History Fridge / TradingPlaces

* Penelope [[BitchInSheepsClothing turning out to be]] a GoldDigger makes a good deal of sense: remember, she is related to the Dukes, two rotten humans who can also pretend to be nice when it suits them. It isn't hard to imagine that they instilled their selfish worldview into their niece, and because of that, she would become the kind of person willing to ditch her "beloved" the second he gets in trouble.

* The humiliation Louis endured drove him to frame Billy Ray for drugs, angrily run around a party waving a gun, and ''two'' suicide attempts. If [[SpannerInTheWorks Ophelia]] hadn't taken pity on Louis and given him a place to stay, how far would he have gone? Could Louis have shot someone? And if Louis had died, how would Billy Ray have defended himself against the Dukes?

** The Dukes have the usual snobby attitudes toward the poor and think of themselves as geniuses, but their scheme isn't born from ''any'' real guile or scheming: they bribed someone to get an unreleased crop report. Effectively, they paid someone to do their homework for them. Meanwhile, Billy Ray successfully bet on the price of a commodity using his street smarts without having to pay anyone for information underhandedly. That's not even getting into the fact that for all their success, the Dukes were born into wealth, so they can't exactly be said to have ''earned'' anything they've got.

** Winthorpe, after losing his job, reputation, support network, and wealth in a short amount of time doesn't just become a desperate lout but goes so far as to mooch off the buffet, point a weapon at Billy Ray, plant drugs on his desk, angrily threaten partygoers with a gun, and even attempt suicide. Even when Billy Ray was homeless, he never pointed weapons at people or used drugs (aside from that one joint).

* In the movie, the degeneration of each rich character is reflected [[TraumaCongaLine by the speed and extent to which they fall from grace]], but also underlines how supposedly good people can behave once they lose their comforts:
** Winthorpe, after losing his job, reputation, support network, and wealth in a short amount of time doesn't just become a desperate lout but goes so far as to mooch off the buffet, point a weapon at Billy Ray, plant drugs on his desk, and angrily threaten partygoers with a gun. Even when Billy Ray was homeless, he never pointed weapons at people or used drugs (aside from that one joint).

** Ophelia only chatted up Louis as a prank and was crestfallen to realise she ruined his life.

** The Dukes have the usual snobby attitudes toward the poor and think of themselves as geniuses, but their scheme isn't born from ''any'' real guile or scheming: they bribed someone to get an unreleased crop report. Effectively, they paid someone to do their homework for them. Meanwhile, Billy Ray successfully bet on the price of a commodity using his own street smarts without having to pay anyone for information underhandedly.

* Penelope becomes convinced that her fiancé is a philandering crook due to her uncles' schemes, and their ruin will likely devastate her own finances as well, especially if she doesn't have relatives or friends to support her. And it's likely Louis won't be coming to bail her out of trouble either. She might not be a very good person, but she probably doesn't deserve to end up in the poor house.

** The Dukes also made the incredibly arrogant decision of betting ''everything'' they had on one gamble without planning for anything to go wrong.

** Louis' own co-workers, despite singing about brotherhood, are all too quick to ditch their "brother" once he gets into a lick of trouble.
* Billy Ray not only manages to learn the commodities game but also uses human behavior to predict that the price of pork bellies would keep going down. But how would he understand this? Billy Ray is aware that people are afraid of losing their money because he's experienced genuine poverty and knows how frightening it is. The Dukes, men born with silver spoons in their mouths, wouldn't understand this feeling and wouldn't be able to make the same guess.

* Also, Coleman shows genuine concern for Billy Ray. Being a working-class guy, it makes sense why he would feel bad for Billy Ray and resent the Dukes for their classism and scheming.

* Getting trapped in a gorilla costume and shipped off to Africa (as another gorilla's lover, no less!) is horrifying enough. But he's stuck in that (likely very hot) suit with duct tape over his mouth. He can't eat, drink, or even call out for help. It's a much more life-threatening situation than it initially appears: [[CruelAndUnusualDeath he could either starve to death, dehydrate or get mauled by the gorilla]]. Granted, [[KickTheSonOfABitch he was an asshole who ruined people's lives]], but it is still a nasty fate for anyone to go through.
* Penelope starts the movie with deep affection for Louis. Then he gets into a lick of trouble and [[NoSympathy she starts treating him especially coldly, not caring about the horrible night he's had]], and then ditches him just because of something that could easily be a prank (which is how Ophelia takes it). Considering how quick Penelope was to leave Louis over the smallest sign of trouble, [[AwfulWeddedLife what kind of married life would Louis have had with Penelope]]? The fact that she turns on him so quickly implies that her "love" was [[GoldDigger pure opportunism]] and Louis could've been trapped in a cold and abusive relationship, if not divorced with half his assets given to Penelope. The Dukes may have (inadvertently) done him a favor by having Penelope dump him, allowing Louis to find a woman who would genuinely love him.
* The humiliation Louis endured drove him to frame Billy Ray for drugs, angrily run around a party waving a gun, and ''two'' suicide attempts. If [[SpannerInTheWorks Ophelia]] hadn't taken pity on Louis and given him a place to stay, how far would he have gone? And if Louis had died, how would Billy Ray have defended himself against the Dukes?