Movie review: Coming 2 America
The 1988 original – with a To instead of 2 – was an iconic modern fairy tale given an edge with its sharp comedy.
And it was peak Eddie Murphy. As African Prince Akeem, on a quest to defy an arranged marriage and find true love, he was at his most charming and best looking. And crucially, he was very funny.
It was also ground-breaking. It boasted a majority African-American cast and thanks to brilliant prosthetics, it saw Murphy and co-star Arsenio Hall in multiple roles – something many first-time viewers didn't realise until the credits.
In this 33-years-later sequel, the humour is so gentle, it does not land - it wafts by.
At times, this feels more Nickelodeon than Amazon Prime, where it is currently streaming.
That is not to say it is a cynical and lazy follow-up. The costumes are stunning, and there is something genuinely sweet in Eddie Murphy bringing back as many faces from the original as possible.
But then they do very little with these characters.
It is nostalgia over jokes, comfort over comedy.
In some cases, they have forgotten what made a character funny in the first place.
The worst offender was one of the funniest moments in the original – soul singer Randy Watson and his band Sexual Chocolate.
Back then, Watson was hilariously bad. All ego, no talent and everyone knew it.
Here, Watson returns with his bad suit (now with paunch) and glistening Soul-Glo hair, but he's beloved – and simply not as funny.
There are fun moments though. Murphy and Hall appear to be having far more fun under the prosthetics.
But it's Wesley Snipes who is having the best time. His dictator General Izzi (from neighbouring country Nextdoria) is a scene-stealer and livens up the film each time he appears.
While the combination of Murphy and director Craig Brewer worked so well for 2019's Dolemite Is My Name, there's some confusion in direction here.
The first portion of the film is dominated by little more than a procession of cameos, and after that, it is not sure what story it wants to tell.
The main gist – of a few possible threads – is that Akeem, now king of Zamunda, unknowingly sired an heir on his 80s trip to the US. So now he has to retrieve junior in order to facilitate peace with Nextdoria through an arranged marriage.
The way that 1988 coupling is shown to have happened (utilising CGI to wind back the clock on Murphy and Hall), it goes against the character of Akeem. He may have been naive to the harsh ways of 80s New York – but he was stupid nor easily duped.
New cast additions of Lesley Jones and Tracey Morgan don't get a huge amount to do.
Jermaine Fowler as Akeem's newly-discovered offspring Lavelle is nice if bland, and makes you wonder if the film would have been better served if the focus was on Akeem's daughter Meeka, played by Kiki Layne.
Coming 2 America is already a hit for Amazon, but something was clearly lost in the mix and one can't help but feel it could have been much more.
COMING 2 AMERICA (NC16)
Score: 2.5/5
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