Coming to America is a romantic comedy starring former SNL star Eddie Murphy. The movie is the story of the extremely wealthy Prince Akeem (Murphy) who is set to marry a woman of his father’s choosing on his 21st birthday. Women in Zamunda, the country where Akeem’s father (James Earl Jones) rules, prepare their entire life to be wed to the prince, and the one selected by Akeem’s father is the most prepared out of all of them. She has been trained to do whatever Akeem tells her, including liking anything he likes, hopping on one leg and even barking like any dog breed. While this excites Akeem, it is not what his heart desires. Akeem wants a woman to love him for who he is, not because he is the prince. So Akeem sets off to America to try to find love with his right hand man Semmi (Arsenio Hall).
The movie does a great job incorporating comedy into the romantic storyline. There are tons of quick one-liners that deliver huge laughs. But the most comedic part of the movie comes from when both Murphy and Hall are playing characters other than their main role. Inside a barbershop, Murphy plays both the owner of the shop and a patron while Hall plays another barber. The typical barbershop banter leads to great gut-wrenching laughs in three of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen.
The comedy in the movie is great and the romance is pretty entertaining as well. Akeem falls in love with Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), but doesn’t want to let her know who he really is. The film presents tough tests for Akeem to get the girl he wants in the end. He has to: 1. Get her to break up with her fiancée. 2. Get her father’s approval. 3. Present yourself as a commoner when you are extremely wealthy. The twists and turns of the story line will get keep you guessing.
In this special 30th anniversary edition Blu-Ray, it includes several special features. Prince-ipal Photography: The Coming Together to America; Fit for Akeem: The Costumes of Coming to America; Character Building: The Many Faces of Rick Baker; Composing America: The Musical Talents of Nile Rodgers; A Vintage Sit-Down with Eddie and Arsenio; Photo Gallery. Having that many is wonderful, but after some research, they are the same special features from the DVD release in 1999. While they might be old, they were new to me and cool to see.
