Coming 2 America

_Fun reunion, but pales in comparison to the first movie_ Three decades after the original film, Akeem (Eddie Murphy) discovers that he needs to go back to America with Semmi (Arsenio Hall). The principal cast members return with some new characters played by Jermaine Fowler, Tracy Morgan, Nomzamo Mbatha and KiKi Layne. “Coming 2 America” (2021) is nowhere near as good as the first movie (which is probably my all-time favorite comedy), but it is fun to see where the characters are at after over thirty years, not to mention what they look like. There are four things that hold the flick back: It seems like it’s in a hurry, peppered with music videos, not to mention it’s noticeably goofier than the original. It’s afraid to slow down for some compelling or heartwarming drama. When they do, like with Lavelle (Jermaine) and Mirembe (Nomzamo), it works and you start get drawn into the characters, but then it cuts to another crazed scene. Secondly, Akeem isn’t as likable or funny here, whether that’s because of Eddie’s low-energy, mediocre writing or simply Akeem being stifled by tradition, I don’t know; probably a combination. Thirdly, the trip to New York City comes and goes so this isn’t really much of a Coming to America 2. The focus is on Zamunda, which is fine, but the story needed more interesting ideas and writing. Lastly, I liked Jermaine Fowler as Lavelle Junson; he has charisma, but he pales in comparison to Murphy as Akeem in the first movie. The creators needed to spend more time fleshing out the potential of Jermaine and his character. Despite these shortcomings, “Coming 2 America” is still worth catching if you’re a fan of the original flick. It’s great to see all the old characters and there are some amusing and entertaining moments; for instance, the early bit with Bopoto (Teyana Taylor), which made me bust out laughing. The film runs 1 hour, 48 minutes, and was shot in Atlanta, Georgia, and New York City. GRADE: B-/C+

Before it even begins, Coming 2 America already has five strikes. It integrates a number in its misleading title (most of the action takes place in Zamunda), it arrives three decades after the original, the plot revolves around a son that the protagonist did not know he had, its content has been sanitized to reach a wider public, and its stars are, albeit briefly, digitally de-aged. This means that C2A has at least one thing in common with 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Odd Couple II, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Expendables 3, and The Irishman. This is not good company. We learn that Zamunda has a neighboring country called Nextdoria. This name perfectly illustrates the creative bankruptcy of director Craig Brewer (though any filmmaker is better than notorious infanticide John Landis, who directed the original) and screenwriters Kenya Barris, Barry W. Blaustein, and David Sheffield. It baffles the mind that it took three people to write a film in which what passes for humor is, for example, Akeem (Eddie Murohy) constantly and cheerfully calling his son a “bastard.” Swearing is not funny in and of itself; it requires context. In Coming to America, it was funny when Akeem used, unaware of its meaning, foul language because, ironically, he intended to be polite; it’s quite a stretch, however, for him to be oblivious of the offensive connotation of the word ‘bastard.’ And speaking of offensive connotations, another source of quote-unquote comedy is the cultural clash between the refined royals of Zamunda and Lavelle’s (Akeem’s illegitimate son) uncouth family; Lavelle’s mother Mary and Uncle Reem are played respectively by Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan, so you can be sure there is no shortage of stereotypical African-American behavior. C2A is not entirely devoid of pleasures, but these are few and far between. For instance, there's an appearance by En Vogue and Salt-N-Pepa performing their 1993 hit “Whatta Man” with reworked lyrics – but the best thing about the movie is by far Wesley Snipes's performance as General Izzi (older brother of Imani, Akeem's original fiancée). Snipes easily steals every scene he’s in, even outshining Murphy and Hall. The rest is pure nostalgia, and the movie is indeed firmly rooted in the values of the 80s. There is a nod to gender equality when Akeem changes the tradition of royal succession to allow his eldest daughter to rule Zamunda upon his death; he conveniently forgets, on the other hand, to abolish that other tradition, dating back to the original film, according to which kings and princes are bathed by attractive young women who, as we remember from Coming to America, had to be sexually subservient (not to mention that poor Imani is still hopping in one leg and barking like a dog as Akeem cruelly ordered her to decades ago).