Some time ago, maybe 2 years ago, maybe 3 years ago, I saw the movie "Coming to America". Of course, it wasn't the first time, because like you (assuming you're around 25-35), I've watched it at least a few times on various TV channels. When I was a kid, I liked the movie. Maybe not particularly, but I was amused by the strange faces and crazy, then incomprehensible texts of black actors. As a young teenager, I still didn't understand most of them, but there was another nice touch - Louie, whom I associated with the cute and wise cartoon "Life with Louie". I liked Eddie Murphy himself, but apart from "The Nutty Professor" and "Doctor Dolittle" (yes, I never saw any part of "Beverly Hills Cop" in its entirety, although I liked the main theme of the music very much) I didn't know him from any other movie. Before it was announced that a sequel is being made, I decided to refresh "Coming to America" because I read quite negative opinions about it. I wanted to remember him to find out how much truth there is. And the movie itself was quite nice to watch, even though many of the jokes were quite cringe, and the script ... Today I would say that it is incomplete. "Coming to America" breaks off at some point, it was quite uneven pace, generally apart from the fact that it is actually quite a comedy, a few jokes and nostalgia, I did not see anything worthwhile in it. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it was a bad production, it was just fun for people at the time, as it is with most Marvel tracks today. The same applies to various games, books, series that disappear in the darkness of history, covered by other, newer works. And in general I can say more or less the same about its sequel. I didn't have very high expectations of Coming 2 America, but I was expecting more than an average comedy like many, which I probably wouldn't have paid attention to if it weren't for the faces I know from somewhere else. This is a redundant movie that I watched with my girlfriend once and we are unlikely to come back to it. We were pleased to point out references to the times 30 years ago, or references to the first part. We were amused by a few jokes, in general the screening was not a waste of time, but that's mainly because we didn't have anything better to watch.
Starting from the plot, as you remember the first part, it was Prince Akeem and his chosen one who flew to Africa to continue the king's rule. A dozen or so years passed, a loving couple had three girls, made some changes to the kingdom (eg McDonalds to their country, laughing at the same time at psycho-vegans and their overly religious approach to eating habits), but there was a problem. The prince did not have a son, which is the object of mockery not only of his father or his subjects, but also of the citizens of the neighboring country, whose leader is stylized as one of the post-colonial African warlords. During a meeting with a shaman and father on his deathbed, he learns that he has a son. You will ask - but how? When? How? In short, the developers made a small retcon of history. Well, Prince Akeem, while searching for a wife worthy of, khem khem, "royal seed", met one night stand with one resident of Queens. He doesn't remember anything because the lady gave him a strong joint. Upon learning of this fact, James Earl Jones sends Eddie to America to find his son and cut all the jokes about his alleged lack of manhood.
In general, the structure of the story is similar to the first part, although there have been some changes. The threads about Zamunda have been expanded, the daughters get a few scenes for themselves (definitely not enough in my opinion), the action in New York is shorter. As I mentioned in the introduction, I think the script for Part 1 was average. Sequel is slightly better structured in this respect, but inferior in content at the same time. As I mentioned, Akeem's daughters didn't have much of a role to play, and neither did the queen. The rest of the characters, in turn, were written even worse, be they new or already known to us. Most of the jokes are imitative and repetitive, but in a bad way. For example, I will give the final arc of "Dragon Ball Super" (I know, I could have found a closer example to it, but I can't recall any movie equivalent), which had a lot of scenes from the classic DBZ. Freezer after receiving Genki Damy, Final Flash Vegeta, his sacrifice, Freezer giving away some of his power to Goku etc. In DBS it was all pure fans website, but most of it was done correctly and usually there was some justification for it (apart from pleasing the fans). And in Coming 2 America, a lot of gags or situations reminiscent of the previous part were often forced. It was true that not one joke amused me, but it was more due to the freshness effect and the second time, if any, I will be bored. Why? Because it was similar with both parts of "Deadpool", with the difference that at least there were more funny gags and a bit more interesting plots, so boredom was less noticeable. As I conclude this paragraph, let me say a few more words about the references to the first installment that you will see in the sequel. In literally a few short scenes, Louie Anderson (who could not really be and the movie would lose absolutely nothing), Akeem's father, who has a slightly more extensive role, but also disappears at some point, the insane inseparable part of the decor in a barber shop, a perverted priest, Lisa McDowell's fiancé, and a few other actors or references to one.
As for the jokes, their only advantage is that the creators didn't give a shit about political correctness. It was nice to see black people who aren't overly idealized by much of Netflix, Hollywood and the rest. And this is basically the only distinguishing advantage, because most of the jokes did not provoke loud laughter, and the only quiet "hehe" under his breath. Besides, I liked the jokes about vegans, the left and sex affairs, but they looked like they were written by some elderly screenwriter who has his youth behind him and doesn't really understand today's world. It's a shame, as it would be a great excuse to snap the left wing's nose for their political correctness. I know it's a kid's sense of humor and laughs like "Oh look, there is ... shit hahaha, but fun!" or "oh, look ... That gentleman just showed his ass!" but I don't care. Such gags make me laugh, and I don't think it's a bad thing. We have no influence on it, which makes us laugh and it is a random factor. Why would that be a good excuse? Because, contrary to what the left wing says, black people are the same as we are whites. There are also idiots, honest racists, smarter people, deceivers who try to deceive others at every step - a cross section of society like ours. Culture, historical experience and a dozen other things aside, what makes us different is that among black people, more children grow up without a father, which is one of the factors contributing to greater criminality in this environment. The movie addresses this in a comedic way, even though the problem is serious and keeps growing (not my opinion, only black commentators living in the US). Akeem's son and the rest of his family are people from low society, so their approach to life is light, they talk freely about poverty and more. I saw that some reviewers were indignant about it, but I saw people on a similar level because I live close to similar poor. Generally, these people aren't that different from each other. However, I can criticize the fact that they were poorly written and one-dimensional. Although no, Leslie Jones, although she was created to be a stereotypical, uneducated and uneducated prostitute, at least aroused my sympathy and had SOME character. Typical because typical, but at least I can say something more about it after the screening. Unlike her brother and Lavell, her son, who not only got bad threads and dialogue lines, but I don't remember them at all. What's even more funny is that Akeem at one point in the movie says "if I look my son in the eyes and see this charisma in them, I will see that he is my descendant!"
As for the rest of the actors ... Akeem's father played ok, Eddie Murphy was not too bad, but he did not give any reason to be delighted. The daughters, or at least the eldest one, played pretty well, but she got so little airtime that it's hard for me to say anything about her. Similarly, I can say about most of the characters, whether they are already known or just recently met. Aside from the role of Wesley Snipes, there is a wasted potential and I cannot praise anyone sincerely. The closest to Snipes, who played the role of general Izzy. I liked the way he played his part, the way he played a hilariously exaggerated parody of a cruel kacek. On the one hand, he behaves like a not serious clown, and on the other hand, in his country, children are taught how to use weapons, machetes, and how to use biological and chemical weapons. It's just a pity that he got so little airtime and was too one-dimensional, had the potential for something better.
Overall, the movie is average and remains at the level of Netflix production - just watch it and forget it the next day. This movie is such a stereotypical remake in which we have a lot of scenes, gags and plots that fans of the old parts know, but in a worse version. Something like a new "Robocop", a new SW trilogy (which is most visible from TFA) and such productions. Let's add a predictable plot full of clichés and patterns known from decades ago. If you like a given brand, do not have high expectations and have a sufficiently high tolerance for any defects in this type of production, then you may like it. Do I recommend? I will say this, if you like movies from the '80s and' 90s VERY like me, you can take a boyfriend / girlfriend or a friend, get slightly intoxicated and have a lot of fun. If you don't like it, I advise against it. If anything, I moderately recommend the refreshed first part (if I'm not mistaken, Amazon has improved this version). It is better, funnier, better directed and less imitative. The new part has very nice costumes, has a rich color palette, is generally very colorful in an eye-catching way, it also has good actors, but that's about it. As a movie, it is inferior to its predecessor. Have you already seen "Coming 2 America"? If so, how do you rate it?