In a sentenceEddie Murphy behaves impeccably, then plays several other people so he doesn’t have to
Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) leaves Africa for New York in search of a bride, taking his royal expectations into an unfamiliar setting. Finding a wife means encountering people whose lives bear little resemblance to his own, and learning how to approach them without the comfort of familiar customs. Arsenio Hall plays Semmi, Shari Headley plays Lisa McDowell, and John Amos plays Cleo McDowell. James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair appear as King Jaffe Joffer and Queen Aoleon. Murphy and Hall also play several of the supporting characters in this comedy about an African prince abroad.
Plays from YouTube when you press play; nothing loads from them until then.
Eddie Murphy’s sweetness holds John Landis’s royal romance together, while the extra faces supply the laughs. The courtship is predictable, but the company makes it an easy film to forgive.
Coming to America is a good-natured romantic comedy with enough laughs to excuse a predictable courtship. John Landis gives an African prince’s search for a bride in New York a sweetness that the broader jokes rarely disturb. The story, credited to Eddie Murphy, gives its star the useful task of being the courteous person in a comedy. At 117 minutes, the film gives him rather too long to do it.
Murphy plays Prince Akeem with a restraint that makes the character easy to like. He allows politeness to be funny without treating the prince as a fool, which matters in a story built around cultural misunderstanding. An African character gets to be curious, dignified and romantically hopeful; the film does not need to make him ridiculous every time he encounters something unfamiliar. Arsenio Hall’s Semmi gives Murphy a livelier presence to work against, keeping the sweetness from becoming oppressive.
The multiple roles are a large part of the attraction, even when they interrupt the courtship. We laughed hardest at Murphy’s Randy Watson, whose self-importance is especially welcome after the prince’s careful manners. Murphy and Hall give their smaller characters excessive confidence, and Landis generally knows how long to let them occupy the film. Some do outstay their welcome, but we would be reluctant to lose them simply to get back to the business of finding Akeem a wife.
David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein’s screenplay is less attentive to the romance. Shari Headley gets little of the comic freedom allowed to the busier supporting players, and Lisa McDowell can feel like someone waiting for the impersonations to finish. The predictable courtship leaves the supporting cast to provide much of the interest. John Amos, as Cleo McDowell, and James Earl Jones, as King Jaffe Joffer, have more opportunity to impose themselves. Jones’s sternness is particularly funny beside Murphy’s patient courtesy.
Woody Omens and Sol Negrin’s cinematography favours clarity, leaving the performers to supply most of the jokes. Richard Macdonald’s production design makes royal extravagance part of the fun, and Deborah Nadoolman Landis’s costumes share that appetite for display. It is a polished fairy tale, and the polish helps us accept its generosity towards Akeem. The satire is mild, and Landis does little visually to make it any sharper.
Editors George Folsey Jr. and Malcolm Campbell give the individual comic passages time to breathe, but the whole story could move faster. Returning to the romance can feel like picking up a conversation after too many interruptions. Nile Rodgers’s music suits the film’s warmth and helps those shifts feel less abrupt. It cannot quite disguise how often the search for a wife has been put aside for another performance.
For a fish-out-of-water comedy, it spends refreshingly little effort treating its visitor as an idiot. Murphy gives us someone we want to see happy, which makes the familiar plotting easier to tolerate. Choose it for a relaxed evening, provided nobody is expecting a brisk romance.
The reviews split almost evenly, and the one thing nearly everyone agrees on is Eddie Murphy. Even critics who dislike the film credit his prince, played with more restraint and sweetness than they expect, and the warmer notices go further, praising his and Arsenio Hall’s turns in multiple roles under heavy make-up, James Earl Jones in support, and Landis’s brisk comic timing. Slant Magazine also singles out the film’s affectionate and unusual treatment of African characters.
The argument is over the script. The negative reviews call it thin, predictable and closer to a string of television sketches than a romantic comedy, leaning on crude jokes early and reaction shots later; the Los Angeles Times goes furthest, calling it a waste of its cast. There is a pattern to the dissent: the notices from the film’s release are the harshest, while critics writing years later find the humour has held up better than anyone expected.
The piece praises the film's humor that still holds up and its positive, subversive portrayal of African characters and culture.
Read the full review →The critic praises the film as slick and funny, crediting director Landis for harnessing Eddie Murphy's talent through superb comic timing, a satirical edge, and his gift for mimicry, which elevates it despite a predictable storyline.
Read the full review →The critic finds the film entertaining thanks to strong performances from Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and James Earl Jones, who help overcome predictable plotting. Landis delivers reliable laughs through confident execution rather than originality.
Read the full review →The review calls it a disarmingly sweet fish-out-of-water comedy with heart and fresh comedic shtick from Murphy and Hall in multiple roles.
Read the full review →The critic finds the script less clever than it thinks it is, but notes that Murphy carries the picture with aplomb and delivers funny cameos thanks to make-up; the supporting cast, including cameos from Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy, provides highlights.
Read the full review →The critic finds the film a bland sitcom that wastes Eddie Murphy's talents and John Landis's sensibilities in a dull-witted screenplay and flat direction.
Read the full review →
Roman HolidayAnother royal discovers ordinary life, with a romance given more room to breathe.
Local HeroA gentler outsider comedy, equally interested in money, manners and unexpected affection.
The Wedding BanquetRomantic concealment and family expectations generate sharper complications without losing the warmth.
The African Doctor · not reviewed yetAn African newcomer’s encounter with provincial France turns cultural misunderstanding into affectionate comedy.
The Nutty Professor · not reviewed yetMurphy divides himself among competing personalities again, with sweetness beneath the louder jokes.
Free account
Two lists that know where things are streaming, collections you can share, your own score beside ours, and Discover that remembers what you have seen.
