Review of Coming to America (1988) by Kai82 — 06 Jan 2023

Except „Beverly Hills Cop“ this is Eddie Murphy's most cherished movie for a lot of people. It is listed as romantic comedy but I view it more as modern fairy tale. The story is about crown prince Akeem Joffer from the (fictional) African country of Zamunda which is an absolute monarchy.

He is going to be crowned on his 21 birthday but is weary / unsatisfied /bored of his life in his golden cage. Luckily his father understands this and so Akeem travels to New York (in disguise) with his friend / aide / servant Semmi.

I stop here to avoid spoilers but say the word “Culture Shock” is an understatement. I truly enjoy the story. It is a nice comedy, good love story, culture shock, a bit satire and much self discovery aka character growth.

The elements are timeless and it works as much today as back then. The cast improves the movie a lot. Eddie Murphy is amazingly good but the other actors also deliver a great performance. I want to especially praise James Earl Jones, Shari Headly and especially Arsenio Hall.

Also the rest of the cast is good and director John Landis is always a bonus. The humor is spot on and makes the movie really entertaining. Overall I recommend it as cult classic and give a 9/10.