Coming to America (1988)

An African prince goes to Queens, New York City to find a wife whom he can respect for her intelligence and will.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Eddie Murphy (story), David Sheffield (screenplay),

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Murphy	...	Prince Akeem / Clarence / Randy Watson / Saul
Arsenio Hall	...	Semmi / Extremely Ugly Girl / Morris / Reverend Brown
James Earl Jones	...	King Jaffe Joffer
John Amos	...	Cleo McDowell
Madge Sinclair	...	Queen Aoleon
Shari Headley	...	Lisa McDowell
Paul Bates	...	Oha
Eriq La Salle	...	Darryl Jenks
Frankie Faison	...	Landlord
Vanessa Bell Calloway	...	Imani Izzi (as Vanessa Bell)
Louie Anderson	...	Maurice
Allison Dean	...	Patrice McDowell
Sheila Johnson	...	Lady-in-Waiting
Jake Steinfeld	...	Cab Driver
Calvin Lockhart	...	Colonel Izzi

Storyline

It is the 21st birthday of Prince Akeem of Zamunda and he is to marry a woman he never saw before. Now the prince breaks with tradition and travels to America to look for the love of his life.

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Plot Keywords:

prince | queens new york city | america | love | hold up man | 

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Taglines:

This summer, Prince Akeem discovers America.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un príncipe en Nueva York

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$39,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$128,152,301 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eddie Murphy Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vanessa Williams was originally considered for the role of Lisa McDowell.

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Goofs

When Lisa throws the earrings back at Akeem, she throws them overhand in a downward direction, too low for Akeem to have caught them without bending down. When we see a shot of Akeem, he catches the earrings at his waist level, and the earrings are seen tossed upward as if underhand.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rose Bearer: Good morning, Your Highness.
Rose Bearer: Good morning, Your Highness.
Rose Bearer: Good morning, Your Highness.
Oha: Happy birthday, Your Highness.
Prince Akeem: [thinks] Yes, it *is* my birthday.

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Crazy Credits

The "thanks" list in the end credits lists the Zamundan Film Commission.

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Connections

References Babar (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Livin' The Good Life"
By Nile Rodgers & Gardner Cole
Performed by Sister Sledge
Produced by Nile Rodgers

User Reviews

Excellent humor and a nice story

I once used to be a fan of Eddie Murphy and his movies, but in recent years the only one of "his" movies that I loved was 'Shrek'. He's excellent as the voice of Donkey, but the rest of his movies aren't exactly the best examples of fine humor (think of movies like 'The Nutty Professor'). It's a good thing that from time to time you can still see one of his older ones on the television, so you won't forget that the man really has some talent.

In this movie Eddie Murphy plays, most of the time, the role of Prince Akeem of Zamunda. On his 21st birthday he'll have to marry a woman he has never seen before. Because he isn't too happy with that and because he wants a wife that can do more than doing exactly what he tells her to do (like for instance barking like a dog), he decides to go to America to find the love of his life. The only problem is that the girl shouldn't love him for his title and his money, but for his personality. At first all he gets is a big culture shock, but eventually he'll find a girl he really likes...

This movie is really one of the funniest Eddie Murphy has ever made. It has a good story and offers plenty of laughs, but this isn't a comedy full of toilet humor and may therefor seem dated to the youngest viewers (let's say those who were born in the nineties). Personally I really appreciated the fact that not all humor was about farting, vomiting and other bodily functions, but perhaps that's just me, perhaps I'm just getting too old to understand today's humor (almost 27 right now).

There are some excellent parts in the movie (I really love those old men at the barber shop for instance) and overall the quality is high enough to enjoy the entire movie. That's why I give it a 7.5/10.