Trailer

Coming to America (1988)

R   |    |  Comedy, Romance

Coming to America (1988) Poster

An extremely pampered African Prince travels to Queens, New York, and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and will.

7/10
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47 Metascore

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  • Eddie Murphy and Rick Baker in Coming to America (1988)
  • Eddie Murphy in Coming to America (1988)
  • Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in Coming to America (1988)
  • John Landis and Eddie Murphy in Coming to America (1988)
  • Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in Coming to America (1988)
  • Eddie Murphy and Rick Baker in Coming to America (1988)

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Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Another 5 wins & 3 nominations.

Reviews & Commentary

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User Reviews
14 December 2002 | soranno
Another Great Comedy Starring Eddie Murphy
After several years of starring in rowdy action comedies and con man capers, Eddie Murphy gets a chance to deliver a more restrained performance with this film and he manages to do so very well. Murphy portrays Akeem, an African prince who is being pressured into a forced marriage by his parents (James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair). The woman that they have chosen for him only sees him for his royalty and therefore does not really love him. Akeem sees this right away and brings his loyal servant, Semi (Arsenio Hall) along with him on a discreet mission to America where Akeem hopes to find a beautiful woman who will love him and accept him for who he really is and not just see him for his royalty. Posing as "common folk", Akeem and Semi get jobs at a McDonald's style restaurant and Akeem soon falls for the daughter (Shari Headley) of the restaurant's owner (John Amos). 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. Yet another example of why Murphy is one of the funniest actors in recent Hollywood history.

Metacritic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Amos, whose character Cleo McDowell shamelessly copies McDonalds, had a long history with McDonalds in real life. At one point Amos worked at the first-ever McDonalds restaurant in Canada, and he also starred in a famous song-and-dance McDonalds commercial in 1971 ("Grab a Bucket and Mop"). The scene when Cleo stares strangely at Akeem trying to use a bucket and mop is an in-joke reference to this commercial.

Quotes

Rose Bearer: Good morning, Your Highness.
Rose Bearer: Good morning, Your Highness.
Rose Bearer: Good morning, Your Highness.
Oha: Happy birthday, Your Highness.
Prince Akeem: Yes, it *is* my birthday.

Goofs

As Akeem's parents are being escorted by police to his apartment building, the Club's name on the left side of the screen is spelled as "EL Punto DE Encuentro NigtClub" rather than NightClub.

Crazy Credits

On conversion of the movie to HD digital format, Saul's credit has been omitted. When Saul interrupts the end credits with the soup joke, originally Eddie Murphy's name appears under Saul to indicate it's him (the name then disappears and reappears immediately under Clarence). This does not happen in modern digital versions of the movie, and Saul is left unidentified until the conventional credits list.

Soundtracks

Transparent
Written by Allee Willis and Danny Sembello
Performed by Nona Hendryx
Produced by Mic Murphy, David Frank, and Jeff Lorber

Storyline

Plot Summary

Synopsis (WARNING: Spoilers)

Genres

Comedy | Romance

Details

Release Date:

29 June 1988

Language

English

Country of Origin

USA

Filming Locations

392 S 5th Street, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$39,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,404,420 4 July 1988

Gross USA:

$128,152,301

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$288,752,301

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