Title: COMING 2 AMERICA
Director: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, Teyana Taylor, Wesley Snipes, and James Earl Jones
Movie length: 1 hours 50 minutes
Eddie Murphy comes back to his comedic roots with his friend Arsenio Hall for the sequel to their classic 80’s comedy COMING TO AMERICA. I had never seen the original, or if I did it was so long ago and I was so young that I forgot about it. We decided to watch the original before this one, and I have to say I am somewhat disappointed that a modern comedic film can’t live up to its classic comedic film roots. New comer Jermaine Fowler (All That Reboot, Sorry to Bother You) does a fantastic job playing Lavelle Jonson, Prince Akeem’s son in the film.
James Earl Jones (Lion King, Star Wars) reprises his role as King Joffe Joffer, sadly Madge Sinclair, who played Prince Akeem’s Mother in the original couldn’t return because passed away from leukemia in 1995. I loved that Murphy and Hall played the same characters from the first film and that we got the same cast back for the most part, and the story actually comes together pretty well once it takes off.
It is a rehash of the original, only now we follow the new Prince as he learns where his family roots are from, in a modern fashion of course. I was pleasantly amused to see a guest appearance early on in the film, it is a voice that is easily recognizable in film. And it wouldn’t be any fun if John Amos (Die Hard 2, West Wing) didn’t return as Mr. McDowell. I think it lived up to the hype that it was given, we laughed and it was fun to watch Prince Akeem deal with having a family of three daughters and a local General played by the great Wesley Snipes (Blade, Demolition Man). Snipes still has the best kind of acting chops; he can do anything in film and I’ll enjoy watching it he is pretty extra in this film though.
Over all I’d give this 30 year later sequel a 7 out of 10, it was funny and was a nice throwback to the original and all of its characters. Did we need a sequel to what was likely only ever thought to be a single film? Not really but Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall pulled it off well with a great supporting cast.
COMING 2 AMERICA is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Do you plan to see the movie? Have you already? Let me know in the comments!
