Thirty-three years after the arrival of its classic progenitor, "Coming 2 America" reintroduces the signature big-heartedness that empowered the first film to capture generational audiences from one to the next. This is a witty, tonally refreshing movie that employs deft humor to deliver uplift and progressively-realized truths in a day and age yearning for both in spades.
"Coming 2 America" lifts the great comedic pairing of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall into rarefied air, as Murphy's exquisite King Akeem of Zamunda returns to America with straight man sidekick Semi (Hall) in search of Akeem's royal (male) heir: newly-discovered adult son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). The setup yields terrifically humorous opportunities to skewer our racial lunacies, and when they journey back to Zamunda -- joined by Lavelle's resplendent mother Mary (a show-stopping Leslie Jones) -- we find women who refuse to suffer prototypical male foolishness while intellectually operating a step above it all.
Helmed by Craig Brewer (who directed a remarkable Murphy on "Dolemite Is My Name"), "Coming 2 America" expertly leverages and resists nostalgia in equal measure, and proves smart, funny, and radiant in its energy and warmth. Across the board, this is a surprising success. - (Was this Helpful?)
"Coming 2 America" lifts the great comedic pairing of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall into rarefied air, as Murphy's exquisite King Akeem of Zamunda returns to America with straight man sidekick Semi (Hall) in search of Akeem's royal (male) heir: newly-discovered adult son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). The setup yields terrifically humorous opportunities to skewer our racial lunacies, and when they journey back to Zamunda -- joined by Lavelle's resplendent mother Mary (a show-stopping Leslie Jones) -- we find women who refuse to suffer prototypical male foolishness while intellectually operating a step above it all.
Helmed by Craig Brewer (who directed a remarkable Murphy on "Dolemite Is My Name"), "Coming 2 America" expertly leverages and resists nostalgia in equal measure, and proves smart, funny, and radiant in its energy and warmth. Across the board, this is a surprising success. - (Was this Helpful?)
