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Coming to America

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Coming to America (1988)

June. 29,1988
|
7.1
|
R
| Comedy Romance
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An African prince decides it’s time for him to find a princess... and his mission leads him and his most loyal friend to Queens, New York. In disguise as an impoverished immigrant, the pampered prince quickly finds himself a new job, new friends, new digs, new enemies and lots of trouble.

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BelSports
1988/06/29

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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Kien Navarro
1988/06/30

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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Loui Blair
1988/07/01

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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Cassandra
1988/07/02

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

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Mister Gorys
1988/07/03

This is Eddie Murphy at his absolute best and is one of his very best movies. He plays an African prince who comes to America (NYC) to find the girl of his dreams, but plays down his wealth and extravagance by posing as a lowly janitor at a McDonald's type fast food joint in order to find a woman who truly loves him and not his money and power. Arsenio tags along as his bodyguard and friend, though he finds it much harder to move from a palace into a squalid apartment. The cast is great and there's a lot of very funny jokes in this one. It's a very good story as well.

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vincentgeorge-98430
1988/07/04

John Landis hits a home-run with Coming to America, featuring Eddie Murphy at the height of his powers. He plays the son of an African kingdom ruler(thus heir) who travels to America because he does not want an arranged marriage at home. This is a typical fish out of the water plotline with plenty of laughs and plenty of heart. The actors are all very good especially James Earl Jones as the father. If you in mood of a funny movie- one that is reeking of nostalgia than Coming to America is a film you should consider. In my opinion this is both Landis's and Murphy's best effort.

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cwade22
1988/07/05

Maybe it's because I'm Half African, or maybe this film was very well done, but I LOVE THIS FILM! I was laughing throughout! And I don't often laugh to certain comedies. Never seen this film until today! I'd suggest my mom watch it but the nudity and profanity would not go well with Her. It would make her laugh though. I say that I'm half African because maybe That's why I relate to some parts and laughed. Like how many white people love The Office or arrested development, which both are very stale to me. I think certain ethnicities react more to certain comedies. Maybe that's a factor. Maybe not! This film wasn't directed by Spike Lee. It was John Landis! He's not black. I'm not sure my theory of ethnically relevant comedy always stands. Again, I don't laugh at arrested development nor The Office. I went on a date with a white girl and she was Talking about arrested development and I couldn't relate. With those two shows, maybe they land better with white people. I've never heard a black person talk about the office or arrested development. Never! I don't know any black people that want to go to Coachella, either. Lol. Race may not matter regarding how they react to certain styles of comedy. It's very interesting that Eddie Murphy was so successful in the 1980's as a leading man. Beverly Hills cop was supposed to cast Sylvester Stallone! Imagine that franchise with Sylvester Stallone! This film was Hilarious! And it had some cliche things, but surprisingly, they weren't cheesy. Eddie Murphy and John landis collaborated on other films. Maybe they really understood each other, maybe both were just very great at making films, and teaming up, they succeeded. I just think this film worked. I wasn't asking too many questions about realism because it could happen. The ending, I did wonder how that happened, but it can be explained if you think about the family and friends. I can't believe it took me this long to finally watch this movie. I had to debate with myself, whether Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy was funnier overall. I already know Eddie Murphy was more successful as an actor, but Eddie Murphy made Beverly Hills cop franchise into a very good franchise. If Stallone did that franchise as originally planned, it would've been very different. Maybe it's not fair comparing Murphy to Pryor, but they're very similar. Great film!

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Ian
1988/07/06

(Flash Review)When having everything is not enough nor does not satisfy one's soul. This movie actually had a moral core that wasn't overshadowed by the comedy. Murphy plays Prince Akeem of Zamunda for which money is no object (in fact his face is on the money!), a multitude of servants await every command and his family literally walks on fresh rose petals. For Akeem, this form of opulent luxury doesn't truly fulfill him and when he is to be married to an attractive women, which he has no emotional attachment, he sets off to America to find a woman that meets his emotional desires. He aims for an impoverished armpit of a city in New York to shed his Prince persona. Will he find the emotional love? Can he hide the fact that he is a wealthy prince? This movie has many very funny scenes in the first act or two and slowly switches into a romantic drama with standard love story dramatic tension. Good screenplay for the genre. A true Murphy classic with many big name actors in small scenes during their youth.

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