When a movie is successful, it usually doesn’t take long for a sequel to appear, or at least to talk about it.
After all, if the popularity of a story is to be capitalized on, it should be done while it is fresh in the minds of the public, if possible.
After all, this is the time when you are most likely to be willing to spend money on it.
Therefore, we may be a little surprised when it is said that “Coming to America” will continue after more than 30 years.
+ Interesting story?
Although the comedy about an African prince ending in New York City was very successful at the time, would today’s audience still respond? May.
The aim is rather to attract viewers who know and love the film best, those who actually saw it in cinema at that time. Not only that, the film is sprinkled with appearances from the former group.
Among other things, a meeting with the iconic barber shop takes place, and McDowells returns, a fast-food place modeled without shame after McDonalds.
On the other hand, an important musical interlude at the beginning of the film is just to make some people at home cry in front of their nostalgic screens.
Launched on Amazon Prime Video, “Coming to America” It shamelessly recalls the parade of celebrities from the 80s and 90s.
After the death of his father (James Earl Jones), Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) is declared king of the state of Zamunda.
However, there are no signs of joy, after all, he inherited some of his problems; one of them, the succession to the throne.
Akeem and his wife Lisa (Shari Headley) have three children, but neither Meeka (KiKi Layne) nor their two youngest daughters are eligible for the throne reserved for male descendants.
Thus, General Izzi (Wesley Snipes), the leader of the neighboring country Nextdoria, enters the scene threatening to annex Zamunda.
But then Akeem finds out that he could have a son, without knowing it, during his trip to America: Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler).
The illegitimate prince is not as aware so far of his luck and also has a bit of a hard time with the expectations that are set.
While, it must be acknowledged that at some point, the film moves away from the dream retrospective and wants to say something of its own. At least partially.
Thus, the focus of attention gradually moves away from Akeem and to his hitherto unknown son, who is the new prince, it must be acknowledged that he has an inverse path to that of his father.
While the latter, as a rich man, suddenly wanted to live a poor and working life, Lavelle turns no one into a prince. But they have problems in love.
+ Results
Unfortunately, the result is not really convincing. This is to a lesser extent due to the new leader Jermaine Fowler (Sorry to bother you), who fills her role with energy and charm.
Rather, there are once again problems with the scenario, against which the ensemble can only partially act. So, as in the case of the predecessor, very good jokes are missing, although from time to time you can find reasons to smile.
This can be attributed more to the actors and actresses we see there and that we know, for example, the uninhibited performances of Leslie Jones and Wesley Snipes, the gags themselves are usually very harmless.
The second problem is that the comedy directed by Craig Brewer (Dolemite is my name) wanders without a real purpose. Thus, the film touches on many themes, from racism to love to the role of women, without following more consistently.
The most important thing is that there are too many characters, which makes everyone stumble in the way of others.
While Coming to America was still alive from the duo of Murphy and Arsenio Hall, the sequel juggles many characters.
Not much is learned about daughters, although they are an important topic. Lavelle’s love interest, Mirembe (Nomzamo Mbatha), is right there.
There is not even time to develop a true relationship between Akeem and his son.
Finally, there is a ton of curiosity, but that can’t hide the fact that the film has a surprisingly small content.
In general, it is seen. But he certainly wouldn’t need a sequel.
The ending and the consequences for many characters and their development presented above are not satisfactory in terms of the antagonist of the play, even unfortunate, if not embarrassing; we remember how the character was drawn in the first half and what allusions were made about it.
As in the first part, the decisions of the protagonists are rewarded in a debatable way and, at certain moments, we begin to wonder if the creators of this work wanted to make a kind of statement.
Much of what the film did well in the first half, it does poorly in the second, which has a very negative effect on how you feel when the credits run.
So a work with a lot of potential has become a comedy that can be seen, but it certainly doesn’t have to be.
For fans of the predecessor can be a movie worth watching, for those who are curious it is more of a parenthesis for a cozy Saturday night.
This sequel makes the same mistake as so many similar films before it, starts strong and bombards the viewer with a barrage of appearances, gags, lines and interesting ideas, to lose the mixture of plot and humor in the second half.
The short and too predictable story does not compensate for the comedy that shrinks at any level, and the ending is unsatisfactory in too many ways.
It is certainly not a bad movie, but it is not a work that can be recommended without reservation.