Coming to America (1988)

An extremely pampered African Prince travels to Queens, New York, and goes undercover 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, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Bates	...	Oha
Eddie Murphy	...	Prince Akeem / Clarence / Saul / Randy Watson
Garcelle Beauvais	...	Rose Bearer
Feather	...	Rose Bearer
Stephanie Simon	...	Rose Bearer
Victoria Dillard	...	Bather / Dancer
Felicia Taylor	...	Bather
Midori	...	Bather (as Michele Watley)
James Earl Jones	...	King Jaffe Joffer
Madge Sinclair	...	Queen Aoleon
Sheila Johnson	...	Lady-in-Waiting
Arsenio Hall	...	Semmi / Morris / Extremely Ugly Girl / Reverend Brown
Raymond D. Turner	...	T-Shirt Hawker
Calvin Lockhart	...	Colonel Izzi
Billi Gordon	...	Large Woman

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

female nudity | reference to cassius clay | reference to joe louis | incognito royalty | looking for love | 

---

Taglines:

This summer, Prince Akeem discovers America.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Quest

Filming Locations:

392 S 5th Street, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$39,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$128,152,300

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$160,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Eddie Murphy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cuba Gooding Jr. shot a scene in which his character (Boy Getting Haircut) tells Clarence that he does not have money to pay for his haircut. Clarence responds by cutting a patch out of the boy's hair. But to Gooding's disappointment, the scene was deleted.

---

Goofs

(at around 29 mins) When the landlord describes the apartment to Akeem and Semi, he says "it's only got one window, facing a brick wall." In the next scene, Akeem is out on a balcony which is accessed through a window. In the same shot, Semi opens another window directly to Akeem's left to speak with him. There is also another window directly to Akeem's right which appears to be from the same apartment.

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

On conversion of the movie to HD digital format, Saul's credit has been omitted. When Saul interrupts the end credits with the soup joke, originally Eddie Murphy's name appears under Saul to indicate it's him (the name then disappears and reappears immediately under Clarence). This does not happen in modern digital versions of the movie, and Saul is left unidentified until the conventional credits list.

---

Connections

Featured in V.H.S. (2013)

---

Soundtracks

To Be Loved
Written by Billy Davis (as Tyrah Carlo), Berry Gordy (as Berry Gordy, Jr.), and Gwendolyn Gordy
Performed by Jackie Wilson
Courtesy of CBS Special Products

User Reviews

Hilarious romantic-comedy-drama with a great ensemble cast

Coming to America centers on the story of young prince, set up for an arranged marriage. He leaves his home in Africa to find a woman that he can truly love. Like all good tales, this one has already been told many times. It covers how a newcomer must adjust to a new culture, including encountering difficulties in the romance department, and fathers who just don't understand. This is all done to comedic effect, but not without romantic and dramatic overtones, to the credit of all involved.

I could watch this movie every week (actually, I have been lately, since it's on CINEMAX). The writing and direction was fantastic, the film is perfectly paced, with constant sight gags and witty repartee. The film works because actors selected have great timing.

Eddie Murphy (Akeem, et al) is quite versatile as the lead. He's in his very best form, earnest when he needs to in this feel-good comedy, with on-point comic timing.

Shari Headley (Lisa McDowell), she's level headed, perfect in delivering outrage and frustration as well as contentment and laughter.

Allison Dean (Princess in "Cool as Ice") as Patricia is not only hot, I love her nappturality hair styles. (Shari's got some nice ones too). Allison ideally portrays the jilted, petulant, and gold-digging little sister.

Eriq La Salle (Darryl) is the outlandish villain you can actually feel sorry for. His Jeri curl, damn, it's atrocious.

Arsenio Hall (Semmi, et al) was a great, smarmy, sidekick.

I could go on and on. The supporting cast, from James Earl Jones (King Jaffe Joffer) and Madge Sinclair (Queen Aoleon) to Frankie Faison (Landlord) and Samuel L. Jackson (hold-up guy), are spectacular.

Every time I watch it again, I find something new. I enjoyed it when I was younger, but now I like it even more.