Trading Places 7.4/10. The site's consensus states: "Featuring deft interplay between Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd, "Trading Places" is an immensely appealing social satire." Metacritic gave the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 9 critics, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Author and critic Richard Schickel of "Time" magazine called "Trading Places" "one of the most emotionally satisfying and morally gratifying comedies of recent times". While admitting Aykroyd's success in demonstrating "perfect prissiness as Winthorpe", Schickel commented on Murphy's performance as Valentine calling Murphy "a force to be reckoned with" and stating that he "makes "Trading Places" something more
Eddie Murphy being heavily re-written from comic relief to love interest, ultimately went to future "7th Heaven" star Catherine Hicks. By this point Murphy's near-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures rivaled "Star Trek" as Paramount's most lucrative franchise. In 1986, Murphy starred in the supernatural comedy, "The Golden Child". Although "The Golden Child" performed well at the box office, the movie was not as critically acclaimed as "48 Hrs.", "Trading Places", and "Beverly Hills Cop". "The Golden Child" was considered a change of pace for Murphy because of the supernatural setting as opposed to the more "street smart" settings of Murphy's previous efforts.