Coming to America

Directed by John Landis and screenplay by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein that is based on an original story by Eddie Murphy. Coming to America is the story of an African prince who travels to America with his friend/servant to find a woman he can marry and fall in love with. The film marks a reunion between Landis and Murphy since the hit 1983 film Trading Places which Murphy starred in as in this film, he plays multiple characters. Also starring Arsenio Hall, John Amos, Shari Headley, Madge Sinclair, Eriq La Salle, and James Earl Jones. Coming to America is a heartwarming yet riotous comedy from John Landis.

Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) of the African country Zamunda has just turned 21 as he lives a pampered yet lavish lifestyle but feels unhappy as he wants to take care of himself while wanting to find a bride who will love him for who he is and not what he is. Meanwhile, his father King Jaffee Joffer (James Earl Jones) and mother Queen Aeoleon (Madge Sinclair) are searching for a bride suitable for their son. At a ceremony to celebrate Akeem’s birthday, Akeem would meet his bride-to-be Imani Izzi (Vanessa Bell) as he tries to get to know her but instead is obedient to his command. After talking to his father about wanting to go on a trip, the king decides to give Akeem 40 days of freedom to sow his wild oats. Akeem takes his friend Semmi (Arsenio Hall) with him as he decides to travel to America to find his bride as they decide to land in the section of Queens in New York City.

Arriving at Queens, they move into a very poor, rat-infested apartment and getting rid of their rich attire much to Semmi’s dismay. He and Akeem go on a search for a bride for Akeem until they meet the local barber Clarence (Eddie Murphy) who takes them to local charity that features a young woman named Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley) whom Akeem falls for as she speaks at the function. With her father Cleo (John Amos) running a local fast food restaurant called McDowell’s, Akeem and Semmi work at the place as Akeem tries to win Lisa over against her boyfriend Daryl (Eriq La Salle) who is the son of a Jeri curl hairspray manufacturer. After various attempts including going on a double-date with Lisa, Daryl, and Lisa’s sister Patrice (Allison Dean), Akeem manages to win over Cleo after fighting off a robber (Samuel L. Jackson) as he invites him and Semmi to work at a party in his home.

The party turns into an engagement party though Lisa doesn’t feel ready to marry Daryl as she and Akeem start to become close. With Akeem finally finding the woman he wants, Semmi becomes frustrated with their living situation as he sends a telegram to the king asking for money. Instead, the king comes to New York City to find Akeem as Akeem learns that his family has arrived. When Lisa learns who Akeem really is, she meets the royal couple which only adds to her own confusion about who he is. Learning what his father said to her, Akeem goes on a search to find Lisa to proclaim his love for her.

The film is about a prince who travels to America to find a suitable bride as he wants to find someone who will love him for who he is. It’s a simple premise that is told with a lot of humor with an element of romance while it features a lead character who just wants to be accepted a man despite his royal background. The screenplay by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein manages to create a narrative that is quite formulaic but inject a lot of humor about the way a prince tries to make himself be a common man with a bit of naiveté about how common people lived yet he takes in stride much to the chagrin of his friend Semmi who is used to being pampered and living a rich lifestyle. Yet, Akeem is aware that is more and he is more interested in having a woman with an opinion.

While the script does have some very interesting characters and ideas about class differences. There’s a looseness to the script in the way the comedy is handled which allows director John Landis to create a film that extremely funny but also has a very touching romantic story. There’s also a sense of ambition in the way Landis presents this grand palace of the royal family while being able to shoot on location in the sections of Queens and Manhattan in New York City. The compositions have more depth for large crowd scenes as well as an intimacy for smaller yet straightforward moments. Still, Landis let things play out naturally while creating moments that are dramatic without being too heavy. Overall, Landis makes a truly solid yet roaring comedy that is filled with memorable one-liners and moments that keeps viewers watching endlessly.

Cinematographers Sol Negrin and Woody Omens do an incredible job with the photography from the grimy yet lush look of the cold winter of Queens in its poor section to the more vibrant look for the posh set pieces in the film. Editors Malcolm Campbell and George Folsey Jr. do nice work in the editing in creating some rhythmic cuts to some of the film’s funny moments while maintaining a very straightforward presentation for the film. Production designer Richard MacDonald, along with art directors Richard B. Lewis and Christopher Nowak, does a fantastic job with the look of the Zamundan royal palace with all sorts of amazing rooms and exteriors along with quaint but lovely home of Cleo McDowell.

Costume designer Deborah Nadoolman does a superb job with the costumes from the regal look of Akeem and his family wore to the more casual American clothing he wears when he arrives in the U.S. Special effects makeup work by Rick Baker does an excellent job with the look of the various characters that both Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall play which has the former play a Jewish white man. Sound editors Paul Timothy Carden and Richard C. Franklin do a wonderful job with the sound work to convey the chaotic atmosphere of Queens as well as maintaining an intimacy in smaller moments of the film.

The film’s score by Niles Rodgers is terrific for its dance-based score filled with synthesizers and 80s R&B to emphasize the American world that Akeem lives in while the score also has an orchestral element with bombastic arrangements to emphasize the world of Africa. The soundtrack features a mix of 80s pop, R&B, and hip-hop to display the world of America while there’s also brief snippets of music by Elmer Bernstein from his work in another Landis film in Trading Places.

The casting by Jackie Burch is brilliant from the ensemble that is created as it features cameos from Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche reprising their Duke Brothers character from Trading Places. Other small roles include Jake Steinfeld as a cab driver, Vondie Curtis-Hall as a basketball game vendor who recognizes Akeem, Cuba Gooding Jr. as a barbershop customer, Garcelle Beauvais as one of the rose-bearers, Frankie Faison as a landlord, Paul Bates as the top royal family servant Oha, Clint Smith as the barber Sweets, Louie Anderson as a McDowell’s employee, Vanessa Bell as the beautiful future bride Imani, Allison Dean as Lisa’s partying sister Patrice, Eriq La Salle as Lisa’s jeri-curl sporting boyfriend Daryl, and Samuel L. Jackson as a robber.

Other notable supporting roles include Madge Sinclair as Akeem’s kindly mother Queen Aeoleon, John Amos as Lisa’s warm and hard-working father Cleo, James Earl Jones as Akeem’s intimidating yet well-meaning father King Jaffee Joffer. Shari Headley is wonderful as Lisa, the woman Akeem falls for as she displays a sense of worldly realism and grace that Akeem wants in a woman. Arsenio Hall is excellent as Akeem’s friend Semmi who has a hard time dealing with not having money and such while Hall also gets to play various characters such as the boisterous Reverend Brown, the funny barber Morris, and an extremely ugly woman in a hilarious club scene as Akeem and Semmi try to find what Queens has to offer.

Finally, there’s Eddie Murphy in what is truly one of his best performance as Prince Akeem of Zamunda. Murphy brings an enthusiasm and maturity to his role as a man wanting to seek true love while discovering the world outside of being rich and pampered. It’s a very funny and sensitive performance for Murphy as he also plays various characters. Among them is the barber Clarence who always say Joe Louis is the greatest boxer ever while playing a white Jewish man named Saul who hangs out at the barber shop. Then there’s another character Murphy plays in an untalented/actor singer named Randy Watson where he gives a hilarious rendition of Whitney Houston’s The Greatest Love of All in one of the funniest moments on film.

Coming to America is an extraordinary yet entertaining film from John Landis that features Eddie Murphy in one of his outstanding performances. The film is among the best of Landis’ collaboration with Murphy as well as a comedy that is still funny nearly twenty-five years since its release. With a superb supporting cast that includes Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, John Amos, and James Earl Jones. It’s a film that has a lot more to offer in terms of what is expected in a comedy. In the end, Coming to America is a tremendous and exciting film from John Landis.

John Landis Films: (Schlock) - (Kentucky Fried Movie) - (National Lampoon’s Animal House) - (The Blues Brothers) - (An American Werewolf in London) - (Coming Soon) - Trading Places - (The Twilight Zone (1983 film)) - (Into the Night) - (Spies Like Us) - (Three Amigos!) - (Amazon Women on the Moon) - (Oscar) - (Innocent Blood) - (Beverly Hills Cop III) - (The Stupids) - (Blues Brothers 2000) - (Susan’s Plan) - (Slasher) - (Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project) - (Burke & Hare)

© thevoid99 2012

Trading Places

Directed by John Landis and written by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod, Trading Places is the story of two billionaire brothers who make a bet to switch the lives of two very different men. One is an upper class commodities broker who has lives the life that everyone wants while the other is a homeless street hustler where their lives are changed by this experiment. The film is a comedy about what happens when the lives of two different men are changed in an experiment of nature versus nuture where it leads to a revenge scheme from the two different men. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliot, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Trading Places is a witty yet entertaining comedy from John Landis.

Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) is a well-educated and rich commodities broker who has it all. A loyal butler named Coleman (Denholm Elliot) and is engaged to a beautiful young woman named Penelope (Kristin Holby), who is the grand-niece of billionaire brothers Randolph and Mortimer Duke (Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche, respectively). Yet, Randolph is unconvinced by an article on breeding versus environment as he wants to prove a group of scientists wrong. During an encounter with a poor street hustler named Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) where Valentine accidentally bumps into Winthorpe, the Duke Brothers decide to hold a secret experiment to switch the lives of Winthorpe and Valentine as a bet.

With the help of their secret henchman Clarence Beeks (Paul Gleason), the Dukes publicly frame Winthorpe of theft as Beeks also bribes a corrupt policeman (Frank Oz) to stash angel dust into Winthorpe’s coat. Meanwhile, Valentine is bailed out by the Dukes as he lives in Winthorpe’s home with Coleman as he uses his street-smarts to become a very successful commodities broker. After being bailed out by Penelope, Winthorpe’s life is further ruined after meeting a hooker named Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) who is paid by Beeks to talk dirty to him as Winthorpe loses Penelope and everything else. Living with Ophelia, Winthorpe learns about Valentine’s success as he hopes to get him trouble.

The plan backfires as Winthorpe was caught by Valentine and the Dukes putting Winthorpe more into despair. When Valentine later overhears a conversation between the Dukes about their bet and experiment, he seeks to find the already troubled Winthorpe as he brings him back to Coleman with Ophelia’s help. After learning what the Dukes did, Winthorpe seeks revenge where the two learn about the Dukes wanting to corner the frozen orange juice market with Beeks’ help. The two along with Coleman and Ophelia decides to go after Beeks and the crop report in a plan to get revenge on the Dukes.

While the storyline is based on Mark Twain’s The Prince & the Pauper about two different lives being changed, the film uses that plot device to explore the idea of how two different men can be changed in this experiment between nature versus nurture. In turn, the lives of these two very different men would change as both would gain something from this experience. For Louis Winthorpe III, he would gain a perspective of what is life like outside of all of the things rich people have while Billy Ray Valentine would learn about how to make big money and be a part of society. The downside is that Winthorpe would face a certain prejudice for everything that has happened to him from the people he had known all of his life. For Valentine, he would learn that having lots of money would only bring trouble to people he knew back in the inner-city.

The screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod is very smart for the way they use the theme of breeding vs. environment by injecting humor into it. A lot of the humor is improvised yet manages to play into the story. There’s also some very well-rounded characters in the script such as the Dukes, Coleman, and Ophelia. The Dukes are these greedy men who care about money and nothing else while using this experiment as a bet where the big shock of that bet was how much all of it was worth. In Coleman, here’s a butler that is loyal though at times seems neglected only until he’s forced to play into the Dukes’ scheme where he would later help out Winthorpe and Valentine. Ophelia is a character who may be a hooker with a heart of gold but is a woman that is very intelligent and doesn’t take gruff from anyone as she is trying to save money to have a good life.

John Landis’ direction is very engaging in the way he presents the film as he creates some amazing scenes to contrast the different world of these two men. One key scene is where a downtrodden Winthorpe is outside a posh restaurant as it’s raining where he sees Valentine eating dinner with the rich. The scene cuts back and forth to what is happening while there’s another scene of the two men encountering each other where Winthorpe is in a cab while Valentine is in a limo. The framing of the film is pretty straightforward yet it does delve into the chaos of what goes on during the film’s climatic scene at the commodities trading floor. There is lot of scenes that are very funny but also some very low-key dramatic moments to help advance the story. Overall, Landis creates a truly funny and engrossing comedy that is filled with great one-liners and lots of memorable moments.

Cinematographer Robert Paynter is excellent for the dark-look of some of the interiors in the posh homes while a lot of it is straightforward including colorful shots of the winter scenes in Philadelphia. Editor Malcolm Campbell does a nice job with the editing as a lot of is straightforward while doing some great montages of scenes where Winthorpe and Valentine would encounter each other during this bet as well as playing up the humor of the film. Production designer Gene Rudolf and set decorators George DeTitta Sr. and George DeTitta Jr. do a great job in creating the posh home of Winthorpe that Valentine would live in along with the very old-school yet wooden look of the office that Valentine works at with the computers of the time.

Costume designer Deborah Nadoolman does a very good job with the costumes from the suits and clothes the men wear to the more stylish look that Jamie Lee Curtis wears along with the costumes in the New Years Eve party scene. Sound editor Charles L. Campbell does a terrific job with the sound work from the party atmosphere of Valentine’s posh party to the chaos that goes on the climatic stock trading scene. The film’s score by Elmer Bernstein is superb for the playful yet flourishing orchestral pieces he uses that borrows elements of Mozart’s Overture, Marriage of Figaro for its main theme. The music soundtrack features a wonderful mix of different kinds of music from disco-funk like Sylvester, holiday music, and doo-wop by the Silhouettes.

The casting by Bonnie Timmermann is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it features some fantastic appearances from James Belushi as a guy in a gorilla suit, James Eckhouse as precinct guard, Giancarlo Esposito as one of Valentine’s cellmates, Frank Oz as a corrupt cop, Bill Cobbs as a bartender, Philip Bosco as a doctor, blues legend B.B. King as a pawnshop merchant, and as two bumbling baggage handlers, Al Franken and Tom Davis. In notable small roles, there’s Kristin Holby as Winthorpe’s snobbish fiancee Penelope and Paul Gleason as the Dukes’ vile henchman Clarence Beeks.

Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche are great, in their respective roles, as Randolph and Mortimer Duke who device a scheme that would ruin the life of one man and play games on another. Denholm Elliot is excellent as Winthorpe’s butler Coleman who reluctantly becomes part of the Dukes’ scheme as he befriends Valentine and later aids them both in their revenge scheme. Jamie Lee Curtis is amazing as Ophelia, a kind-hearted hooker who helps out the despaired Winthorpe while providing some great humor during the revenge scheme on Beeks.

Dan Aykroyd is terrific as Louis Winthorpe III, a pampered rich man whose life is changed by a bet where he tries to get revenge on Valentine only to realize he was played for a scheme. While Aykroyd is the straight man of the film, he does get to be funny in scenes later in the film while making the Winthorpe character a sympathetic one. Finally, there’s Eddie Murphy in an outstanding yet hilarious role as Billy Ray Valentine as a poor young guy who becomes a rich broker while using his street skills to make deals and such. Murphy brings a youthful enthusiasm to his role where he plays it cool and be very funny while having some great scenes together with Aykroyd as it’s one of Murphy’s essential performances.

Trading Places is truly one of the great comedies of the 1980s due to its witty approach to humor to a very provocative theme of breeding vs. environment. With a brilliant ensemble cast and a lively direction by John Landis, the film is definitely one of those comedies that is always watching over and over again while still being very funny. In the end, Trading Places is a whimsical yet charming comedy from John Landis.

John Landis Films: (Schlock) - (Kentucky Fried Movie) - (National Lampoon’s Animal House) - (The Blues Brothers) - (An American Werewolf in London) - (Coming Soon) - (The Twilight Zone (1983 film)) - (Into the Night) - (Spies Like Us) - (Three Amigos!) - (Amazon Women on the Moon) - Coming to America - (Oscar) - (Innocent Blood) - (Beverly Hills Cop III) - (The Stupids) - (Blues Brothers 2000) - (Susan’s Plan) - (Slasher) - (Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project) - (Burke & Hare)

© thevoid99 2012