Coming 2 America — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
Coming to America was never a movie that I grew up watching, nor ever seen until fairly recently. Something about it just never appealed to me, and that’s coming from someone who will watch anything. With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the original film when I finally sat down to watch it. The goofiness along with a great comedic performance by Eddie Murphy is what held the movie together and made it so likeable. Well, 33 years after the first film, a sequel was just released on Prime Video, and while I have to admit that I laughed a few times, it’s a very poor film overall.
Coming 2 America picks up in real-time with these characters, decades later. Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is unimpressed that he has no son to be his heir once his newfound reign as King ends. Learning that he accidentally made a son of his very own while on his first trip to America, he ventures back to meet him and bring him home. This is also where today’s lingo and humour are brought into the film tenfold, making for a very jarring experience in comparison with the first. I get it, the humour of the first film was very much of the time, as is this one, but it didn’t click all that often for me. It felt more like pop culture references rather than legitimate jokes.
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall are both once again very enjoyable here, trying to keep up with the times, and I even enjoyed Lavelle Junson as Akeem’s son Jermaine. The biggest problem this film faces, however, is the fact that it feels like a copy and paste of the original film. Aside from a few side characters/plots that kept it from feeling identical, I honestly felt like I was watching the first film again, through the lens of 2021. It was like a blend of old and new, which has worked for some late sequels, but it didn’t click here for me. That’s a shame because this film has some very relevant underlying messages that are very well-done. I just wish they were in a better film.
I truly believe the reason that so many people seemed to be looking forward to this sequel was the fact that Eddie Murphy has recently been appearing in more projects again. He definitely hasn’t lost his charm, but just like the cast of movies like Anchorman or Dumb and Dumber, sometimes it feels like these actors are just trying to replicate the past. As I said, it has worked before, but it seems pretty rare at this point. I laughed multiple times, but only because of a few unexpected line deliveries from certain performers. There were a few scenes where it felt a little improved, and those were easily the best moments.
Overall, the story plays out exactly how you think it will after watching the first 10–20 minutes. If for nothing else, it’s good for a few laughs that are spread throughout the movie, but I just didn’t connect with the story this time. I'm not saying late sequels to popular movies need to stop, but I believe they deserve more. This movie felt lazy to me, which was a huge disappointment. Coming 2 America is now streaming on Prime Video. Certain viewers will probably have a blast, but I personally can’t recommend it.
Rating: 2/5
Check out the trailer below:
