Coming 2 America

 

Coming 2 America is the sequel to Coming to America, 30 years in the making. When Prince Akeem discovers he has an illegitimate son in America, he returns to locate him to offer him the opportunity of a lifetime, Prince of Zamunda. It stars Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and new comer Jermaine Fowler.

I came into this move knowing it was not going to be a critically acclaimed, thought provoking, emotional roller-coaster of a movie. It’s exactly what you would have expected it to be, a walk down memory lane. Full of nostalgia and flashbacks.

A good chunk of the original cast came back and some incredibly talented young new additions, Rotimi from Power & Teyana Taylor, were also included. Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan were their typical comedic selves, Leslie brought the raunchy and Tracy brought the funny.

The plot was predictable, almost from the beginning, but it was still entertaining enough for me to want to keep watching. I thought the themes around a patriarchal society and how certain characters were working to push back against the norms, were interesting.

The anecdotes were typical Eddie Murphy, a bit on the corny side. He, as the writer, was very aware of the audience and made puns that were self-deprecating for their enjoyment.

Overall, it was a fun watch. Just note, if you haven’t seen the first movie, you definitely want to watch that one to properly connect to the story and the inside jokes.