The biggest new movie release of this week is Eddie Murphy's "Coming 2 America" the sequel to his 1988 hit "Coming To America." Right off the bat, I could not honestly remember whether or not I had seen the original, so last night, I found it on Amazon Prime and watched this now 33 year old movie.
Just to refresh your memory, Murphy plays Crown Prince Akeem, heir to the throne of the African nation of Zamunda. Not feeling so keen on an arranged marriage, Murphy and Simmi, his chief aide-de-camp (Arsenio Hall) go to America to, according to his father, the King (James Earl Jones), sow his royal oats, but for Akeem, to see if he can find true love. They land in a totally shitty section of Queens in New York City, and classic fish-out-of-water comedy hijinks ensue.
Predictably, Akeem finds true love with an American girl, Lisa, and they live happily ever after, but not without leaping over hurdles along the way, including Lisa's current boyfriend and her own father. It's a sweet story made memorable by Murphy's and Hall's performances, which include them playing dual roles as older barbers in a Queens barber shop, where they constantly argue about, among other things, who was greater, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, or Cassius Clay ("I'm callin' him the name his Momma gave him!").
This will give you an idea as to just how long ago 1988 was. In the opening credits, receiving 16th (I went back and counted) and final billing was a young actor named Samuel L. Jackson. Yep, long before "Pulp Fiction" and Capitol One commercials, Jackson had a bit role in this Eddie Murphy comedy. He played an armed robber in a fast food joint who screamed obscenities throughout, so, essentially, he played "Samuel L. Jackson" in this one.
Now it is thirty-three years later, the king is on his death bed and Akeem is about to become king. Akeem and Lisa remain happily married and have three daughters and therein lies a problem: Zamundan law requires that only a male can succeed the king.
It is learned (don't ask how) that on that long ago trip to America, in a coupling of which he has no memory (again, don't ask, but it was all Simmi's fault), Akeem fathered a son. So, back to America for Akeem and Simmi to find "the bastard", groom him to become the next crown prince, and thus avoid a war with the country next door to Zamundia, which is called, amazingly enough, Nexdoria.
More fish-out-of-water stuff with Akeem's son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler), his Uncle Reem (Tracey Morgan), and in a really funny role, Leslie Jones as Lavellle's mother, who, among other things, puts Queen Lisa back in touch with her Queens home-girl roots. Oh, and the guys from the barber shop are still there. In fact, it is the one place in Queens that hasn't changed after 33 years of gentrification in the old neighborhood.
Like the original, this sequel ends up being a rather sweet happily ever after story, and this new one has some gorgeous costuming and some dazzling musical numbers, including a return visit from that famous Queens band, Sexual Chocolate. There are also a couple of fun cameos that I will not mention here so as not to spoil the fun for you.
If you are like me, and either didn't see the original "Coming To America" or have no memory of it, you really should see it before you see "Coming 2 America", because there are constant references to plot points and comic bits from the original, and every character from the original is also in this one. A lot of what gets said and what happens in the new one will be lost on you if haven't seen or don't remember the original.
I liked both movies and give each of them Three Grandstander Stars.
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