(Review originally written at 23 February 2006)
"Coming to America" has got to be one of my personal most watched comedies. I just always loved watching this movie. It has got a great and original story and some great characters in it, played by some good comical talents.
Best decade for Eddie Murphy were without doubt the '80's. He was original and fresh back then and he made some great other movies such as "48 Hrs." and "Beverly Hills Cop". His comical talent shined truly the most back then. In this movie he also is in top-form, with his eternal wide smile on his face. He plays his character with lots of originality and humor. Beside the main part, Murphy also plays some other characters in the movie. Due to the Rick Baker special make-up, he is completely unrecognizable in his other roles. The supporting cast of the movie is also really solid. Arsenio Hall is really great and funny in his role and he has some excellent sense of timing. Whatever went wrong with his acting-career? James Earl Jones is also truly unforgettable as the king. Other strong roles are being portrayed by; John Amos, Madge Sinclair and Eriq La Salle. Samuel L. Jackson also shows up in one of his very first movie-roles. It might sound cliché now but his talent already really shined in the one very short scene that he is in. He really made a great strong and lasting impression. Another well known actor that shows up in his very first movie-roles in this movie is Cuba Gooding Jr..
It are really the characters and the actors that portray them that make this movie a bit of a classic one. It's a great comedy with some great humorous sequences in it and with a fun "Trading Places"-, another John Landis and Eddie Murphy movie, reference in it as well.
This is an excellent fresh original comedy to watch, mainly due to Eddie Murphy who really was in top-form. Even if you're not too fond of '80's comedies in general, this is a perfectly watchable and recommendable movie.
8/10
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