Friday, March 5, 2021

Coming 2 America (2021)



Streaming Services: Amazon Prime
Movie Name/Year: Coming 2 America (2021)
Genre: Comedy
Length: 110 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Production/Distribution: Eddie Murphy Productions, Misher Films, New Republic Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Studios
Director: Craig Brewer
Writer: Barry W. Blaustein, David Sheffield, Justin Kanew, Eddie Murphy, Kenya Barris
Actors: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, James Earl Jones, Teyana Taylor, Paul Bates, Morgan Freeman, Nomzamo Mbatha, Wesley Snipes, Jermaine Fowler, Rotimi, Louie Anderson, Leslie Jones, Trevor Noah
 
Blurb from IMDb: The African monarch Akeem learns he has a long-lost son in the United States and must return to America to meet this unexpected heir and build a relationship with his son.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
Suddenly I’m 15 again and watching Coming to America (1988) for the first time. At least that’s what it feels like. (It came out before then, but that’s when I finally got to see it.)
 
The reviews for Coming 2 America are not surprising.
 
It’s based almost solely on nostalgia. If you were both young enough to be growing up in the late 80s and 90s, and old enough to fully remember and appreciate the times – you’re going to love this.
 
It’s a small demographic. People outside of it won’t have the appreciation necessary to enjoy this film. I’m right in the middle, so I loved it.
 

Throughout the near-2-hour runtime, I was dying. Every few minutes, I started a whole new round of laughter. There wasn’t a single moment where I felt time passing.
 
Like many comedies from the era of the first one, it was silly and fun – almost to a parody level – but then slammed right back into having a message and serving up some feels.
 
Coming 2 America knew what it was, and it didn’t try to be anything different. It felt like seeing the present through the eyes of the past. There was some meta humor meshed up with the same fish-out-of-water material that was expected. If you’re overly politically correct, this isn’t for you.
 
I need to add that KiKi Layne (Captive State, Native Son, If Beale Street Could Talk) is just as absolutely perfect as I remember her from The Old Guard.
 
It was entertaining. I enjoyed watching it, and I will be watching it again.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 48%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 47%
Metascore – 51/100
Metacritic User Score – 4.1/10
IMDB Score – 5.6/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating3.5/5
 
P.S. Outtakes/extra scenes during the credits, and a short after-credits scene.
 
Movie Trailer:

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