Coming to America was one of the last 80's eccentric movies of the twentieth century, it's one of those classic R rated comedies from the 80's. The film is about a young African prince named Akeem from the fictional country of Zamunda, who has recently turned twenty one. During the day of his birthday his father, the king of Zamunda gives him a bride to marry, but Akeem is not satisfied with this woman because she was born, and groomed to marry Akeem, so Akeem has the idea to go to America with his best friend Semmi in order to find his bride to be, to be specific they go to Queens New York, the last place any royalty should be. My whole synopsis makes the movie seem that to a Disney movie, but this movie is far from it. This movie is full of that classic raunchy you might come to expect, but each comedic moment, and joke blends harmoniously with the charming plot. Every raunchy moment that happens is made up for with Akeem's hopeful attitude. Like when all of Akeem and Semmi's luggage gets stolen and they notice that literally everyone within the neighborhood is wearing their clothes, Akeem lets them keep it all because he doesn't need it, and wants to let them have it. Akeem remains optimistic throughout all of his encounters even when his boss at McDowell's chews him out, or during a robbery at his job. Also the fact that the movie is poking fun at the real McDonald's by having a restaurant that looks and sounds like McDonald's is hilarious.
Coming to America is one of my favorite movies from when I was younger, I remember Comedy Central used to show re-runs of this movie all the time. This movie isn't a masterpiece or anything too extravagant, its just a good movie with good vibes. It may seem cliche from time to time, but this movie is definitely funny, no doubt about. It isn't bad like any of Eddie Murphy's later movies, probably because of the director, John Landis, considering he directed National Lampoon's Animal House, and Blues Brothers, but this movie is great because it was made coming off of Eddie Murphy's time in Saturday Night Live, during his prime, and because it has a great director and excellent cast, you wouldn't' expect to see James Earl Jones in a raunchy comedy. And casting Arsenio Hall was an amazing choice considering he was made for these types of movies. This movie has jokes that either won't sit well with some audiences, or can be related to and understood by other audiences. It's funny when Akeem goes outside and shouts "good morning my neighbors!" Only to have someone scream "fuck you!" It's funny to see Samuel L. Jackson get beat up while trying to rob a bootleg McDonald's. In my opinion there is no reason to call this movie bad, most jokes land right, and the premise of the movie is hilarious, That is why I am giving this movie a good / good rating not because of my strong affinity for this movie, but for it's witty, and charming sense of humor, and the fact that I had a great time watching it, it's not a let down whatsoever.
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