Coming to America

Director: John Landis

Overview

Coming to America casts comedian Eddie Murphy as pampered African prince Akeem, who rebels against an arranged marriage and heads to America to find a new bride. Murphy's regal father (James Earl Jones) agrees to allow the prince 40 days to roam the U.S., sending the prince's faithful retainer Semmi (Arsenio Hall) along to make sure nothing untoward happens. To avoid fortune hunters, Prince Akeem conceals his true identity and gets a "Joe job" at a fast-food restaurant. Murphy and Hall play multiple roles, and there are innumerable celebrity cameos peppered throughout the proceedings -- including the Duke Brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) from Trading Places. Coming to America made further headlines when humorist Art Buchwald sued the film's producers for plagiarizing one of his works. Buchwald carried the case to trial, where he won a sizeable judgement against the film's producers.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/24/2017
UPC:	0032429256669
Original Release:	1988
Source:	Paramount
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen, Color]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	1,981

Special Features

Closed Caption; Prince-ipal Photography: The Coming Together of America; Fit for Akeem: The Costumes of Coming To America; Character Building: The Many Faces of Rick Baker; Composing America: The Musical Talents of Nile Rodgers; A Vintage Sit-Down with Eddie and Arsenio; Theatrical Trailer; Photo Gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eddie Murphy	Clarence,Prince Akeem,Randy Watson,Saul
Arsenio Hall	Extremely Ugly Girl,Morris,Rev. Brow,Semmi
John Amos	Cleo McDowell
James Earl Jones	King Jaffe Joffer
Shari Headley	Lisa McDowell
Eriq La Salle	Darryl Jenks
Madge Sinclair	Queen Aoleon
Allison Dean	Patrice McDowell
Paul Bates	Oha
Louie Anderson	Maurice
Clint Smith	Sweets
Vanessa Bell	Imani Izzi
Don Ameche	Mortimer Duke
Ralph Bellamy	Randolph Duke
Dottie	Dottie Dog
Frankie R. Faison	Landlord
Monique Mannen	Boring Girl/Dancer
Karen Renee Owens	Ex-Siamese Twin/Dancer
Randolph Scott	Actor
Garcelle Beauvais	Rose Bearer
Stephanie Simon	Rose Bearer
Victoria Dillard	Bather/Dancer
Felicia Taylor	Bather
Michele Watley	Bather
Sheila Johnson	Lady-in-Waiting
Raymond Turner	T-Shirt Hawker
Calvin Lockhart	Col. Izzi
Billi Gordon	Large Woman
Jake Steinfeld	Cab Driver
Cuba Gooding	Boy Getting Haircut
Uncle Ray Murphy	Stu
Ruben Hudson	Street Hustler
Paulette Banoza	Soul Glo Woman
Clyde Jones	Soul Glo Man
Patricia Matthews	Devil Woman
Mary Bond Davis	Big Stank Woman
Kara Young	Stuck-up Girl
Carla Earle	Tough Girl
Lisa Gumora	Kinky Girl
June Boykins	Strange Woman
Janette Colon	Fresh Peaches
Vanessa Colon	Sugar Cube
Mindora Mimms	Awareness Woman
Cynthia Finkley	Awareness Woman
David Sosna	Cartier Delivery Man
Vondie Curtis-Hall	Basketball-game Vendor
Samuel L. Jackson	Hold-Up Man
Arthur Adams	Mr. Jenks
Loni Kaye Harkless	Mrs. Jenks
Montrose Hagins	Grandma Jenks
Tonja Rivers	Party Guest
Elaine Kagan	Telegraph Lady
Michael Tadross	Taxi Driver
Steve White	Subway Guy
Helen Hanft	Subway Lady
Birdie M. Hale	Elderly Passenger
Jim Abrahams	Face on Cutting-room Floor
Leah Aldridge	Dancer
Aurorah Allain	Dancer
Paula Jean Brown	Dancer
Stephanie Clark	Dancer
Sharon Ferrol	Dancer
Tanya Lynne Lee	Dancer
Jerald Vincent	Dancer
Eyan Williams	Dancer

Technical Credits

John Landis	Director,Screenwriter
Paula Abdul	Choreography
Bernadine M. Anderson	Makeup
Richard Baker	Makeup,Makeup Special Effects
Leslie Belzberg	Executive Producer
Barry W. Blaustein	Screenwriter
Jackie Burch	Casting
Malcolm Campbell	Editor
Dan Cangemi	Special Effects
Tyran Carlo	Songwriter
Paul Chiten	Songwriter
Gil Clayton	Set Decoration/Design
Gardner Cole	Songwriter
Erin Cummins	Set Decoration/Design
Lamont Dozier	Songwriter
Dr. Dre	Songwriter
Syd Dutton	Special Effects
George Folsey	Co-producer,Editor
Mark Gordon	Songwriter
Berry Gordy	Songwriter
Gwendolyn Gordy	Songwriter
Brian Holland	Songwriter
Edward Holland	Songwriter
Nancy Huang	Songwriter
Lawrence Hubbs	Set Decoration/Design
William B. Kaplan	Sound/Sound Designer
Kelly Kimball	Costumes/Costume Designer
Gerald Levert	Songwriter
Richard B. Lewis	Art Director
Solomon Linda	Songwriter
Mark Lipsky	Executive Producer
Richard MacDonald	Production Designer
Michael Masser	Songwriter
Jonathan Moffett	Songwriter
Warren "Pete" Moore	Songwriter
Eddie Murphy	Original Story
Deborah Nadoolman	Costumes/Costume Designer
Woody Omens	Cinematographer
Greg Papalia	Set Decoration/Design
Pamela Phillips-Oland	Songwriter
Nile Rodgers	Score Composer
Allan Scott	Songwriter
Danny Sembello	Songwriter
David Sheffield	Screenwriter
John Sherrod	Stunts
David Sosna	Associate Producer,Asst. Director
William "Mickey" Stevenson	Songwriter
Bill Taylor	Special Effects
Lloyd Tolbert	Songwriter
Robert D. Wachs	Co-producer
Freddie Washington	Songwriter
Norman Whitfield	Songwriter
Allee Willis	Songwriter
Ron Yates	Set Decoration/Design

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Coming to America
1. Opening Credits [2:41]
2. Happy Birthday [3:36]
3. Trouble In Paradise [5:53]
4. Here Comes The Bride [8:14]
5. Royal Oats [2:14]
6. America [3:47]
7. Meeting The Locals [5:37]
8. Barber Shop Quartet [2:11]
9. In Search Of a Queen [3:04]
10. Black Awareness Week [2:46]
11. Working With The Natives [4:00]
12. The Way To A Woman's Heart [2:01]
13. Take Me Out To The Ball Game [4:03]
14. Mopping Up [2:52]
15. Engagement Party? [3:15]
16. Humble Abode [3:08]
17. To Be Loved [3:14]
18. Riches To Rags [7:41]
19. A King In New York [4:09]
20. Hospitality [7:24]
21. The Truth [2:02]
22. Take A Chance [6:35]
23. Here Comes The Bride - Take 2 [1:00]
24. End Credits [4:01]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Coming to America
   Play
   Set Up
      Audio Options
         English 5.1 Surround
         English 2.0 Surround
         Français
      Subtitle Options
         English
         Español
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         Subtitle Options: Off
   Special Features
      Prince-Ipal Photography: The Coming Together of America
      Fit For Akeem: The Costumes Of Coming To America
      Character Building: The Many Faces Of Rick Baker
      Composing America: The Musical Talents Of Nile Rodgers
      A Vintage Sit-Down With Eddie & Arsenio
      Theatrical Trailer
      Photo Gallery
         Continue
      Previews
   Scene Selection

Editorial Reviews

Coming to America is a sweet, amiable comedy that reunites the director (John Landis) and star (Eddie Murphy) of Trading Places. Murphy abandons the foul-mouthed raunchiness of his most recent project (the concert film Raw) to play Prince Akeem, a wide-eyed innocent. But the film is most original and best remembered as the first time Murphy played multiple characters in the same movie, an impressive gimmick that would translate to major box-office success down the road with The Nutty Professor. As two of the three salty barber shop denizens involved in the same argument about boxing, Murphy not only wowed with a range unseen outside of his stand-up act, but provided a great showcase for makeup king Rick Baker, who renders Murphy unrecognizable as an aged Jewish man. The writing, by Landis and two others, includes not only the sharp barber shop repartee and Akeem's refreshingly naïve interaction with New York City, but also several humorous jabs at black culture of the mid-'80s, including the Soul Glo hair gel model played by a young Eriq LaSalle. Funny and observant, but just shy of classic status, Coming to America is a winning, fish-out-of-water movie, elevated by Murphy's exhilarating versatility and the game attempts of then-collaborator Arsenio Hall. Among the supporting performances, John Amos is hilarious as owner of a McDonald's restaurant knockoff, and in only his second film appearance, Samuel L. Jackson pops up as a hold-up man, offering a funny early incarnation of the intense street hood that would one day make him famous.

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