Coming 2 America (2021)
Coming 2 America is the much-belated sequel to Eddie Murphy’s most popular of starring vehicles, 1988’s Coming to America. Murphy returns to his role as Akeem Joffer, an obscenely wealthy prince of the fictional African kingdom of Zamunda, living in bliss with his wife, Lisa, and their three daughters. With his father ailing, Akeem is set to become the king, but this will leave Zamunda, which has only been ruled by men, with no male heir. General Izzi, the warmongering leader of the neighboring country, Nexdoria, has come around to intimidate his way into a marriage between his son and Akeem”s eldest daughter, Meeka. However, Akeem is soon informed that he may have had an illegitimate son when he sowed his wild oats in America thirty years prior. Akeem and his right-hand man Semmi return to Queens, New York, to find the 31-year-old son and heir he didn’t know he had, the street-wise ticket scalper Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler). Akeem flies out Lavelle and his mother Mary to Zamunda to receive his training and perform courage tests before he can be the prince.
Appreciating Coming 2 America necessitates being intimately familiar with the first film due to constant callback to moments from the John Landis effort. Viewers who love the first film will find many moments appealing, but those looking for anything beyond a regurgitation of jokes and funny characters will be disappointed. Every major joke and character gets rehashed from the barbershop crew who seem to never age to one-note characters like Imani Izzi, the intended bride from the arranged marriage still hopping around on one leg and barking like a dog. Reconnecting with familiar characters is an amiable experience to reconnect with these characters again, though most of them haven’t changed in thirty years. Even the dance number that delighted in the first film is brought back here, though it occurs at regular intervals this time to make use of Teyana Taylor’s appearance.
This sequel returns about as much of the cast as possible, including Murphy, Arsenio Hall, John Amos, James Earl Jones, Louie Anderson, and the actor who likely aged the best of them all, Shari Headley as Akeem’s wife and Zamunda’s next queen, Lisa. Newcomers are Wesley Snipes as General Izzi, the war-mongering ruler of a neighboring country. KiKi Layne is appealing as Akeem’s brave oldest daughter Meeka, a strong leader for Zamunda if not for its patriarchal adherence.
Although a mostly black cast, Coming 2 America also has a white director at the helm, Craig Brewer, who directed Hustle & Flow and the acclaimed made-for-Netflix Eddie Murphy vehicle, Dolemite in My Name. The impetus for the sequel actually came from a black director, Ryan Coogler, who approached Murphy with an idea for a follow-up to Coming to America back in 2016, focusing on Akeem’s son, to be played by Michael B. Jordan, following in his father’s footsteps by sowing his wild oats in America before taking a wife. Murphy felt it was more of a remake idea than a sequel which left the original characters mostly out of the film. Murphy countered that the movie could have Akeem returning to Queen to find the son he didn’t know he had, but Coogler thought it was implausible and moved on to Black Panther, which shares many similar themes.
Murphy said that Coming to America stuck in popular culture like no other of his movies – the costumes, the lines, the characters. There was talk about making a theatrical version. A sequel kicked around at Paramount for a long time, but Murphy and most of those involved thought it was always a one-and-done story that didn’t need its fairy-tale ending ruined by a continuation. However, Murphy now had an idea for the sequel he thought could never happen and brought it to Coming to America‘s original screenwriters, Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield. The writer met with Murphy at his home several times before renting an apartment nearby to work on a new script. Murphy had Tracy Morgan in mind for the son in the early drafts, but Arsenio Hall thought it would never work because Morgan was far too old to be believable as a 30-year-old and was nearly the same age as Murphy.
In 2017, Jonathan Levine was attached to direct with “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris to punch up the script and dialogue to give it modern cred. Barris originally turned it down when asked because it was one of his favorite films and he knew trying to rekindle the same quality was an uphill battle. Then he read the script, and he felt it was such a good idea that he had to do it.
Some of the story angles were cut from the film. One idea they had was to make the older barbershop denizens wear MAGA hats and be hardcore Republicans, not for Trump but because they like Herman Cain. They found it funny but thought the film wouldn’t date well if they got too topical (indeed, Cain’s death in 2020 would have rendered the joke in bad taste). They also had a scene in mind with two goat herders in an argument because one had sex with the other’s goat. Still, they determined to keep things classier when they got James Earl Jones on board to return, even though he no longer traveled at 90 years old, shooting his scenes in New York and then putting him in digitally.
During the production, Murphy screened Terminator: Dark Fate and marveled at the de-aging technology used to make a younger Schwarzenegger, thinking they could recreate himself as a younger Akeem in newly made flashbacks showing how he managed to conceive his son. Unfortunately, the scene has met with some backlash among viewers who claim it is a date-rape depiction that isn’t funny to witness.
Shot at the new Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, which the cast and crew called the nicest they’d ever seen. In addition to a good deal of greenscreen work, they also shot some of it on location in Rick Ross’s 45,000 square foot palatial 109-room mansion (formerly owned by Evander Holyfield). Ross allowed them to dress it however they liked for the movie. The royal bedroom was Rick Ross’s own, as was the palatial dining room that can seat up to a hundred people. Ross’s 235-acre backyard was so expansive, it was used for some of the outdoor scenes of African wildlife.
Meta jokes also hit from time to time, like Lavelle’s lament about cinema’s state is not much more than superhero flicks and sequels nobody asked for. Most of the action occurs in Zamunda, which seems like an idealized African country with broad stereotypes about living in the continent. Strange is the notion that American R & R&B and hip-hop acts like En Vogue, Salt N Pepa, and Gladys Knight would be popular there.
The original film is superior not just due to its originality, but it had much funnier fish-out-of-water moments, and its romance had been developed more endearingly. Fowler is energetic as Lavelle, but he’s far less appealing than Eddie Murphy, and his character lacks dimension. His romantic notions of love with Mirembe, the royal barber, have some appeal, but it’s a far cry from that of Akeem and Lisa from the first effort. Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan deliver laughs in characters that are essentially ready-made for their personalities. Arsenio Hall has much more fun playing his wilder characters under tons of make-up than he does Semmi, who doesn’t get as much to do this time out in the comedy department. The make-up for the shaman named Baba is impressive; reportedly, Murphy was going to play the role until he was told make-up would take six hours, upon which he told them Arsenio would do it. Although the film’s strong appeal begins to dissipate once most of the re-introductions are complete, and we’re left following the less-appealing newcomers go through the motions, it never dips low enough in its lulls to outstay its welcome fully.
Originally slated for an August 7, 2020 release, then moved up to December 18 after the COVID pandemic outbreak, then changed to an expected release on Amazon Prime Video after Amazon Studios bought the worldwide film rights out from Paramount for $125 million.
If you’re a fan of the 1988 film, Coming 2 America will likely be seen as an amiable rehash reunion flick, with affection for its predecessor and in its way celebrates American black comedy, music, and culture of the late 80s and early 90s satisfyingly. It hits enough of the right notes of nostalgia even if it lacks originality and would likely be incomprehensible as a standalone film. It’s a fun celebration of the original meant only for fans, but still not quite as rewarding as watching 1988’s Coming to America for the umpteenth time.
Qwipster’s rating: B
MPAA Rated: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, and drug content
Run time: 110 min.
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Jermaine Fowler, Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Wesley Snipes, Shari Headley, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Paul Bates, Nomzamo Mbatha, Teyana Taylor, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Bella Murphy, Louie Anderson, Trevor Noah, Michael Blackson, Clint Smith
Cameo: Morgan Freeman, Salt n Pepa, En Vogue, Gladys Knight, Rick Ross, Dikembe Mutombo, John Legend
Director: Craig Brewer
Screenplay: Kenya Barris, Barry W. Blaustein, David Sheffield