Good concept, poorly executed.

Excellent but underrated film

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) is the pampered heir to the throne of Zamunda. He is restless especially with his parents arranging his marriage. He wants to meet someone with a mind of her own. King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) assumes he wants to sow his wild oats and sends him off for a 40 day trip. He chooses to go to Queens with his best friend Semmi (Arsenio Hall). They pretend to be African students and get fast food jobs.It is simple fun. The characters are fun. It's the first time Murphy is doing his multiple character thing in a movie and it feels fresh. He and Arsenio have great chemistry together. The romance isn't quite as compelling. This is a simple story which follows a very standard formula. It's not breaking any rules and everybody has a good time.

Hilarious tale of an African prince named Akeem (Murphy) and his royal servant (Hall) who head off to the United States in search of the perfect Queen. After deciding to go to New York City (they saw that the city had a borough named "Queens"), Akeem becomes a pauper in order to woo the perfect woman (Shari Headley) to become his wife. Although the film had many pre and post-production problems (director Landis almost walked off the set due to a fight with Murphy; Murphy was successfully sued by columnist Art Buchwald for "stealing" his idea of an African prince who goes in search of a wife) the final production is pure comic genius at it's best. Undeniabley, Murphy is the king of a thousand faces. Eddie Murphy gets a chance to deliver a more restrained performance with this film and he manages to do so very well.The film features many hilarious scenes and characters especially a group of boxing obsessed senior citizens who spend their days arguing with a barber shop owner. Murphy and Hall demonstrate their levels of versatility by managing to go under heavy makeup and portray several different costarring roles. This is an excellent film, well produced and flows beautifully from one scene to the next. The movie has a brilliant cast of African Americans. This is Eddie Murphy at his best with witty dialogue, good jokes and romance. If you like Eddie Murphy, and you like comedy, then this is a film not to be missed.Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

Coming to America is a romantic comedy starred by comedian Eddy Murphy, and starred by actress and actors Arsenio Hall, John Amos, James Earl Jones, and Shari Headley. Coming to America was produced by George Falsey Jr. and Robert D. Wachs on June 29, 1988. In the film Coming to America, Akeem Joffer, a royal prince has become tired of his daily life, so he wants to pursue the life of his own. Akeem plans to come to America to find a nice wife that he can both love and respect. Akeem and his best friend flip a coin and that decided the city which Akeem would go, which is New York City. Seeking for a wife, Akeem plans to meet a girl who loves him for who he is and not because he's rich and also because of his prince status. Will he find that ideal women? Coming to America's cinematography is outstanding from the sound, to the dialogue, to the visual effects, to the editing of plot. The dialogue was very comical. The visual effects were very clear and precise. The writers of Coming to America made a clear theme of the movie and the movie carried a very interesting plot. Coming to America have two major essential themes. The first theme of the movie is loving someone for who they are and not for their money and wealth. Akeem's appointed lover Imani was a big gold digger. She loved him for money and wealth. Akeem knew she wasn't a real woman. Another theme discussed in the movie is that money doesn't buy happiness. In the beginning of the movie, Akeem is fed up with the life of a prince and wants to enjoy a real life. He was in for a treat when he moved to America. I give this movie a 10/10! It is a very good movie filled with comedy and romantic scenes. Children ask parents before watching this movie.

Eddie Murphy stars as the Prince of Zamunda. Prince Hakeem is very wealthy. He refuses to marry the bride that his father chose for him, so he decides to go to Queens, New York and find his queen. He arrives in Queens with his best friend/servant and seeks a queen. They try to blend in, so no one knows that he is royalty. He works to act just like the other people in New York and even gets a job at a fast food restaurant. The movie is hilarious all the way through and romantic at the same time.It is interesting to watch Prince Hakeem search for his queen and deal with environments that he is not used to. The prince has to leave his life of luxury behind and learn how to live like people with normal lives. Eddie Murphy does a great job in the film and is sure to cause the audience to laugh.