Coming to America is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis, based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, and starring Murphy (in various roles), Arsenio Hall (also in various roles), James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, and Shari Headley.
It tells the story of Akeem Joffer, the crown prince of the fictional African nation of Zamunda who travels to the United States in the hopes of finding a woman he can marry and will love him for who he is, not for his status or for having been trained to please him.
In the wealthy African nation of Zamunda, crown prince Akeem Joffer grows weary of his pampered lifestyle on his 21st birthday and wishes to do more for himself.
When his parents King Jaffe and Queen Aoleon present him with an arranged bride-to-be, Akeem takes action.
Beginning their search for Akeem's bride, they are invited by local barber shop owner Clarence to a rally raising money for the neighborhood.
After a dinner date with Lisa is thwarted when Semmi furnishes their apartment with a hot tub and other luxuries, Akeem confiscates his money and donates it to two homeless men.
Semmi wires a telegraph to King Jaffe for more money, prompting the Joffers to travel to Queens to find him.
When Akeem discovers that his parents have arrived in New York, he and Lisa go to the McDowell residence to lie low and Cleo welcomes them while driving away Darryl.
Landis recalled the differences in working with Murphy on the two movies: "The guy on Trading Places was young and full of energy and curious and funny and fresh and great.
I was gonna direct Coming to America myself, but I knew that Landis had just done three fucked-up pictures in a row and that his career was hanging by a thread after the Twilight Zone trial.
South African chorus Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings Mbube during the opening sequence (the song also known as The Lion Sleeps Tonight).
[3] Landis's calling card ("See You Next Wednesday") appears as an "easter egg" within the film, on a science-fiction movie poster in the subway station after Lisa storms off the train.
[9] Released on June 29, 1988, by Paramount Pictures in the United States, it was a commercial box-office success, both domestically and worldwide.
The website's consensus reads: "Eddie Murphy was in full control at this point, starkly evident in Coming to America's John Landis' coasting direction.
"[16] Vincent Canby in The New York Times was also critical of the writing, calling it a "possibly funny idea" but suggesting the screenplay had escaped before it was ready.
[17] Kathleen Carroll of the New York Daily News called the film "an adorably amusing upscale fairy tale, an endearingly romantic comedy which has all the fabulous fake opulence of an old-fashioned Hollywood musical as well as the traditionally sappy happy ending.
[19] Siskel, in print, reviewed the film more enthusiastically, giving it three and a half stars out of four, and describing it as "a sweet, oft-told story", adding that "Murphy and Hall add a number of very sharp supporting roles hidden by makeup to add spice to the general level of gentleness.
The pop up restaurant had operated in Springfield, Virginia, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in 2022 prior to the suit.
[35] The melody heard in the bathroom scene, where Prince Akeem is being washed by female servants, was sampled in Snoop Dogg's 2006 song "That's That" featuring R. Kelly; a remix of the song featuring American rapper Nas includes a woman's voice saying "the royal penis is clean, Your Highness", a line taken from the same scene.
Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, John Amos, Paul Bates and James Earl Jones returning for the sequel as well.
It was reported that Leslie Jones and American rapper Rick Ross were joining the cast in undisclosed roles.