Blaustein David Sheffield Story by Barry W. The jumbled plot focuses too much on the likable but not particularly interesting Lavelle-a problem that also diminishes Layne’s role as the smart but frustrated daughter who yearns to lead her country. Directed by Craig Brewer Produced by Kevin Misher Eddie Murphy Screenplay by Kenya Barris Barry W. (The earlier movie was also the first time he’d played multiple roles, which he reprises to great effect here.) As the older Akeem, he still has that open-hearted radiance-as well as that superb gap-toothed smile, one of best Hollywood has ever given us, and one that he’s thankfully never sought to alter. As the younger Akeem, he radiated a starburst blend of curiosity and intelligence, a quality that went beyond what you’d expect of a story about a stranger in a new land. And even though Murphy is the star of this film, his presence is muted. Gaber Special to Review-Journal Febru6:42 pm Updated February 26. That’s a disappointment, considering that the last film Brewer and Murphy made together, 2019’s Dolemite Is My Name-in which Murphy gave a marvelous performance as Blaxploitation wizard Rudy Ray Moore-was one of the most rapturous movies of that year. Home > Entertainment > Arts & Culture Eddie Murphy discusses ‘Coming to America’ and its new sequel By C.L. Read More: John Amos Looks Back on 50 Years in Hollywoodīut Coming 2 America has a clumsy gait it doesn’t hold together with as much verve and style as the earlier film. Akeem and Semmi return to the site of their earlier adventure, so that Akeem can do right by this son he didn’t know he had, and also ensure the safety of his kingdom. That fun date, Mary (played by the anything-but-forgettable Leslie Jones), has raised her son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler) on her own in Queens. Luckily-or not-it turns out that Akeem has an illegitimate son, whose existence comes as a surprise to him: apparently, one drunken night in New York, Semmi hooked him up with a fun date of whom he has no memory. What’s more, Zamundan law states that only a man can rule the country. The order of succession has significance, because King Jaffe Joffer (Jones) is elderly and ailing, and the disgruntled leader of the neighboring nation of Nextdooria-Wesley Snipes’ General Izzi-is stirring up trouble. Now they have three daughters of their own, the oldest of whom, Meeka (KiKi Layne), hopes to someday ascend the throne. So the timing is right for a sequel, and now we’ve got one: Coming 2 America, directed by Craig Brewer, is an update on what the royals of Zamunda have been up to in the past 30 years, a picture that hardly measures up to the earlier one but does, at least, offer some modest charms.Īkeem did find his queen in Queens, the generous and brainy Lisa (Shari Headley), and the two were wed in Zamunda at the end of the first film. It was also a big-budget Hollywood picture with a superb cast that was almost exclusively Black-a rarity in its time, and, until very recently, a rarity in ours too. Coming to America was an amiable modern fairytale, a delightful picture that might have seemed conventional in 1988 but looks better with age.
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