Movie Review: ‘Coming 2 America’

Review by James Lindorf

“Coming to America” is a timeless classic. It was the second highest-grossing film of 1988. It remains just as funny and beloved today for how it blends sweet, selfless romanticism with raunchy jokes about STIs and the royal penis. It has been a pretty rough decade for beloved films getting long-awaited sequels. Dumb and Dumber To, Independence Day: Resurgence, Zoolander 2, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 all left fans a bit disappointed after waiting up to 20 years to see the story continue. So it is no surprise that fans of the original have been holding their collective breaths after waiting 33 years for the return of Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy), Lisa (Shari Headley), Semmi (Arsenio Hall), King Jaffe (James Earl Jones), Cleo McDowell (John Amos), the barbershop quartet (Murphy, Murphy, Hall, and Clint Smith), and the rest. The wait is almost over as “Coming 2 America” begins streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on March 5th.

It is another glorious day in the African nation of Zamunda, and it is the 30th anniversary of Prince Akeem and Princess Lisa opening the first McDowell’s in Zamunda. The couple has three thriving daughters: Meeka (KiKi Layne), Omma (Bella Murphy, Eddie’s daughter), and Tinashe (Akiley Love), but King Jaffe is on his deathbed. Zamundan law dictates that a male heir must take over the throne, and Prince Akeem is next in line, but without a son, he is vulnerable because the country will be thrown into disarray without a new prince. When the King’s shaman Baba (Hall) declares that without a male heir, Zamunda will fall to the flamboyant despot General Izzi (Wesley Snipes), Semmi and the King tell Akeem about his bastard son. Akeem and Semmi must return to the land of Queens to retrieve Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler) and convince him to take the Zamundan Princely Test.

We love the original, and it is clear the creative team did as well. Original writers Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield are back, and joining them is Kenya Barris (Black-ish, Girls Trip). The callbacks begin with the opening scene and don’t stop until credits roll and range from comments to outfits to how a character breaks the fourth wall. Callbacks aren’t the only way they make you think of the original film; there is an abundance of flashbacks in the first act. With the number of flashbacks in the movie, it feels like a sequel that could have come out in the ’80s or early 90s, before VCRs were ubiquitous. Think about the openings to Rocky 2-4 that gave you an extensive recap of what came before. Many of these flashbacks stand out because the scenes are expanded upon using a combination of makeup and digital effects to de-age Murphy and Hall. One of these extended scenes is responsible for everything that happens in the sequel by showing how (and when) the prince wound up having a one-night stand with an American woman named Mary (Leslie Jones).

Thankfully there are plenty of genuine laughs throughout the movie. The best moments come from the King’s funeral, Oha (Paul Bates) covering a prince song, and the guys in the barbershop where the jokes come in rapid succession. Just behind those moments are the fights between Semmi and Lavelle’s Uncle Reem (Tracy Morgan) and the disrespectful Baba. Unfortunately, the film is weighed down by several small issues. There are at least 10 minutes of running time that could and should have been excised. It would have benefitted the film in multiple ways, most notably by decreasing the time between the best jokes. Then there are the effects; the CGI is average at best and still managed to outshine their use of backlots and matte paintings. Maybe Zamunda is supposed to be so rich that everything is always perfectly maintained and sparkling clean, but it felt unnatural and unoccupied.

Eddie Murphy is one month away from his 60th birthday, and he is allowed to be in whatever shape he wants. It is to be expected that he isn’t as fit as he was over half his life ago. I didn’t bring this up to shame Eddie because I would love to be in his same shape now, let alone when I am 60, but it serves as another indicator that they weren’t concerned with all the details. The costume department gave Eddie more draped loose clothing or weird sashes, but instead of working as a disguise, it somehow managed to magnify the “issue.” Other actors, dancers, and extras looked terrific, making it even more confusing that they didn’t have Eddie looking his best.

I don’t know if it was an issue of time or budget, but something prevented the film from reaching its final form. More time in the editing bay, another costume fitting, more work on the CGI and practical effects, another look at the screenplay to make the outcome less predictable, all things that a little time or money could solve. Reusing so many story elements and the lack of polish screams laziness with the hopes that the nostalgia bomb would blind the audience to the shortcomings. Everyone involved has done more well-rounded work, so we know they are capable of it.

“Coming 2 America” was a semi-successful attempt at recapturing the magic that produced one of the top 5 comedies of all time. Wesley Snipes again steals the spotlight every time he is on screen. He is perfect as the over-the-top preening peacock of a murderous dictator. The movie has multiple laugh-out-loud moments and a good message about family and gender equality. Still, its lack of originality means it will always live in the shadow of the original. If you are a fan of the first movie, which should be everyone, you should do yourself a favor, watch the movie, laugh at the new jokes, and see how many callbacks you can catch. “Coming 2 America” is a 2.5, maybe a 3 out of 5 on a good day.

Rating: PG-13 (Crude and Sexual Content|Language|Drug Content)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Director: Craig Brewer
Producer: Kevin Misher
Writer: Kenya Barris
Release Date (Streaming): March 5th, 2021
Runtime: 1h 50m