COMING2AMERICA FILM REVIEW BY JV

 
READ NEWER EDIT BELOW - TWO VERSIONS OF SAME REVIEW

Zamunda Returns

A film review by Joe Viglione

Zamunda!

Eddie Murphy's magical place that resembles a chaotic land of Oz has

returned!  After the first Coming to America landed in 1988, the thirst

for these Zamundans is quenched with a touching story arriving 

thirty-three years after the original made fans, waves and an important

court case, Buchwald vs Paramount (1990.)

That the estate of the late columnist, Art Buchwald, is thanked in the

closing credits warms the heart as much as this film does.

Lines like "morally bereft woman" and "I was happy you would put a stem

on an apple of your own" - sexually suggestive at every turn, garnered

this movie a mere PG-13 rating, which is shocking in and of itself.

That the audience enjoys the salty language and cheap sex talk is

part of the fun, which is balanced with the maturity of Cleo McDowell,

his daughter Lisa McDowell, and Eddy Murphy himself.

The shock, though, is on us who saw and loved the original.

The cast has aged!    The acting skills are fine, the story is terrific,

Murphy and director Craig Brewer keep the theme of the first film

(directed by John Landis) in the flavor of Landis. What does jolt,

though, is on us.  Thirty three years on these royals can't stop

the clock.    

There's James Earl Jones on his deathbed again, like in 1992's

Patriot Games.  Don't think it is unintentional.  Not only does this

new film, Coming2America, make sport of its original 1988 incarnation, 

it reprises elements of The Birdcage, Trading Places, Nutty Professor,

and the double bang of your feelings for the original AND those 

other films a calculated play, which works.  

To be redundant: John Landis directed both the original 

Coming to America and Trading Places, so this approach of

referencing much of the original's magic with audience memories

of other motion pictures turns out to be a delight. 

King Jaffe Joffer gives himself an amazing send-off as he passes

the crown to Akeem while Vanessa Bell Calloway as the left-at-the-altar

bride-to-be, Imani Izzi, comes back as the sister of Wesley Snipes'

character, General Izzi.  With Shari Headley's Lisa McDowell having

to put up with the lady-in-waiting from 1988 as well as the new found

fling, Mary "moms"  Junson, mother of the new Prince of Zamunda, 

Lavelle Junson, the plot is easy to follow, with the fun as expected

as an episode of The Golden Girls. 

Louie Anderson as Maurice is stuck in Groundhog Day, the perpetual

employee of McDowell's and the in-your-face product placement,

from McDonald's to Pepsi, Sabrett Hot Dogs, Madison Square Garden,

Ray Ban Aviator Men's Sunglasses, Puma Men's Jacket  to another famous 

brand that escapes me at the moment, it's all mixed in ...real life marketing

devices to fragments of films you've seen before, some that had nothing 

to do with the Zumanda thread, like the aforementioned The Birdcage.

With Beverly Hills Cop IV on the horizon, after Shreks 2 and 3, sequels

are obviously Hollywood gold.   This writer's opinion is that the 33 year wait between Coming to

America film and sequel is one that will be highly popular...all involved

didn't cross too many lines that can't be ignored.  

But as the Lethal Weapons series and Die Hard sequel after sequel

gradually shows us the aging process, Coming2America hits you hard

with the stark reality.   

 

Star Wars bringing back the old cast and crew had us expecting that 

Luke Skywalker and his sister would age gracefully - after all, 

Star Wars is about mortality with more gunshots than The Godfather 

(note: I watched both the Godfather and Star Wars back to back this 

past weekend, Feb 28, 2021, and there

is MORE violence in Star Wars than the Godfather and its sequels.

Think about THAT! ...it's just done more politely)

 

Seeing Eddie Murphy as the older man that he is, and Cleo and Lisa and Oha (Paul

Bates) and Semmi (Arsenio Hall) what Murphy and director Brewer (and 

earlier director Landis) have done is shown us a reflection of our own

maturing process.   It's an unintended consequence of waiting so long,

and it, magically, brings the audience even closer to the film.

The story, this time, is wide open for sequel after sequel.  The sooner

the better.

AIRPLAY

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Eddie Murphy’s magical place that resembles a chaotic land of Oz has returned!

After the first Coming to America landed in 1988, the thirst for these Zamundans is quenched with a touching story

arriving thirty-three years after the original film made fans, waves, and a critical court case. Buchwald vs Paramount (1990.)

That the estate of the late columnist, Art Buchwald, is thanked in the closing credits warms the heart as much as this film does.

Lines like “morally bereft woman” and “I was happy you would put a stem on an apple of your own” – 

sexually suggestive at every turn, garnered this movie a mere PG-13 rating, which is shocking in and of itself.

That the audience enjoys the salty language and cheap sex talk is part of the fun, 

balanced by Cleo McDowell’s maturity, and the same seriousness displayed by his daughter Lisa McDowell, and Eddy Murphy himself.

The shock, though, is on us, we who saw and loved the original. 

The cast has aged! The acting skills are fine, and the story is terrific. Murphy and director Craig Brewer keep 

the first film’s theme (directed by John Landis) in Landis’s flavor. 

What does jolt, though, is on us. 

Thirty-three years on, these royals can’t stop the clock.

There’s James Earl Jones on his deathbed again, like in 1992’s Patriot Games. Do not think it is unintentional. 

 

Not only does this new film, Coming2America, make sport of its original 1988 incarnation, but it also reprises elements of  Robin Williams' The Birdcage, Trading Places, Nutty Professor, and the double bang of your feelings for the  original AND those other films a calculated ploy, which works.

To be redundant: John Landis directed both the original Coming to America and Trading Places, so this approach of referencing much of the original’s magic with audience memories of other motion pictures turns out to be a delight.

King Jaffe Joffer gives himself a memorable send-off as he passes the crown to Akeem. 

At the same time, Vanessa Bell Calloway as the left-at-the-altar bride-to-be, Imani Izzi, comes back as the sister of  Wesley Snipes’, General Izzi. The plot thickens as Shari Headley’s Lisa McDowell has to put up with the lady-in-waiting from 1988  as well as the newfound old fling, Mary “moms” Junson.  This mother of the new Prince of Zamunda, Lavelle Junson, relishes

that the one-night-stand from long ago hits, as Leo McDowell put it in the original, "the jackpot." 

The plot is easy to follow, with the fun as expected as the jokes you'll find in any episode of The Golden Girls.   You know the punchline is coming, it's the beautiful acting here that makes you laugh anyway.

Louie Anderson, as Maurice, is stuck in Groundhog Day, the perpetual employee of McDowell’s.  The in-your-face product placement, from McDonald’s to Pepsi, Sabrett Hot Dogs, Madison Square Garden, Ray-Ban Aviator Men’s Sunglasses, 

Puma Men’s Jacket to another famous brand that escapes me at the moment properly meshes with the fictional story,    It’s all mixed in  …real-life marketing devices to fragments of films you’ve seen before, some that had nothing to do with the Zumanda situation, like the aforementioned  The Birdcage (I mean, it's a direct rip right down to the song, but I won't spoil it for you.)

With Beverly Hills Cop IV on the horizon (perhaps 2023,) and after Shreks 2 and 3, sequels are Hollywood gold. 

 

Eddie Murphy is quoted as saying that Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator series gave him inspiration to use CG for the return to the horror bar with the plethora of sleazy women.  Truly, I thought that they had appropriated unused footage from 1988, it's that good a scene.

This writer’s opinion is that the 3+ decades wait between the Coming to America film and sequel is one that will  be highly popular.  All involved didn’t cross too many lines that can’t be ignored, though a couple of quotes by the newcomers from the original get very close to the cringe line.

As the Lethal Weapons series and Die Hard sequel after sequel gradually shows us the aging process,  Coming2America hits you hard with the stark reality that this Lisa McDowell is not the pampered yet proper girl from 1988.  She somewhat behaves with the dignity of the late and much missed Madge Sinclair, perhaps my favorite character of all as Queen Aoleon. 

Star Wars bringing back the old cast and crew had us expecting that Luke Skywalker and his sister would age gracefully –  after all, Star Wars is about mortality with more gunshots than The Godfather  (note: I watched both the Godfather and Star Wars back to back this past weekend, Feb 28, 2021,  and there is MORE violence in Star Wars than the Godfather and its sequels. Think about THAT! …(it’s just done more politely)

Seeing Eddie Murphy as the older man that he is, and Cleo and Lisa and Oha (Paul Bates) and Semmi (Arsenio Hall) following suit, what Murphy  and director Brewer (and earlier director Landis) have done is shown us a reflection of our maturing process. 

It’s an unintended consequence of waiting so long, and it, magically, brings the audience even closer to the film.

The story, this time, is wide open for sequel after sequel. The sooner, the better.