I knew she got a lot of attention from the scene where she took her bra and exposed her breasts but she did win the BAFTA for it so I assumed her part was substantial and she showed off her comedic skills.

No, it was pretty much a nothing part. She had very little to do in the movie aside from her tagging along and showing off her body.

Jamie Lee Curtis said TRADING PLACES did a lot for her career, a lot more than any of the Horror movies she did. Which goes to show an actor never gets recognition for a Horror movie but cast him or her in a "respectable" movie and they suddenly get taken seriously.

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TimPLakersEagles t1_jea507o wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:06 PM

#2,486,949

Huh. Did you not pay attention to how she was part of all the issues that Winthorp went thru.

ahmadinebro t1_jea51ww wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:06 PM

#2,486,960

Isn't she the only one who is willing to help Aykroyd's character when he hits rock bottom?

Cool-Kangaroo-2021 t1_jea52nc wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:06 PM

#2,486,969

Are you asking why did they specifically cast Jamie Lee Curtis or why did they include the character of Ophelia? Either way, I think it’s a damn near flawless movie and don’t really understand your gripe here

Ornery-Dragonfruit96 t1_jea5c8i wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:08 PM

#2,487,049

it sounds like someone didn't read his assignment.

flamingofast t1_jea5ixk wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:10 PM

#2,487,100

She gave Louis a safe haven when no one would, even if it started as a business transaction. She gave him the money he needed to take down the Dukes. (Coleman's money wasn't enough.) She was also the reason Penelope finally left him. Yes, showing her tits was gratuitous, but it was the '80s.

spambearpig t1_jea5j7p wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:10 PM

#2,487,102

Firstly Trading Places is a great and well loved movie so that brings some attention.

I think you might be underselling her role a little. She was probably the 3rd or 4th most featured character (her and the butler).

She played a prostitute who turned out to have more decency than any of the rich bastards or most of Billy Ray’s fickle friends and I think she did that well enough for a movie of this sort. So I think she did a great job of the role.

Now I’m not naive enough to think that the fact she got her tits out made no difference, but I do think it made less than half of the difference in how this movie helped her career.

Out of all the times an actress’s body has got her more attention and praise than her actual acting talent deserved, this would be really low on my list.

Sandberg231984 t1_jea6d19 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:16 PM

#2,487,326

Nothing. She’s a shitty actor and a piece of shit.

KurtKrimson t1_jea6vou wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:19 PM

#2,487,462

Did I watch the same Trading Places I wonder....

fante83 t1_jea6wn0 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:20 PM

#2,487,469

Replying to Sandberg231984 (#2,487,326)

Why is she a piece of shit?

adamsandleryabish t1_jea7pty wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:25 PM

#2,487,687

She is a very important character to Winthorps plot along with developing the revenge at the end, not to mention hugely important to JLC’s career as it was her breakout non Horror role that showed how talented and fun she was

SmoreOfBabylon t1_jea7xy2 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:27 PM

#2,487,752

Aside from what others have said, Ophelia was also the counterpart to Coleman: both of them help the two main characters navigate the very different worlds they’ve been thrust into. They’re also the only ones who treat their respective charges with basic decency and respect - Ophelia shelters Louis when his fiancée and conceited friends have abandoned him, while Coleman offers actual encouragement and support to Billy Ray whom the racist Dukes see as just a pawn in their experiment.

callmemacready t1_jeadwc7 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:06 PM

#2,489,325

They were some cracking knockers though , up there with Red Witch from GOT as some of the best onscreen

Early_Accident2160 t1_jeae7td wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:08 PM

#2,489,416

I was trying to remember Freaky Friday. Wrong movie lol

LoveEffective1349 t1_jeaenq1 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:11 PM

#2,489,543

the "hooker with a heart of gold is an old trope.... so i can see where you might not look beyond that.

but I think.Thematically she represents true love.

The movie is all about undermining the perceptions. the rich are vain and greedy and cruel untrusting and untrustworthy. Penelope without even bothering to listen to the man "she loves" just condemns him and casts him aside.

In a world full of people who are shallow, fakes, liars, and cruel, despite the wealth and power to do good. It is Ophelia, at the very bottom of the society, who is the best, most altruistic character.

She is the only one who never betrays her ideologies, never takes advantage, never hurts anyone, she only helps and supports and and heals.

when we meet her Ophelia is hiding her true self behind her wigs and fake voice, playing a joke she thinks. but when she sees the real harm she caused she can't just walk away. she HELPS.

at first she is distant and cold and seems to want to keep her costume and her adopted "hooker" persona. a cash transaction. But why? because she is "responsible" for some of Louis' plight and she can't just walk away....as she learns Louis' story she opens up more and more...and when she takes her disguises off, along with her bra ironically, she begins to show her true self as a smart capable women with a plan. and even begins to be vulnerable.

then they grow and become friends and ultimately they fall in love. truelove that isn't hindered by her status or her past or the class divide between them...in the end after all the hijinks and gaffs and jokes and the revenge they take......she is the love of Louis' life. and they "live happily ever after" on the giant pile of money they made.

Alive_Ice7937 t1_jeak719 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:47 PM

#2,490,942

Sounds like you watched this with an agenda

DonQOnIce t1_jealu7t wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:57 PM

#2,491,359

Replying to Ornery-Dragonfruit96 (#2,487,049)

Posts that make you wonder if the poster even watched any movies…

Ebolatastic t1_jeamre5 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 5:03 PM

#2,491,591

She's meant to emphasize the same exact point that Eddie Murphy's character emphasizes: people who work from the bottom are always smarter and tougher. Pre-bet Winthorpe would have never even looked at a girl like her. That's winthorpes lesson: he's spent his life looking up to the wrong people.

LikeRegularChicken t1_jeas83l wrote on March 30, 2023 at 5:38 PM

#2,492,827

I'd say as far as comedies go, she is a relatively significant romantic lead in terms of how she sets the plot in motion and is a big part of Winthorp's emotional arc. Her kindness and affection sort of models what a real human relationship looks like to him, and while he starts by looking down on her, he quickly has a lot of his assumptions proved wrong.