By the late 80s, Eddie Murphy was one of the biggest and most bankable names in Hollywood; Coming to America sees the star succumbing to what I call 'Jerry Lewis' syndrome, in which a comic actor is given so much free rein to fully exercise their funny muscles that it can sometimes be to the detriment of the movie. Like Lewis in The Family Jewels (1965), Murphy takes on multiple roles (thanks to superb make-up by Rick Baker) and improvises dialogue, director John Landis allowing his star to fully indulge himself; this approach works brilliantly at times, but it also results in quite a few bloated scenes, as evidenced by the film's almost-two-hour runtime.
The good news is that the good definitely outweighs the bad, the film delivering plenty of genuine laughs and iconic moments, with even the majority of the more drawn-out scenes being bearable thanks to Murphy's charisma and the likability of his talented co-stars, who include Arsenio Hall (who also plays multiple characters), James Earl Jones, John Amos, Eriq La Salle and Shari Headley. Even Samuel L. Jackson and a very young Cuba Gooding Jr. Have supporting roles. The script is a heartwarming fairytale romance in which Murphy's African prince Akeem travels to Queens, NY, to find true love in the form of Lisa, daughter of burger joint owner Cleo McDowell (Amos). Hall is Akeem's best friend Semmi, who reluctantly accompanies the prince to New York.
Featuring a predominantly black cast, Coming to America embraces African American culture and affectionately plays with stereotypes, with a hilarious preacher (Hall) at a Black Awareness meeting, an ageing barber and his argumentative clientele, bad '80s African American fashion trends (La Salle's Darryl being the biggest culprit with his 'Soul Glo' hair product), and Jackson as 'hold-up man' (gotta start somewhere).
The good news is that the good definitely outweighs the bad, the film delivering plenty of genuine laughs and iconic moments, with even the majority of the more drawn-out scenes being bearable thanks to Murphy's charisma and the likability of his talented co-stars, who include Arsenio Hall (who also plays multiple characters), James Earl Jones, John Amos, Eriq La Salle and Shari Headley. Even Samuel L. Jackson and a very young Cuba Gooding Jr. Have supporting roles. The script is a heartwarming fairytale romance in which Murphy's African prince Akeem travels to Queens, NY, to find true love in the form of Lisa, daughter of burger joint owner Cleo McDowell (Amos). Hall is Akeem's best friend Semmi, who reluctantly accompanies the prince to New York.
Featuring a predominantly black cast, Coming to America embraces African American culture and affectionately plays with stereotypes, with a hilarious preacher (Hall) at a Black Awareness meeting, an ageing barber and his argumentative clientele, bad '80s African American fashion trends (La Salle's Darryl being the biggest culprit with his 'Soul Glo' hair product), and Jackson as 'hold-up man' (gotta start somewhere).