Coming to America

Eddie Murphy’s seventh film is also one of his corniest. In Coming to America, Murphy plays, among other roles, Prince Akeem of Zamunda, who becomes dispirited when his arranged marriage at age 21 offers him a well-trained, brainless woman. Akeem tells his companion, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), and then his father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) that he wants to search America for a more suitable future queen. The film’s portrayal of Africans (and Africa, for that matter) is specious to say the least, but infectious jokes abound. Reportedly, Murphy’s penchant for playing multiple characters as he does here was inspired by Peter Sellers doing the same in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
–forrest green III