Dear Pennies & Pens,
Coming 2 America is the sequel to the 1988 film, Coming To America. It was originally scheduled to be theatrically released to Paramount Pictures but due to the pandemic, the rights were sold to Amazon. It was then released digitally via Prime video on March 4th.
Coming 2 America stars Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, Jermaine Fowler, Wesley Snipes, James Earl Jones, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and Kiki Layne. The cast was a mixture of characters from the original movie and new additions. The new cast members were brilliantly introduced throughout the film.
I absolutely loved this movie! I thought it was hysterical. It was so light hearted and fun. It incorporated elements of the original movie while also creating new classic moments. My favorite example would be the fighting scene – in the original film Akeem and Semi battle it out but in the new movie – Akeem does a similar sequence but this time with his daughters. It was a powerful and beautiful scene.
In fact, I definitely want to highlight the feminism that was apparent in Coming 2 America. Throughout the movie, you see the women in Akeem’s life questioning his archaic and sexist ways (inherited from his father). The scene where Lisa (Shari Headley) kicks Akeem (Eddie Murphy) out of their bedroom is genius. She literally says, “Do you see me hopping up and down and barking like a dog?” It’s a refreshing reference because she’s reminding Akeem of why he married her. He wanted a woman with her own mind – and that’s what he got.
So that means she’s not always going to agree or give you everything simply because you’re the king. It’s a game changing scene if you really look up and pay attention to it. In fact, the idea of gender roles and a “woman’s place” is a constant theme throughout the movie. It was interesting to see how as soon as he found out about his long lost son, Akeem forgot about his own three daughters especially his eldest daughter, Meeka who had been training to be Queen her entire life.
I felt Meeka’s pain with every fiber of my being. I loved her character and the actress, Keke Layne did a wonderful job in this role. She had a regal air and glow – I honestly thought she was a real princess. In fact, I’d love to see another film that focuses on her finding true love. Not with Izzi’s son though, haha!
I also adored Eddie’s daughter Bella Murphy as his middle daughter Princess Omma Joffer and Akiley Love, the actress that played his youngest daughter, Princess Tinashe Joffer. They were also fantastic additions to the film as they were supporting and loving to each other and their sister.
And of course, I have to talk about Jermaine Fowler who played Akeem’s long lost son, Lavelle Johnson. I liked his character and how he fell in love with the royal groomer. It was a sweet story and I like how her feminism and desire to achieve her dreams influenced him to be a better man. She was the one who told him to be the Prince from Queens. It was another beautiful case of how behind every great man is a phenomenal woman.
Overall, I truly adored this film. I think the only thing that annoys me is the negativity that I’ve read online. The comment section has turned everyone into a film critic. But the truth is, this is that it’s just a movie. A sequel to a film that was created almost 33 years ago. Watch it or don’t watch it. But, if you don’t have anything nice to say…maybe you should just keep scrolling.
And there it is. de la Pen…All Pen Everything. With us, keeping it real never goes wrong.
