Most critics like Trading Places, and the praise lands almost entirely on the cast. Murphy is named in nearly every review as the reason to watch, with Aykroyd as his foil, and the veterans Ameche and Bellamy, as the wagering brothers, come in for nearly as much credit. The reviews settle on it as a polished, likeable farce: an old role-reversal story told with confidence rather than anything new, and warmer for its Christmas setting.
The reservations cluster around the satire. Several critics think the jabs at money and class are softer than the film believes, with Landis choosing slapstick over bite, and one or two find the message laid on heavily. Variety notes a stretch in the middle without laughs. The spread is narrow, most reviews landing around seventy, with one dissent: The New Yorker finds it drab and static, carried by Murphy alone. Den of Geek sits at the other end, calling it a sharp comedy too often overlooked at Christmas.