| Coming to America | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster illustrated by Drew Struzan. |
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| Directed by | John Landis |
| Produced by | Leslie Belzberg George Folsey, Jr. Mark Lipsky |
| Screenplay by | David Sheffield Barry W. Blaustein |
| Story by | Eddie Murphy |
| Starring | Eddie Murphy Arsenio Hall James Earl Jones Shari Headley John Amos |
| Music by | Nile Rodgers |
| Cinematography | Sol Negrin Woody Omens |
| Editing by | Malcolm Campbell George Folsey, Jr. |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 29, 1988 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $39 million |
| Box office | $288,752,301[1] |
Coming to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry. Coming to America is the first of several films in which Murphy plays multiple characters.
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Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy), the prince and heir to the throne of the fictitious African country of great wealth called Zamunda, is discontented with being pampered all his life. The final straw comes when his parents, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) and Queen Aeoleon (Madge Sinclair), present him with a bride-to-be, Imani Izzi (Vanessa Bell), whom he has never met, and who is trained to obey his every command. Akeem concocts a plan to travel to the United States to find a wife he can both love and respect and who accepts him for himself, not his status. He and his friend and personal aide, Semmi (Arsenio Hall) arrive in Queens, New York City, because according to Akeem "What better place to find a queen than the city of Queens?" They rent a rat-infested apartment, with one window facing a brick wall, previously used for some type of crime against the tenant — a blind man and his dog — in the neighborhood of Jamaica and begin working at a local fast food restaurant called McDowell's (restaurateur Cleo McDowell's attempt to copy McDonald's), passing themselves off as poor foreign students.
Akeem falls in love with McDowell's daughter, Lisa (Shari Headley), who possesses the qualities the prince is looking for. The rest of the film centers on Akeem's attempts to win Lisa's hand in marriage, while adjusting to life in the United States and dodging his royal duties and prerogatives. Unfortunately, Semmi is not comfortable with the life of a poor man and thus unintentionally causes a near-disaster when, alerted by Semmi's plea for more financial help, the Zamundian royal couple travels to the United States and reveal themselves to the McDowells.
Although her father is ecstatic that his daughter has attracted the interest of a prince, Lisa, who has fallen for Akeem, becomes angry and confused as to why he lied to her about his identity. She refuses to marry Akeem even after he offers to renounce his throne, and he returns to Zamunda with a broken heart, resigned to marry the woman chosen for him by his parents. On the way to the airport, King Joffe remarks that Akeem cannot marry Lisa because of "tradition," and "who am I to change it?" Queen Aoleon responds, "I thought you were the King."
At the final scene's wedding procession, Akeem waits dejectedly at the altar as his bride-to-be makes her way down the aisle. But when he lifts the veil to kiss her, he finds Lisa instead of his arranged bride. They ride off happily in a carriage after the ceremony with Akeem offering to give up their royal privileges if she chose so. At this, Lisa playfully declines.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Eddie Murphy | Prince Akeem Joffer/Clarence/Randy Watson[2]/Saul |
| Arsenio Hall | Semmi/Morris/Reverend Brown/Extremely Ugly Woman |
| James Earl Jones | King Jaffe Joffer |
| John Amos | Cleo McDowell |
| Madge Sinclair | Queen Aoleon |
| Shari Headley | Lisa McDowell |
| Paul Bates | Oha |
| Eriq La Salle | Darryl Jenks |
| Frankie Faison | Landlord |
| Vanessa Bell | Imani Izzi |
| Louie Anderson | Maurice |
| Allison Dean | Patrice McDowell |
| Sheila Johnson | Lady–in–Waiting |
| Jake Steinfeld | Cab Driver |
| Calvin Lockhart | Colonel Izzi |
| Samuel L. Jackson | Robber |
| Vondie Curtis-Hall | Basketball Game Vendor |
| Don Ameche | Mortimer Duke |
| Ralph Bellamy | Randolph Duke |
| Garcelle Beauvais | Rose Bearer |
| Cuba Gooding, Jr. | Barber Shop Customer |
| Clint Smith | Sweets |
Coming to America reunited star Eddie Murphy with director John Landis. The two had previously worked together on the comedy hit Trading Places (1983); however, Landis later 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. The guy on Coming to America was the pig of the world... But I still think he's wonderful in the movie."[3] Despite the experience, Landis and Murphy collaborated again six years later on Beverly Hills Cop 3.
Coming to America features Murphy and Arsenio Hall in several different roles, which following the success of this film, became a Murphy staple. Hall plays Reverend Brown, who introduces Randy Watson (Murphy) and his band Sexual Chocolate, who perform "Greatest Love of All" at the Black Awareness Rally. Randy Watson is introduced as having portrayed Joe the Policeman in the "What's Goin' Down" episode of That's My Mama. In the barbershop scenes, Murphy and Hall play elderly barbers Clarence and Morris, who engage in furious debate with Saul, the old Jewish man (played by Murphy), about the boxing skills of Joe Louis, Cassius Clay, and Rocky Marciano. One scene includes Cuba Gooding Jr., who does not speak, and the barber scenes are notable because Murphy plays both Akeem and Clarence simultaneously (seemingly giving himself a haircut). Saul calls Akeem "Kunta Kinte", referring to the Roots character made famous by LeVar Burton; co-star John Amos played the adult Kunta Kinte later in the Roots series. Hall also plays a woman who comes on to Akeem and Semmi at a nightclub. Sitting next to Akeem, she tells him "I wanna tear you apart," then looks over at Semmi and adds, "and your friend, too." Akeem frowns at the suggestion while Semmi spits out his drink.
South African chorus Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings Mbube during the opening sequence (the song also known as The Lion Sleeps Tonight). The group has gone on to record several different versions of Mbube; however, the version heard in Coming to America has not been released on its soundtrack or on CD as of 2006.
Landis's calling card/easter egg, "See You Next Wednesday", appears on a science-fiction movie poster in the subway station after Lisa storms off the train.
Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche reprise their roles as the Duke brothers from another Landis and Murphy collaboration, Trading Places.[4] Randolph and Mortimer Duke had lost their enormous fortunes in that film. In this film, the two men are now homeless and living on the streets. Akeem gives them a paper bag filled with money, which they gratefully accept and exclaim "We're back!" A portion of the Trading Places score can be heard during the Bellamy-Ameche cameo. Trading Places is again referenced as the royal entourage leaves the Waldorf-Astoria in the final New York–based scene in the movie: the driver of Akeem and Semmi's limo is played by the same actor who played the Dukes' driver in Trading Places, from whom Billy Ray Valentine (Murphy) seeks counsel when the Dukes pick him up after bailing him out of jail.
King Jaffe Joffer, played by James Earl Jones, comes to America looking for his son after receiving a request for more money from Semmi. He goes to McDowell's and when asked by Lisa's father if he would like him to inform Akeem that his father had arrived, he responds with, "No, do not alert him to my presence. I will deal with him myself." This statement is similar to lines that Jones had delivered as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
The fictitious African country of Zamunda was probably inspired by a number of African republics which used to be British territories (whose former head of state was the British monarch) and which, as republics, no longer observe a monarch as head of state, but which remain members of the Commonwealth of Nations. It may also have been inspired by ancient African kingdoms such as Kongo and Dahomey, or perhaps, modern ones like Swaziland or Lesotho, which both are monarchies to this day. A possible British influence is borne out by the currency of Zamunda being “Zamundan pounds”.
A promotional song for the film, also titled "Coming to America", was written and performed by The System.
In the film, the restaurant is owned by Cleo McDowell (John Amos) and based in Queens, New York.[5] It is under investigation from the McDonald's Corporation for allegedly copying their franchise. At one point, McDowell confronts a photographer shooting outside the restaurant, whom McDowell believes is working to gather evidence for McDonald's. The logos and typeface are extremely similar, including the names of the dishes: the "Big Mac" becomes the "Big Mick" - Mr. McDowell explains that "They both contain two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions. But they use a sesame seed bun. My buns have no seeds." McDowell, in describing the differences between his logo and McDonald's, explains, "They [have] got the Golden Arches, mine [is] the Golden Arcs." Later in the film, when McDowell is first confronted by King Jaffe Joffer, he is seen reading a McDonald's Operation Manual.
Because of the name similarity, the film's producers had to obtain legal permission from McDonald's in advance before they could actually use the name "McDowell's."[6] During production, the owner of a nearby McDonald's restaurant actually did threaten a lawsuit, not knowing this was a movie. The location of the restaurant is 85-07 Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, Queens, as specified accurately in the movie. The actual building itself is the location of a Wendy's restaurant.[7] It was temporarily closed during the filming of the movie.
The film received a generally favorable reception by critics.[8][9]
The film, released on June 29, 1988 by Paramount Pictures in the United States, was a commercial box-office success, both domestically and worldwide.[10][11] The film grossed $128,152,301 at the domestic box office.[12] It was the highest earning film that year for the studio and the third highest grossing film at the United States box office.[13]
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Costume Design by Deborah Nadoolman Landis and Best Makeup by Rick Baker, who designed the makeup effects for both Murphy and Arsenio Hall's multiple supporting characters. The film currently holds 63% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes critic website, but none of the five "top critics" gave the film positive reviews, giving it a top critic rating of 0%.[14]
| Coming to America: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||
|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | ||
| Released | 1988 | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 40:16 | |
| Label | Atco Records | |
| Singles from Coming to America | ||
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The soundtrack to the film was released on LP, cassette and CD. The song "Come into My Life" by Laura Branigan and Joe Esposito was released as a single.
The film was the subject of the Buchwald v. Paramount civil suit, which the humorist Art Buchwald filed in 1990 against the film's producers on the grounds that the film's idea was stolen from a 1982 script that Paramount had optioned from Buchwald. Buchwald won the breach of contract action and the court ordered monetary damages. The parties later settled the case out-of-court prior to an appeal going to trial.[15]
In the retrospective interviews included on the 2007 DVD release of Coming to America, John Landis and screenwriters Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield make no mention of Art Buchwald's lawsuit, and maintain that the film's story originated with Eddie Murphy, with Blaustein and Sheffield writing the screenplay from Murphy's 25-page treatment. In an interview filmed around the time of the film's theatrical release, and included on the DVD, Murphy himself claims that he came up with the idea for the movie whilst on tour. According to Murphy, the film was originally titled The Quest. Blaustein and Sheffield renamed it The Zamuda Project (named for writer/comedian Bob Zmuda; Landis renamed the titular country "Zamunda" to make it sound more African).
In Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan's 2008 book John Landis, Landis is quoted as saying that Art Buchwald's case against Paramount was "without merit," going on to state the following:
| “ | I preface this by saying that I don't know Art Buchwald, and I have nothing against him. I should point out that for all of the media attention to that case, no one ever mentions Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield, the men who actually wrote the script! Every movie I have been involved with that was a big hit had people suing the studio saying it was their idea. We live in a very litigious society. You can sue anybody for anything here.[16] | ” |
Landis also provided the following response as to why Buchwald's lawsuit received more attention in the press than other similar lawsuits:
| “ | Well, because it was Art Buchwald! He is an old East Coast media darling. The other lawsuits came from less famous people. I remember on Animal House, there were four or five lawsuits. And Universal just settled them, as that was cheaper than fighting and even prevailing! Art Buchwald is not only East Coast, he's also a newspaperman. The press is going to take his side. The irony of that case is that the only people that his lawsuit benefited were Eddie Murphy and me because it forced Paramount to open their books.[17] | ” |
A television pilot of a weekly sitcom version of the film was produced for CBS, following the film's success, starring Tommy Davidson as Prince Tariq, and Paul Bates reprising his role as Oha. The pilot went unsold, but was televised on July 4, 1989 as part of the CBS Summer Playhouse pilot anthology series.[18]
Martin Lawrence is reportedly developing a remake; Back to Africa has a similar storyline as the original, but told "in reverse". The film tells the story of a working-class man from Queens, New York (Lawrence) who learns he is the heir to the throne of an African country.[19]
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