Be careful what you wish for. Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall return to the roles that provided joy and hilarity in a film directed by John Landis. Over three decades later, they are back but find the well is rather dry.
Director Craig Brewer, who provided us with a near masterpiece with Dolemite Is My Name (2019), isn’t wholly to blame for this misfire, though. Coming 2 America looks great and is watchable, it’s just the script – by Kenya Barris, David Sheffield, and Barry W. Blaustein – isn’t funny. From the clichéd African scenes (it’s like Black Panther never happened) to the rehashing of gags from the first film, it’s not good enough.
The plot is simple enough and is nothing we haven’t seen a thousand times before. As recently crowned king, Akeem Joffer (Murphy) finds he has fathered a son he didn’t know about (but those around him apparently did) and Zamunda is set to come into conflict with neighbouring Nextdoria, led by General Izzi (Wesley Snipes) if he doesn’t have a rightful heir. Leaving his wife (Shari Headley, also reprising her role from the 1988 film) and three daughters, Akeem and Semmi (Hall) return to Queens, NY to find the son who knows nothing of his destiny. The son in question, Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler), is a smart lad looking to advance his surroundings while his mother (Leslie Jones) is a loud-mouth, thinly-drawn stereotype. Under a better script, much hilarity would ensue.
Landis’ 1988 film is a beloved treasure, and while the sequel tries to pack as many in-jokes in as possible, it just isn’t enough. We get to revisit many of our favourite characters, McDowells is still doing well despite the continuous IP lawsuits from that other company and the barbershop still has the same old folk hanging around (including Murphy still done up as a white Jewish guy, which might be a bit outdated these days), plus what would have been a ‘surprise’ appearance of an in-universe singer has been spoilt by the trailer. Gags that should have been a sure-fire thing falter as a misstep. Is it really necessary to include so much footage from the original, for example? The gender flip of the royal bathing scene may raise a smile but is completely predictable. The toning down of the language and nudity is too obvious (was there are sponsorship deal between Puma and Zamunda?) and feels less genuine for it.
That all being said, the actors all excel despite the material, as does the direction. Even Leslie Jones is bearable. It says something when you don’t even get a smile from the mid-credits out-takes. Going straight to Prime, the film will do well but it’s a pale imitation of the original. King Joffer deserves better.
