Murphy is back as the Zamundan prince seeking his son in the US, in this tired sequel to the 80s
comedy hit
Did we need a sequel to Eddie Murphy’s fish-out-of-water 1980s romp Coming to America – with the word “to” transformed into a “2”? Will this trigger wacky sequel ideas for Bergman’s Face to Face, or Kurosawa’s To Live?
The original movie, directed by John Landis, had Murphy as the discontented Prince Akeem of the fictional African state Zamunda, obedient to his sonorous father the king (James Earl Jones), but yearning for a modern, independent-minded bride. So he travels to Queens,
New York with his pal Semmi (whose name doesn’t get the obvious gag despite the nonstop sexual innuendo), played by Arsenio Hall. Posing as students, they encounter various latexed comedy characters – barbers, barbershop customers, etc, played by Murphy and Hall themselves – and Akeem finally finds happiness with Lisa, played by Shari Headley. A TV pilot in 1989 starring In Living Color’s Tommy Davidson was not picked up.