Even if you didn’t grow up playing your parents’ VHS copy of Coming to America at least once a week, you more than likely know that 1988 classic Eddie Murphy comedy by heart. If you ever said any variation of “Just let your soul glow,” “She’s your queen to be,” “Is that velvet?,” “That boy good!” or “Sexual! Chocolate!,” or if you ever dressed like the people of Zamunda for Halloween ala Beyonce and Jay-Z and if you ever went to Wiener’s Circle when they cosplayed as McDowell’s, you know the impact of that movie.
However the sequel, Coming 2 America, which premieres on Amazon Prime on March 5, doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor. There’s a tension in Coming 2 America, as the movie (which is rated PG-13) toes the line between capturing the irreverent, R-rated spark that made the first movie work so well while also updating its humor to make it more acceptable for a wider audience.
For better or worse, there are some jokes that worked in1988 that simply don’t fly in 2021. And it ultimately ends up just falling flat, as the jokes feel somehow strangely both offensive and yet not pushed far enough. Plus the improvisational and unpredictable chemistry between Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall takes a back seat to the movie’s other co-star, Jermaine Fowler, best known for his starring role in the CBS television show “Superior Donuts.”
In the original, Eddie Murphy stars as Prince Akeem of the fictional African country of Zamunda, who rejects a wife approved by his father, (James Earl Jones, who returns in the sequel) and decides to travel to America—specifically Queens, New York—to find a wife and true love. Arsenio Hall co-stars as his loyal confidante Semmi, and together the two play a variety of characters, including old heads in a barbershop, a corrupt storefront preacher and a way-past-his-prime Jheri-curled singer.