One of two people watched movie and they each have vastly different feelings about this sequel. The first type of person is like me. They came into this movie to have a good time with a great cast. If you are this type of person, you thoroughly enjoyed this film. The second type of person had in their mind that this movie was made to be a better and direct sequel to the original. If you are this person, you did not enjoy this film. I watched this movie twice on its premiere night and I had a ball!
Let’s start with what I loved about this movie. The world is late on giving Ms. Ruth Carter her things. These costumes were phenomenal and I wanted everything Meeka, played by Kiki Layne, had on. If you know where I can get each of these outfits, please let me know in the comments. Wesley Snipes…I should just stop there. I never knew that I needed Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy together until I saw them in Dolemite is My Name. When they first announced that Snipes would be joining this cast, I knew we were in for a treat and he did not disappoint. General Izzi captivated my attention every time he came on screen. I’ve loved Jermaine Fowler since before Sorry to Bother You. I was just confused as to how he was Akeem’s son and yes, I was wrong about that not actually being his son. We’ll get to that CG later. We had just enough Leslie Jones, we got the old jokes and to see the people who made those classic lines and there was a whole performance of one of my favorite songs from my favorite artist. When I tell you that I lost my entire mind when I recognized those flutes in the beginning of “Gett Off.” Yes, I’m that Prince fan. They did an awesome job with that and I like how we still got Oha to sing but not really and not in the same way. I didn’t even recognize Bella Murphy. It took me until the second watch to realize that Omma was her. Everyone in this movie who played a role in the original STILL LOOKS GOOD! Shari Headley, who used to be married to Play from Kid N Play (fun fact), looks better than she did in the 80’s. Garcelle Beauvais and Vanessa Bell Calloway, too. I need to know their secret! Also, does anyone else just hear Mufasa when James Earl Jones talks and that’s all?
Now, here’s what I could have done without. The funeral. I got what we were trying to do here but it was something cute that lasted too long. Also, I still have a thing with En Vogue. My En Vogue is four members, not three, but I digress. The de-aging or whatever they were trying to do with Eddie Murphy’s face in that scene, which I don’t think he was in that scene at all, was AWFUL! Unfortunately, we needed that scene to tell the story but if you can’t do it well, just don’t. I have Marvel level taste and I’m going to say something when you don’t get it right because we deserve. I also didn’t need Rick Ross. I just didn’t. I needed Morgan Freeman, not Rick. Here’s what I don’t understand, we had Morgan Freeman money but not Samuel L. Jackson money? I wanted to see him do something! Own a McDowell’s, show up in Queens, be this kid’s stepdad–ANYTHING! He was the only thing I was missing. I did see that Maurice made it to cashier, or maybe even manager. He’s come a long way. I could have also done away with the stutter step wedding in that chapel with Reverend Brown. What would have made that scene better and worth the Reverend Brown cameo would have been to do a wedding in Zamunda that we could see from beginning to end and have Reverend Brown initiate the ceremony. That would have been funnier. Plus, we never got to see Akeem and Lisa’s full wedding so that would have been a treat for me.
My favorite parts of this entire film were seeing Lavelle come into himself as a prince and seeing him find a real love in Zamunda. Even though I watched the movie twice, I didn’t see the Mirembe setup. I was subtle but cute.
If you want to laugh and have a good time, this movie is for you because it’s meant for you to have a good time. If you want a better movie than Coming to America, go watch Coming to America and leave the rest of us alone.
BLACK WATCH 
2 comments