Directed by: John Landis
Starring: Eddie Murphy, John Amos, Arsenio Hall, Erik La Salle, Louie Anderson, James Earl Jones,
Shari Headley
Coming to America is a warm romantic comedy which maintains its laughs with ease throughout. When it focuses on the laughs, it is really funny and really inspired. When it is focusing on its love story, it remains fresh even if the story itself is by its nature predictable. Coming to America and Bowfinger are the Eddie Murphy movies which showcase his tremendous talents to the fullest. He plays a mere dual role in Bowfinger, while tackling four roles in Coming to America and even more in The Nutty Professor movies. Maybe by the time he made Bowfinger he was just plain worn out.
In Coming to America, Murphy is Akeem, a prince in the fictional African country of Zamunda in which elephants freely roam the palatial grounds and he is bestowed a life of such luxury that by the time he turns 21, he still had never tied his own shoes before. His father, King Joffa (Jones) says, "I tied my shoes once. It was an overrated experience." Akeem is bored with his life of privilege and even more with his future bride prospects, whom are trained to follow his every command. Akeem seeks a bride whom he can love and loves him for himself, so he travels with his manservant Semmi (Hall) to America to search for his bride. Where to search when in America? Why Queens of course. While there, he hides his true identity while wooing the daughter of a fast-food franchise operator (Amos). To get closer to Lisa (Headley), Akeem and Semmi take menial jobs at the restaurant, which disgusts Semmi. ("I haven't had a manicure since we left Zamunda.")
Hall is no slouch in the roles department, playing four distinct roles himself here. What is so fun about this is how much Murphy and Hall makes these people into unique characters, all of which are funny themselves. The multiple roles never seem like a stunt and they are weaved seamlessly into the story. Murphy's innate charm is in full effect as Akeem, who takes satisfaction in working for his money and even more satisfaction in winning the affections of Lisa. Lisa has a boyfriend, the insufferable Darryl (La Salle), who is the heir to the Soul Glo Jheri curl fortune and isn't far from his own collection of activators. As night follows day, Darryl will be dumped and Lisa will fall for Akeem, while believing he is a fast food employee and not a wealthy prince. It also follows that Lisa will learn of the deceit, which is the type of roadblock a potential couple will overcome in comedies such as this one. Although, let's be honest, learning to accept Akeem as a wealthy prince wouldn't exactly be considered a roadblock by most women.
There are numerous laughs in Coming to America, including one which ties into Murphy's Trading Places (1983) that comes as a hilarious surprise. These days, movies are so inundated with in-jokes that in-jokes themselves are no longer jokes or surprising. You almost wait for one to appear. But, Coming to America uses its laughs wisely. It isn't a free-for-all. All of this has a consistent tone and, to my recollection, there are no bodily functions or fluids flying around, unless the count the milkshake Darryl flippantly throws to Akeem.
And when the happy ending arrives, it is well-earned even though we expect it because the movies works so well in making us laugh and then care.
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