coleman:''' ...Eggnog?

* Bowdlerise: In current television screenings, Mortimer's line "Do you really believe I would let a nigger run our family business, Randolph?" is changed to "Do you really believe I would let ''Valentine'' run our family business, Randolph?"

* PhonyVeteran: Billy Ray's con scheme at the beginning of the movie. Blown to smithereens when the two cops who approach him turn out to be ''real'' Vietnam War veterans.

* AngryBlackMan: Billy Ray to a certain extent.
** The two thugs who accost Billy Ray in jail, but later befriend him at the party.