NEW YORK 鈥 When Eddie Murphy made the original 鈥淐oming to America,鈥 he was, almost indisputably, the funniest man in America.
Murphy was at the very height of his fame, coming off 鈥淏everly Hills Cop II鈥 and the stand-up special 鈥淩aw.鈥 They were heady times. Arsenio Hall, Murphy鈥檚 longtime friend and co-star in 鈥淐oming to America,鈥 remembers them sneaking out during the shoot to a Hollywood nightclub while still dressed as Prince Akeem and his loyal aide Semmi. 鈥淲e were insane,鈥 says Hall.
The 鈥80s, Murphy says, are 鈥渁ll a blur.鈥
鈥淚 was so young, all this stuff was happening. You take everything for granted when you鈥檙e young, how successful I was,鈥 Murphy says, speaking by Zoom with a shelf of award statuettes behind him. 鈥淣ow I take nothing for granted and appreciate everything.鈥
Thirty-three years after 鈥淐oming to America,鈥 Murphy and Hall have returned to Zamunda. The sequel, originally planned to hit
It鈥檚 an unlikely coda to a blockbuster comedy, one that belongs so completely to the late 鈥80s that even the sequel tries to keep some of that era鈥檚 spirit. (A few notable R&B and hip-hop groups make cameos.) 鈥淐oming 2 America,鈥 directed by Craig Brewer, reverses the fish-out-water plot to bring Queens to Zamunda after Akeem learns he fathered a son (Jermaine Fowler) on his first visit to New York.
Some elements have been updated. There鈥檚 a plot of female empowerment; KiKi Layne plays Akeem鈥檚 daughter. At the barbershop, where Murphy and Hall also reprise their characters, the conversation bounces from Teslas to transgender people.
鈥淲e had a draft where they had on MAGA hats and they were Republicans,鈥 says Murphy. 鈥淚t was funny but it was like, eh, let鈥檚 not even go there.鈥
Instead, Murphy and his collaborators 鈥 including writers Barry W. Blaustein, David Sheffield and Kenya Barris 鈥 felt the core appeal of 鈥淐oming to America鈥 lies in its fairy tale premise.
鈥淭his is the only movie I鈥檝e ever done that had a cult following,鈥 says Murphy. 鈥淲e had totally forgot about 鈥楥oming to America.鈥 Then this movie took on this life in the culture. It became like a cult movie. Lines from the movie became catchphrases. People do the mic drop now. The very first mic drop is Randy Watson from 鈥楥oming to America.鈥欌
鈥淐oming to America鈥 has indeed played a unique role in culture since 1988. Real-life McDowell's fast-food restaurants 鈥 the McDonald's knockoff from the movie 鈥 have briefly popped up in Los Angeles and Chicago. Beyonc茅 and Jay-Z once dressed up as characters from the film for Halloween.
But the John Landis-directed movie was also a massive success on release. It was the second-highest grossing film domestically in 1988 with $128.2 million in tickets sold 鈥 nearly double what 鈥淒ie Hard鈥 made that year. Globally, it grossed $288.8 million, or more than $630 million adjusted for inflation.
To Murphy, that鈥檚 the movie鈥檚 legacy.
鈥溾楥oming to America鈥 is the first movie in the history of the movies that had an all-Black cast that
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about being Black. It鈥檚 about love and family and tradition and doing the right thing,鈥 Murphy adds. 鈥淚f 鈥楤lack Panther鈥 was about the hood, people wouldn鈥檛 have seen 鈥楤lack Panther鈥 all around the world.鈥
The connections between 鈥淐oming to America鈥 and 鈥淏lack Panther鈥 鈥 both rare depictions of Black royalty and a mythic Africa 鈥 are many. Before making 鈥淏lack Panther,鈥 Murphy has said Ryan Coogler approached him about a 鈥淐oming to America鈥 sequel. During production on 鈥淏lack Panther,鈥 Lupita Nyong鈥檕 (once not a fan of 鈥淐oming to America鈥 for its cliched depiction of Africans) and other cast members threw a 鈥淐oming to America鈥 birthday party. Ruth E. Carter designed the costumes of both 鈥淏lack Panther鈥 and 鈥淐oming 2 America.鈥 Both were shot in Atlanta.
鈥淚鈥檝e had people say, 鈥楴ow Zamunda isn鈥檛 a real place, right?鈥欌 says Brewer. 鈥淎nd I say, 鈥楴o, it鈥檚 definitely a real place. I believe it鈥檚 just northeast of Wakanda.鈥欌
The script for 鈥淐oming 2 America鈥 was worked on for four years but shooting started quickly. Murphy first suggested Brewer direct 鈥淐oming 2 America鈥 during a dinner with John Singleton after a test screening of 鈥淢y Name Is Dolemite,鈥 the Rudy Ray Moore biopic that helped spur a revival for the 59-year-old Murphy.
鈥溾楥oming to America鈥 was one of my
鈥淐oming 2 America鈥 also rekindles the great comedic chemistry between Murphy and Hall. Murphy estimates the close friends have seen each other two or three times a week for 40 years. But they went decades before talking about a sequel.
鈥淎ll of a sudden I鈥檓 reading this script that I love and I realize this movie that we thought we never were going to do a sequel to, we鈥檙e about to head to Atlanta 鈥 which is America鈥檚 Africa,鈥 says Hall.
The shoot took place on the Tyler Perry Studio sound stages, with Rick Ross鈥 nearby mansion serving as the Zamunda palace. The movie reunites most of the original cast 鈥 including James Earl Jones, John Amos and Shari Headley 鈥 and brings in many others, too, including Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan. Hall, who had been doing stand-up with Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, sensed everyone wanted in.
鈥淥ne day in the dressing room, Dave is like, 鈥業 heard ya鈥檒l are doing 鈥楥oming to America 2.鈥 I said, 鈥榊eah, man.鈥 He said, 鈥業 want to be in that,鈥欌 recalls Hall. (A scheduling conflict interfered and the versatile Hall, who has four roles in the movie, ended up playing the witch doctor part Chappelle might have.)
Some things have changed with time. This 鈥淐oming to America" is rated PG-13. Murphy was just 27 when he made 鈥淐oming to America.鈥 Now, he has 10 children and a grandchild. His daughter, Bella, has a small role in the film.
鈥淗e joked about it on 鈥楽aturday Night Live,鈥 about him versus Cosby and who鈥檚 America鈥檚
Family life figures prominently in Murphy鈥檚 newer stand-up material. A long-awaited return to performing in 2020 had been his intention before the pandemic hit. Those plans haven鈥檛 been
鈥淚 had gotten off the couch to go to work. I said, 鈥極K, let me get off this couch I鈥檝e been on for eight years. Let me go do some work,鈥欌 Murphy says. 鈥淎nd we were rolling. We did everything we set out to do. The big thing was going back to 鈥楽aturday Night Live.鈥 We was on a high. 鈥楥oming 2 America鈥 was in the can. Then the whole world fell apart.鈥
鈥淚 was all ready to go,鈥 Murphy says, grinning, 鈥渁nd then I had to go sit back on the couch.鈥
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
