Coming to America (1988) Review

With the long anticipated sequel Coming 2 America coming to Amazon Prime tomorrow, I thought it was time to go back and watch the original film and I did that today and here is my review for Coming to America. The premise of the film sees a pampered prince head to America in an attempt to find a bride that he can truly love. 

Main Character 

Eddie Murphy is a huge name in comedy and this film had his fingerprints all over it and he is fantastic. Prince Akeem is such a charming and charismatic person that it is hard not too root for him in this film and want to see him succeed. His character actually has some depth to him and it is interesting the way they handle him wanting to go to America and it sees him really grow as a person and Murphy is obviously funny and charming himself as he does that. 

Supporting Characters

Arsenio Hall plays his trusted advisor Semmi and I thought he was great also. These two just have such a great dynamic together and really bounce off of each other well, really it feels like a buddy comedy with these two funny guys who are having a good time together. Shari Headley plays Lisa and as the film progresses you see the dynamic between her and Akeem progress well and again they have good chemistry together and are a nice duo together that you are rooting for. James Earl Jones and John Amos play roles here as respective fathers of Akeem and Lisa and they are both really good, it's no surprise but they are delightful to watch here. Also there is a cameo from a now huge actor, if you don't know who then I won't spoil it but it had me laughing out loud. 

Story 

The film has a nice and funny story, it is funny seeing Akeem & Semmi travel from Africa to America and just the different cultural shifts and the way they take things in stride is very funny and charming to see. Also the whole romance aspect is nice enough and you do end up rooting for the two protagonists, but it just feels a bit safe. No spoilers but this is a film that doesn't take too many risks and that isn't the biggest issue in the world but it doesn't throw many curveballs and it just feels very similar to plenty of other films from this time period and since. 

Script

The script is very good, the main job of a comedy is to make you laugh and I definitely laughed, maybe not hysterically but I laughed quite a bit here so it did that well. Also as I said the romance aspect is well handled and it is sweet and feels deserved. 

Style  

The film has plenty of very funny jokes, it even pushes a few envelopes at times without feeling too much and that can be a difficult skill to master. But I think this film does have a bit of a pacing issue, it is 2 hours long and I am just not sure it had to be so long, I think like 10 mins could have been cut from the 2nd act and it would be much better and moved in a nicer flow. 

Overall

Overall, this is a great comedy and one that will make you laugh. If you like fun comedies with a sweet romance angle then give Coming to America a go and hopefully the sequel is at least of a similar ability. 

Rating - 8/10