One of those movies you can watch over and over again. A pure classic.

Eddie Murphy starting make some appearances in disguised as the Barber Shop's crew...they stolen the movie,inventive and unique all the characters are funny and remarkable the owner lies all the time saying that have met a lot of famous people... denied at once by the others...the Jewish telling unfunny jokes....this kind of disguise became a Murphy's trademark for the next pictures!!! Anyway the movie is pretty good with a fine plot...Murphy and Arsenio Hall has a good performance as Prince and servant,the movie probable was in my opinion the Eddie Murphy's second best movie ever...but actually since the Norbit he is no longer funny as before....once more even l'd the official Special Edition released in DVD with a lot of extras it don't have the dubbed version available unfortunately...so go to Netflix!!! Resume: First Watch: 1991 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD-Netflix / Rating: 8,5

"Coming to America" is a movie made almost entirely of clichés and stereotypes. OK, I will admit the all out absurd extravagance of the first 30 minutes or so of this film did make me laugh, but beyond that it's incredibly predictable, and comedy is only funny when it's unpredictable. Think of a time when you heard the punchline of a joke you already knew and still laughed at it.Never?Exactly.Once Akeem comes to America, the film becomes much less funny for this reason. Let's see, an optimistic man in a culture clash scenario ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding", "Rush Hour", every Sacha Baron Cohen film), check. This one is an easy laugh, that basically comes from "ha ha, he is so ignorant". The only film I have seen this done well in is "Borat" which subverts the idea of laughing at the foreign man for being ignorant and shows us how utterly ignorant some Americans still are. Then of course the culture clash resolution, where both characters realize they are no different after all, regardless of where they're from. Check. Then there's all of the romantic comedy clichés: the simple antagonists (King Jaffe, the father of Akeem, and Cleo McDowell, the father of Lisa. They both have their values skewed, the first valuing tradition over "true love" and the second valuing money over, you guessed it, "true love"; also, Darryl Jenks, the narcissistic boyfriend that doesn't truly care), check; the simple protagonist (Akeem has literally no flaws) and his screwball sidekick who screws everything up (Semmi), check; and finally, the protagonist suddenly having a falling out with the romantic interest which is then resolved in a climactic deus ex machina moment where love prevails against all odds.It's a joke that started with a set up that sounded new, but by the time I was hit with the punchline, I realized I'd heard it all before.

This is a hilarious, heartwarming comedy with Eddie Murphy at his peak (and playing multiple roles for the first time). The plot is rather simple: African prince leaves home to find in true love (in Queens, NY lol). However, what sets it apart from other fish-out-of-water comedies is the depth it gives the characters. The story isn't rushed, and it gives you time to spend with each character, so that you care about them, and what happens to them. I mentioned earlier that Eddie Murphy plays multiple roles (as well as Arsenio Hall, who also does a fantastic job). Here, he has four: one (obviously) as the main character Akeem, a soul/funk singer Randy Watson (who looks like a combination of Rick James and Kanye West), a loudmouthed barber and an old Jewish guy (completely unrecognizable, incredible makeup job). He even gives a distinct personality to each of his other characters, and elevates every scene he's in. Another great thing about this movie is the star-studded cast, from James Earl Jones to Samuel L. Jackson in a small role early in his career. Nobody is wasted, and everyone has their opportunity to shine. But more than anything, after this Eddie Murphy would never hit the comedic heights he did here. His film career arguably peaked here, although he would have a resurgence in the late 90's with The Nutty Professor and a couple others. Overall, this is a great movie experience the whole way through, and has a satisfying (if cliché) ending.