Coming 2 America: Bop or Flop?

*image from Screen Rant

Comedy/Romance, 1 hr 50 min, PG-13

Director: Craig Brewer

What’s it about? Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted confidante Semmi (Arsenio Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York - where it all began.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 51%

Bop or Flop? While Coming 2 America came through with cultural nostalgia and a star studded (American) cast, I wanted so much more. For such a star studded cast, and the anticipation, the plot felt lackluster and at times remedial. It wasn't giving what it was supposed to gave (though it was nice to see the original cast reprise their roles).

The essence of the first Coming to America was that Prince Akeem was less sexist than most men. I wanted more of that, but instead, he turned into his father, giving in to ways of tradition, without much of a transition/character arc of how he got there. Perhaps an opening montage would have been helpful to recap the last 30 years.

Despite Prince Akeem having three daughters, he still feels the need to honor tradition and have a male heir, even after his father passes away and he is crowned king. General Izzi (played by Wesley Snipes) threatens that if one of King Akeem's seeds doesn't marry with his, that he will kill him? It's not super clear what the threat is. Does Zamunda not have its own army? Where are the guards?!

King Akeem doesn't take General Izzi that seriously, but still feels the need to give in. Luckily for him, King Akeem finds out he has a bastard son named Lavelle, conceived from a chaotic one night stand in America (low key Mary drugged Akeem so that is technically rape?). I understand that at some point in the film, they would need a reason to come back to America, but I have to wonder if there was another way other than to give in to sexist tradition.

But, if I allow myself to get into it, I also wanted to see more of the intersections of classism and cultures across the diaspora. Thanks to Mary, (Akeem's baby mama played by Leslie Jones), we do see a bit of how a Black woman from Queens might respond to her son being heir to a luxurious throne, but that could have been amped up (similar to the predicament in Jumping the Broom).

*image from Shadow & Act

Though I find it refreshing that Lisa (Akeem's wife, played by Shari Headley) didn’t want to fight Akeem's baby mama upon arrival to Zamunda, at the same time that felt too easy for Akeem. How does Lisa really feel? Or Akeem's daughters? Especially the eldest, Princess Meeka (played by Kiki Layne) who should have been handed the throne from the beginning. (Side note: Kiki Layne looked FINE AF and she was the movie for me. She deserved more screen time, more queendom. All the Black women slayed their roles if I'm being honest.)

In a way, it was heartwarming that in the circumstances of marrying for tradition and power, like his father, Lavelle instead chose love. However, I again wonder how fresh the plot would have been if sexism and traditionalism had been challenged earlier on. The writing felt sort of stuck. Akeem had 33 years rid Zamunda of its sexist laws. What was he waiting for? His father to die? His son to tell him about himself? There was no reason that the Akeem we saw in the first film wasn't here to challenge tradition.

Though the movie could have been better plot wise, I was here for the culture! Seeing Gladys Knight and En Vogue in African garb?! At the same time, even though Zamunda is a fictional country, there could have been more real African culture other than the costumes. What they did show about Zamunda was corny and problematic. Stealing whiskers from a lion? For what? Wesley Snipes leading a country of child soldiers? Mmm.. They did have Davido perform at the wedding, but they definitely should have had more African artists and actors.

I must say from a critical standpoint, this film is a FLOP. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a moment for the culture and that the nostalgia and celebration of Blackness isn’t something to see. Many will still find this movie charming and enjoyable despite its flaws.

Coming 2 America is streaming now on Amazon Prime.