June 5th was certainly Eddie Murphy day on Blu-ray. On that day, Paramount released three of his films on the format simultaneously. Two are comedy classics from the talented actor and the third is his latest insult to his own abilities, "Norbit." The first of the classics is "Coming to America," while the other is "Trading Places." Working with his longtime friend and fellow multi-talented entertainer, Arsenio Hall, "Coming to America" is one of the better early films for Eddie Murphy. Directed by John Landis and featuring James Earl Jones, Eriq La Salle, John Amos, Louie Anderson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy and Samuel L. Jackson, "Coming to America" is impressive for its cast and its comedy.
"Coming to America" is one of the first films where Eddie Murphy took a shot at performing in multiple roles. His pal Arsenio Hall does the same. In this film, Eddie Murphy is the film´s main character, Prince Akeem, a jerry-curled singer named Randy Watson, Clarence the barber and an old Jewish man, Saul. Arsenio Hall is Akeem´s personal assistant and friend, Semmi. His additional roles include a role credited as "Extremely Ugly Girl," Morris the barber and Reverend Brown. These two men have both scored hits on the Billboard musical charts in addition to their stand-up comedy, acting jobs and Hall´s former late-night talk show. "Coming to America" is a display of their versatility and comedic prowess. Toss in their true life status as good friends and you have a wonderful chemistry between the main characters that only adds to this film´s success.
The basic plot of the film finds Prince Akeem wanting to journey to Queens, New York to find his Queen. He doesn´t want to marry the woman appointed to be his bride by his overbearing father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones). Akeem has grown weary of the pampered life and craves to do simple things like wiping his own arse. Akeem is granted passage to America by his father and he takes his personal assistant Semmi with him. While in America he gets a job working at a fast food restaurant. He then meets Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley) and falls in love with her. Lisa´s father Cleo (John Amos) feels his daughter should be with a rich man and is against Akeem; until he learns that the mop pusher is actually a prince of a rich country. This doesn´t please Akeem´s father, who believes Akeem should marry the girl chosen for him.
The humor of the film is provided by Murphy and Hall. Murphy´s character embraces the simple life of a poor black man in America, while Hall´s character pines for the rich things he left behind. Akeem takes great joy in cleaning floors and working at a fast food restaurant. America is quite a different place than his small African nation and Akeem´s naïve nature plays out like a very funny urban "fish out of water" story. This is a pre-Disney Eddie Murphy comedy and the actor isn´t afraid of throwing out a little profanity. The film´s finest moments are the barber shop scenes where Hall and Murphy act in supporting roles. Their banter about boxing and life is some of the finest work ever done by Murphy and damn funny. It is almost impossible spotting Murphy under the Saul makeup and Murphy isn´t afraid of some good Jewish comedy through this character.
Eddie Murphy is a very talented individual. He is a singer, a comedian and an actor. He has shared writing credits for many of his films and tried his hand at directing. I have always preferred his earlier works, where he wasn´t afraid to throw out an F-bomb or gaze at a wonderful pair of breasts and then say something funny about them. His character shies away from such things in this film, but the more mature brand of comedy does exist in this film. I´m not going to say this is the best classic Eddie Murphy comedy; that is a proclamation I don´t want to even think about making as Eddie Murphy has made a lot of very good comedies. This is certainly among his better films and the only time both he and Arsenio Hall starred together in the same film. If you listen closely, you can hear an Eddie Murphy song from his "So Happy" album playing in the film. "Coming to America" is a perfect display for Eddie Murphy´s talents.
"Coming to America" is one of the first films where Eddie Murphy took a shot at performing in multiple roles. His pal Arsenio Hall does the same. In this film, Eddie Murphy is the film´s main character, Prince Akeem, a jerry-curled singer named Randy Watson, Clarence the barber and an old Jewish man, Saul. Arsenio Hall is Akeem´s personal assistant and friend, Semmi. His additional roles include a role credited as "Extremely Ugly Girl," Morris the barber and Reverend Brown. These two men have both scored hits on the Billboard musical charts in addition to their stand-up comedy, acting jobs and Hall´s former late-night talk show. "Coming to America" is a display of their versatility and comedic prowess. Toss in their true life status as good friends and you have a wonderful chemistry between the main characters that only adds to this film´s success.
The basic plot of the film finds Prince Akeem wanting to journey to Queens, New York to find his Queen. He doesn´t want to marry the woman appointed to be his bride by his overbearing father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones). Akeem has grown weary of the pampered life and craves to do simple things like wiping his own arse. Akeem is granted passage to America by his father and he takes his personal assistant Semmi with him. While in America he gets a job working at a fast food restaurant. He then meets Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley) and falls in love with her. Lisa´s father Cleo (John Amos) feels his daughter should be with a rich man and is against Akeem; until he learns that the mop pusher is actually a prince of a rich country. This doesn´t please Akeem´s father, who believes Akeem should marry the girl chosen for him.
The humor of the film is provided by Murphy and Hall. Murphy´s character embraces the simple life of a poor black man in America, while Hall´s character pines for the rich things he left behind. Akeem takes great joy in cleaning floors and working at a fast food restaurant. America is quite a different place than his small African nation and Akeem´s naïve nature plays out like a very funny urban "fish out of water" story. This is a pre-Disney Eddie Murphy comedy and the actor isn´t afraid of throwing out a little profanity. The film´s finest moments are the barber shop scenes where Hall and Murphy act in supporting roles. Their banter about boxing and life is some of the finest work ever done by Murphy and damn funny. It is almost impossible spotting Murphy under the Saul makeup and Murphy isn´t afraid of some good Jewish comedy through this character.
Eddie Murphy is a very talented individual. He is a singer, a comedian and an actor. He has shared writing credits for many of his films and tried his hand at directing. I have always preferred his earlier works, where he wasn´t afraid to throw out an F-bomb or gaze at a wonderful pair of breasts and then say something funny about them. His character shies away from such things in this film, but the more mature brand of comedy does exist in this film. I´m not going to say this is the best classic Eddie Murphy comedy; that is a proclamation I don´t want to even think about making as Eddie Murphy has made a lot of very good comedies. This is certainly among his better films and the only time both he and Arsenio Hall starred together in the same film. If you listen closely, you can hear an Eddie Murphy song from his "So Happy" album playing in the film. "Coming to America" is a perfect display for Eddie Murphy´s talents.
June 5th was certainly Eddie Murphy day on Blu-ray. On that day, Paramount released three of his films on the format simultaneously. Two are comedy classics from the talented actor and the third is his latest insult to his own abilities, "Norbit." The first of the classics is "Coming to America," while the other is "Trading Places." Working with his longtime friend and fellow multi-talented entertainer, Arsenio Hall, "Coming to America" is one of the better early films for Eddie Murphy. Directed by John Landis and featuring James Earl Jones, Eriq La Salle, John Amos, Louie Anderson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy and Samuel L. Jackson, "Coming to America" is impressive for its cast and its comedy.
"Coming to America" is one of the first films where Eddie Murphy took a shot at performing in multiple roles. His pal Arsenio Hall does the same. In this film, Eddie Murphy is the film´s main character, Prince Akeem, a jerry-curled singer named Randy Watson, Clarence the barber and an old Jewish man, Saul. Arsenio Hall is Akeem´s personal assistant and friend, Semmi. His additional roles include a role credited as "Extremely Ugly Girl," Morris the barber and Reverend Brown. These two men have both scored hits on the Billboard musical charts in addition to their stand-up comedy, acting jobs and Hall´s former late-night talk show. "Coming to America" is a display of their versatility and comedic prowess. Toss in their true life status as good friends and you have a wonderful chemistry between the main characters that only adds to this film´s success.
The basic plot of the film finds Prince Akeem wanting to journey to Queens, New York to find his Queen. He doesn´t want to marry the woman appointed to be his bride by his overbearing father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones). Akeem has grown weary of the pampered life and craves to do simple things like wiping his own arse. Akeem is granted passage to America by his father and he takes his personal assistant Semmi with him. While in America he gets a job working at a fast food restaurant. He then meets Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley) and falls in love with her. Lisa´s father Cleo (John Amos) feels his daughter should be with a rich man and is against Akeem; until he learns that the mop pusher is actually a prince of a rich country. This doesn´t please Akeem´s father, who believes Akeem should marry the girl chosen for him.
The humor of the film is provided by Murphy and Hall. Murphy´s character embraces the simple life of a poor black man in America, while Hall´s character pines for the rich things he left behind. Akeem takes great joy in cleaning floors and working at a fast food restaurant. America is quite a different place than his small African nation and Akeem´s naïve nature plays out like a very funny urban "fish out of water" story. This is a pre-Disney Eddie Murphy comedy and the actor isn´t afraid of throwing out a little profanity. The film´s finest moments are the barber shop scenes where Hall and Murphy act in supporting roles. Their banter about boxing and life is some of the finest work ever done by Murphy and damn funny. It is almost impossible spotting Murphy under the Saul makeup and Murphy isn´t afraid of some good Jewish comedy through this character.
Eddie Murphy is a very talented individual. He is a singer, a comedian and an actor. He has shared writing credits for many of his films and tried his hand at directing. I have always preferred his earlier works, where he wasn´t afraid to throw out an F-bomb or gaze at a wonderful pair of breasts and then say something funny about them. His character shies away from such things in this film, but the more mature brand of comedy does exist in this film. I´m not going to say this is the best classic Eddie Murphy comedy; that is a proclamation I don´t want to even think about making as Eddie Murphy has made a lot of very good comedies. This is certainly among his better films and the only time both he and Arsenio Hall starred together in the same film. If you listen closely, you can hear an Eddie Murphy song from his "So Happy" album playing in the film. "Coming to America" is a perfect display for Eddie Murphy´s talents.
"Coming to America" is one of the first films where Eddie Murphy took a shot at performing in multiple roles. His pal Arsenio Hall does the same. In this film, Eddie Murphy is the film´s main character, Prince Akeem, a jerry-curled singer named Randy Watson, Clarence the barber and an old Jewish man, Saul. Arsenio Hall is Akeem´s personal assistant and friend, Semmi. His additional roles include a role credited as "Extremely Ugly Girl," Morris the barber and Reverend Brown. These two men have both scored hits on the Billboard musical charts in addition to their stand-up comedy, acting jobs and Hall´s former late-night talk show. "Coming to America" is a display of their versatility and comedic prowess. Toss in their true life status as good friends and you have a wonderful chemistry between the main characters that only adds to this film´s success.
The basic plot of the film finds Prince Akeem wanting to journey to Queens, New York to find his Queen. He doesn´t want to marry the woman appointed to be his bride by his overbearing father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones). Akeem has grown weary of the pampered life and craves to do simple things like wiping his own arse. Akeem is granted passage to America by his father and he takes his personal assistant Semmi with him. While in America he gets a job working at a fast food restaurant. He then meets Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley) and falls in love with her. Lisa´s father Cleo (John Amos) feels his daughter should be with a rich man and is against Akeem; until he learns that the mop pusher is actually a prince of a rich country. This doesn´t please Akeem´s father, who believes Akeem should marry the girl chosen for him.
The humor of the film is provided by Murphy and Hall. Murphy´s character embraces the simple life of a poor black man in America, while Hall´s character pines for the rich things he left behind. Akeem takes great joy in cleaning floors and working at a fast food restaurant. America is quite a different place than his small African nation and Akeem´s naïve nature plays out like a very funny urban "fish out of water" story. This is a pre-Disney Eddie Murphy comedy and the actor isn´t afraid of throwing out a little profanity. The film´s finest moments are the barber shop scenes where Hall and Murphy act in supporting roles. Their banter about boxing and life is some of the finest work ever done by Murphy and damn funny. It is almost impossible spotting Murphy under the Saul makeup and Murphy isn´t afraid of some good Jewish comedy through this character.
Eddie Murphy is a very talented individual. He is a singer, a comedian and an actor. He has shared writing credits for many of his films and tried his hand at directing. I have always preferred his earlier works, where he wasn´t afraid to throw out an F-bomb or gaze at a wonderful pair of breasts and then say something funny about them. His character shies away from such things in this film, but the more mature brand of comedy does exist in this film. I´m not going to say this is the best classic Eddie Murphy comedy; that is a proclamation I don´t want to even think about making as Eddie Murphy has made a lot of very good comedies. This is certainly among his better films and the only time both he and Arsenio Hall starred together in the same film. If you listen closely, you can hear an Eddie Murphy song from his "So Happy" album playing in the film. "Coming to America" is a perfect display for Eddie Murphy´s talents.
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