Trading Places poster
Trading Places

Picking Nits

Louis’s benefits; Dukes’ shared home; salmon; Coleman’s loyalty; crop-report news and forgery; dark handoff; infection risk

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:01Read transcript
  • Louis’s apparent wealth despite his salary is explained by employer-provided house, butler and other benefits that can be withdrawn.
  • The wealthy Dukes sharing a home without visible spouses or families seems odd; thrift, companionship, widower or lifelong-bachelor possibilities are offered.
  • A joking suggestion that the Dukes are lovers draws objections that they are clearly brothers; the billionaire description is also corrected.
  • Separate wings in a family compound and economical storytelling are defenses of the shared residence.
  • Louis’s hunger and intoxication are revisited as the explanation for the salmon.
  • Coleman switching sides is explained by being treated as a person and included in the team.
  • Local television covering delivery of a crop report seems implausible.
  • The method of fabricating the crop report is not shown and must be accepted.
  • The Dukes should verify Beeks’s identity before exchanging money in a dark garage.
  • Ophelia getting into bed with a coughing Louis raises an infection concern, countered by memories of routinely sharing winter illnesses.