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.
In the years since “Trading Places,” Eddie Murphy had become one of Hollywood’s biggest names, starring in films such as “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “The Golden Child,” and his own standup special, “Eddie Murphy: Raw.” With “Coming to America,” he proved he still had the golden touch as it went on to be another global success but it would be his last big blockbuster for many years, as the subsequent movies he made, “Harlem Nights,” “Another 48 Hrs.,” “Boomerang,” plus many more, were big-budget duds. Not even the return of Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop III,” which was once again directed by John Landis, could resurrect Murphy’s floundering career. It wouldn’t be until 1996 with the release of “The Nutty Professor,” and then again in 2001 with “Shrek,” that his waning star began to shine brightly again.
“Coming to America,” tells the story of a prince named Akeem (Murphy), who hails from the fictional African nation of Zamunda. On his 21st birthday, his parents, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) and mother, Queen Aoleon (Madge Sinclair), have arranged for him to marry his future wife. At the last minute, however, he refuses to go through with the nuptials, vowing to go to America where he can find a woman who will love and respect him for who he is and not what he has. Against his parents’ wishes, he sets off along with his royal servant and best friend, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), where they land in New York and insist on staying in meager accommodations in Queens, much to Semmi’s chagrin, who is used to being spoiled in the royal palace. They find jobs at a local fast food restaurant called McDowell’s where Akeem begins to fall for the owner’s daughter, Lisa (Shari Headley) but he has competition in rich and obnoxious Darryl Jenks (Eriq La Salle), the heir to Soul Glo, a Jheri curl–like hair styling spray.
When Darryl announces at a party at Lisa’s father’s house, that he has just proposed to her and that she has accepted, blindsided by the news and outraged, she storms out of the house and ends their relationship. She finds solace in Akeem, who is only too keen to spend time with her and over time, they fall for each other. Semmi insists that Akeem tell her who he really is so they can go back to Zamunda but he refuses, stating that he will tell her when the time is right but when Semmi sends word back to Zamunda that he and Akeem’s funds have run out, Akeem’s father, the king, along with the queen, and their royal entourage, make their way to New York, where they plan on bringing him back home. Naturally, this ruins Akeem’s plans and when Lisa discovers that he is actually a prince and that he wasn’t honest with her, she ends their relationship. Heartbroken, Akeem returns to Zamunda and prepares to go through with the wedding but his mother and father have a surprise waiting for him!
By this time, as I stated earlier, Murphy was a huge star and the few moments of spontaneity and genuine humor from him, feel forced. Arsenio Hall appeared to be having more fun and in watching the behind-the-scenes featurettes about the making of the movie, director John Landis stated that while Murphy went to Paramount and championed for him to direct, they did not get on well during production. In a roundabout way, Landis claimed that Murphy’s status as a big star had gone to his head and he felt like he wasn’t being treated accordingly. Landis still praises Murphy’s performance but this was something I had known about for years. For a long time, Murphy has been known to be a prima donna on film sets, and unfortunately, that sort of behavior, to me, is unacceptable. I have been an indie filmmaker for over 30 years and have worked with a lot of wonderful actors and along the way, even in independent circles, you’d be surprised at just how often an actor will try to put themselves above everyone else, proclaiming they are the most important person on set. In the end, “Coming to America” has some laughs but throughout, almost everything about it feels contrived. Even John Landis states that he missed collaborating with the Eddie Murphy he worked with on “Trading Places,” an actor who was eager to learn and fun to be around but over time, they obviously put their differences aside as they would team up together again in 1994 to make “Beverly Hills Cop III,” but the less said about that film, the better.
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