With the sequel coming to Amazon Prime one week from now, it's time that I talk about the beloved comedy classic starring Eddie Murphy. If you're wondering why I haven't decided to talk about the film far sooner, it's for two reasons. One is the aforementioned sequel being released, and the other is fairly simple. I don't like this movie at all. But hey, why don't I go in depth to explain why?
Positives:
- The acting as a whole. From Murphy's Akeem, Arsenio Hall's Semmi, James Earl Jones's King Jaffe, John Amos as Mr. McDowell, and the list goes on. Regardless of their characters and how likeable they are, the actors and actresses are doing the best they can, especially Murphy and Hall's impersonations and multiple roles with prosthetics.
- Some of the side characters. The characters I genuinely enjoy are Queen Aoleon, Patrice McDowell, Akeem's landlord, and Maurice the co-worker. They aren't in the film much, but that's honestly perfect given that too much exposure could hurt them as characters.
- John Landis's directing. Much like "Trading Places", I love how he tries to capture a sense of gritty reality for the otherwise lighthearted comedic narrative. It's actually a step-up from the film in the filmmaking department as he glorifies the country of Zamunda and the lavish rooms and suites that the characters inhabit. Even though the palace of Zamunda is portrayed as a matte-painting, it's charming and effective given the film's budget.
- The cinematography by Sol Negrin and Woody Omens. It's nothing amazing, but I do love the panning, tightly-spaced, and tracking shot that are used to exhibit Queens and the run-down feel of the neighbourhood.
- The music by Nile Rodgers. It's honestly great all around in terms of the various songs and themes they use. From the African beats in Zamunda, the "Soul Glo" theme song, Sexual Chocolate's song in the church, the titular song that plays in the credits, and even the licensed soundtrack is great. It also works at giving the film an audio identity, much like the classical music was the audio identity for "Trading Places".
Negatives:
- The story. At first, the premise of the film doesn't seem too bad at all. Prince Akeem is looking for a worthy bride that is independent herself, compared to the groomed brides that are obedient. However, Akeem doesn't want to have his wealth and royal status be all that he is to win over said women, so he travels to New York with his friend and servant, Semmi, pretending to be foreign exchange students. While Akeem does find his potential wife-to-be in the form of Lisa McDowell, he has to slowly win her over by working under her father while finding a way to get her current boyfriend out of the picture. So, it's basically a gender-swap "Aladdin" but without genies and magic. What's the issue with the story? Well, aside from various nitpicks such as Akeem's knowledge and motivation about what type of women he would settle with, the ending is just all over the place in its motivation. When Lisa learns about Akeem's true position, she feels betrayed and emotional for literally no reason other than to stick with the cliched "liar revealed" story. Why would she react so strongly to her boyfriend being extremely rich? On top of that, the ending has her marry Akeem with the added bonus of her being a queen and royal member of the family. If the ending had Akeem stay in Queens to marry her or just had Lisa immediately accept Akeem's status, it would be far more satisfying rather than being a knee-jerk ending.
- The comedy. This is the film's biggest problem. It's extremely weak that it rarely stays charming. The issue is that the jokes go for way too long. Whether it's the barbershop workers, Akeem's submissive bride, the over-the-top Zamunda celebration, or the McDowell restaurant and how illegal it is, the comedy feels like a bunch of SNL sketches that are edited together to be a movie. The only times I manage to chuckle was the cameo by the villains from "Trading Places" along with a few moments from the characters I like. Speaking of which...
- The characters. A lot of the characters are just complete assholes and the film really wants you to root for them for some reason. First, there's Akeem, who lies to Lisa about his wealth and status for really no reason. I also felt that Akeem should have found a love interest who was actually poor herself rather than middle-class, similar to the romance between Louis and Ophelia in "Trading Places". Semmi is a bit understanding, but he's a complete stick in the mud for always being moody and arguing over Akeem's plans and image. Next there's King Jaffe, who wants his son to have sex with many women and, at first, dismissed Lisa as his son's bride. Mr. McDowell is probably the biggest douchebag in the film as he owns a McDonald's rip-off and treats Akeem and Semmi like low-life employees for majority of the film. Even though he owns a nice house and earned his living, he becomes Eugene Krabs upon learning of Akeem's true identity. Then, there's Darly, Lisa's boyfriend who lives off his parent's wealth and constantly ridicules Akeem's nationality despite the two being the same damn colour. Lastly, there are the minor characters such as the Duke brothers from "Trading Places" getting their wealth back as well as Reverend Brown amongst a few others. I understand that the film wants you to like these despicable characters, akin to the characters in "Trading Places". But the reason why this doesn't work is explained in the last point.
- Everyone gets their happy ending. Seriously, when I mean everyone, I god damn mean everyone. Akeem and Lisa get married after the cliched third act break-up, Semmi gets a hot chick, Akeem's father and mother agree with each other, Mr. McDowell gets to be apart of a royal family and earn more cash, Patrice hooks up with Darly after Lisa breaks up with him, the pissed-off landlord gets an awesome crib, and the cameo by the greedy Duke brothers has them receive a pile of cash from Akeem. If this comedy was far more lighthearted or animated, I can accept the lunacy that everyone lives happily ever after, but the film is meant to be taken in a somewhat realistic world. "Trading Places" does have happy endings for the lead characters, but the villains suffer their cruel fates. Here, everyone is a complete jerk-ass that all manage to receive good fortune at the end of the movie. Like, I get that the story feels like a fairy-tale, but not even Disney films end as happily as this!
"Coming to America" feels like a ruined vacation rather than a well-deserved one. While the acting is great all around, there were a few characters I managed to like personally, the cinematography and musical efforts offer nice results, and the directing by Landis again offers the sense of gritty realism in the film's setting that contrasts with the lighthearted narrative, these alone can't save the core issues of the movie. The story offers one of the worst "liar revealed" third act sequences in the genre with the mismatched motivation of the characters, the comedy is pathetic as jokes stretch way too long for anyone's liking, the majority of characters are just assholes regardless of the charismatic performances attached, and the film literally gives everyone a happy ending. It feels so disappointing that Landis can direct a comedic masterpiece like "Trading Places" and his most recognizable film is not only inferior, but even embarrassing at times. I'm extremely weary of the sequel, but we will see when it comes out next week.
Verdict: 4/10. Just a bad comedy that is well-made and acted, but very poorly written. Sets up some low expectations for the upcoming sequel...
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