Coming 2 America
110 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by Barry W Blaustein, David Sheffield, and Kenya Barris
Directed by Craig Brewer
Synopsis:
The African monarch Akeem learns he has a long-lost son in the United States and must return to America to meet this unexpected heir and build a relationship with his son.
Eddie Murphy returns to the kingdom of Zamunda in this 30-years-later (or is it late?) sequel to his 1988 hit Coming To America.
With him, as before, are Arsenio Hall and the boys at the barbershop.
Photo Courtesy of Amazon Studios
From the opening scene/sequence, the farcical nature of the Kingdom of Zamunda just feels wrong after a film like Black Panther, which treated African heritage with the respect it deserves. Yes, I realize this is a comedy, but this feels more than a bit dated in its depiction.
I also wondered if we truly needed the gratuitous cameos from En Vogue, Salt n Peppa, and Gladys Knight? Additionally, this just feels wrong for a king as serious as the one portrayed by James Earl Jones (even though this is a comedy, his king always maintained an air of true regality).
But that’s not all! He’s also got children. Daughters, to be specific. Three of them. One of whom (the eldest, naturally) seriously considers kicking his ass for most of the film…
So strong. The movie didn’t play with that nearly enough, though, only when needed to puff up the men.
Photo Courtesy of Amazon Studios
It was a nice Easter Egg to include a job interview at “Duke and Duke” as an homage to the scene from Coming To America, which was itself an homage to Trading Places, and was a nice, subtle bit. One of few to meet that criteria.
Finally, did we really need to base the entire plot of the film around a comedic bit about date rape in today’s climate?
And don’t get us started on Wesley Snipes’ General Izzi.
So, while Coming 2 America isn’t without it’s moments, overall it just feels like it’s 30 years too late.
Coming 2 America opens in theaters and on Amazon March 5, 2021.
Coming 2 America stars Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, Wesley Snipes, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Vanessa Bell Calloway, KiKi Layne, Leslie Jones, and Tracy Morgan.
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