---
title: "Coming to America"
year: 1988
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/coming-to-america"
fi1m_id: "coming-to-america"
imdb_id: "tt0094898"
tmdb_id: 9602
wikidata_id: "Q493755"
fi1m_score: 76
critics_score: 51
critics_reviews: 9
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:36.690649+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Coming to America (1988)

Directed by John Landis · 1h 57m · MPA R · Comedy, Romance

## Identity

Coming to America

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/coming-to-america
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** coming-to-america
- **IMDb ID:** tt0094898
- **TMDB ID:** 9602
- **Wikidata ID:** Q493755
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094898/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/9602, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q493755

**Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 51 from 9 reviews

*In a sentence:* Eddie Murphy behaves impeccably, then plays several other people so he doesn’t have to

> Eddie Murphy’s sweetness holds John Landis’s royal romance together, while the extra faces supply the laughs. The courtship is predictable, but the company makes it an easy film to forgive.

## Synopsis

Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) leaves Africa for New York in search of a bride, taking his royal expectations into an unfamiliar setting. Finding a wife means encountering people whose lives bear little resemblance to his own, and learning how to approach them without the comfort of familiar customs. Arsenio Hall plays Semmi, Shari Headley plays Lisa McDowell, and John Amos plays Cleo McDowell. James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair appear as King Jaffe Joffer and Queen Aoleon. Murphy and Hall also play several of the supporting characters in this comedy about an African prince abroad.

## Review

*Coming to America* is a good-natured romantic comedy with enough laughs to excuse a predictable courtship. John Landis gives an African prince’s search for a bride in New York a sweetness that the broader jokes rarely disturb. The story, credited to Eddie Murphy, gives its star the useful task of being the courteous person in a comedy. At 117 minutes, the film gives him rather too long to do it.

Murphy plays Prince Akeem with a restraint that makes the character easy to like. He allows politeness to be funny without treating the prince as a fool, which matters in a story built around cultural misunderstanding. An African character gets to be curious, dignified and romantically hopeful; the film does not need to make him ridiculous every time he encounters something unfamiliar. Arsenio Hall’s Semmi gives Murphy a livelier presence to work against, keeping the sweetness from becoming oppressive.

The multiple roles are a large part of the attraction, even when they interrupt the courtship. We laughed hardest at Murphy’s Randy Watson, whose self-importance is especially welcome after the prince’s careful manners. Murphy and Hall give their smaller characters excessive confidence, and Landis generally knows how long to let them occupy the film. Some do outstay their welcome, but we would be reluctant to lose them simply to get back to the business of finding Akeem a wife.

David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein’s screenplay is less attentive to the romance. Shari Headley gets little of the comic freedom allowed to the busier supporting players, and Lisa McDowell can feel like someone waiting for the impersonations to finish. The predictable courtship leaves the supporting cast to provide much of the interest. John Amos, as Cleo McDowell, and James Earl Jones, as King Jaffe Joffer, have more opportunity to impose themselves. Jones’s sternness is particularly funny beside Murphy’s patient courtesy.

Woody Omens and Sol Negrin’s cinematography favours clarity, leaving the performers to supply most of the jokes. Richard Macdonald’s production design makes royal extravagance part of the fun, and Deborah Nadoolman Landis’s costumes share that appetite for display. It is a polished fairy tale, and the polish helps us accept its generosity towards Akeem. The satire is mild, and Landis does little visually to make it any sharper.

Editors George Folsey Jr. and Malcolm Campbell give the individual comic passages time to breathe, but the whole story could move faster. Returning to the romance can feel like picking up a conversation after too many interruptions. Nile Rodgers’s music suits the film’s warmth and helps those shifts feel less abrupt. It cannot quite disguise how often the search for a wife has been put aside for another performance.

For a fish-out-of-water comedy, it spends refreshingly little effort treating its visitor as an idiot. Murphy gives us someone we want to see happy, which makes the familiar plotting easier to tolerate. Choose it for a relaxed evening, provided nobody is expecting a brisk romance.

*Fi1m score 76, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews split almost evenly, and the one thing nearly everyone agrees on is Eddie Murphy. Even critics who dislike the film credit his prince, played with more restraint and sweetness than they expect, and the warmer notices go further, praising his and Arsenio Hall’s turns in multiple roles under heavy make-up, James Earl Jones in support, and Landis’s brisk comic timing. Slant Magazine also singles out the film’s affectionate and unusual treatment of African characters.

The argument is over the script. The negative reviews call it thin, predictable and closer to a string of television sketches than a romantic comedy, leaning on crude jokes early and reaction shots later; the Los Angeles Times goes furthest, calling it a waste of its cast. There is a pattern to the dissent: the notices from the film’s release are the harshest, while critics writing years later find the humour has held up better than anyone expected.

## Straight answers

**Is Coming to America worth watching?**

*Coming to America* is worth watching for anyone who wants a good-natured romantic comedy with more laughs than surprises, and we scored it 76. Eddie Murphy's courteous prince and the extra characters he and Arsenio Hall play carry the film; the courtship itself is predictable and, at 117 minutes, the whole thing runs longer than it needs to.

**How long is Coming to America, and what is it rated?**

*Coming to America* runs 1h 57m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and romance film.

**Where can I watch Coming to America in the US?**

*Coming to America* is streaming on Peacock, AMC+, Tubi, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel in the US. It leaves Peacock on 1 October. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Coming to America, and is it suitable for children?**

*Coming to America* is a 15 certificate in the UK and rated R in the US, so it is not made for children, though the review finds nothing violent or frightening in it. The rating reflects adult comedy and language rather than anything alarming; older teenagers should be fine, and the squeamish have nothing to fear.

**How does Coming to America compare to Roman Holiday?**

*Coming to America* is the broader, funnier film; [*Roman Holiday*](https://film.one/film/roman-holiday) is the better romance. Both follow a royal discovering ordinary life, but William Wyler gives Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck room to fall in love, while John Landis keeps interrupting Akeem's courtship for another Murphy impersonation. Choose the earlier film for tenderness, the later one for laughs.

**What should I watch after Coming to America?**

After *Coming to America*, try [*Roman Holiday*](https://film.one/film/roman-holiday) (1953, Fi1m 88): Another royal discovers ordinary life, with a romance given more room to breathe. Then [*Local Hero*](https://film.one/film/local-hero) (1983, Fi1m 86): A gentler outsider comedy, equally interested in money, manners and unexpected affection; and [*The Wedding Banquet*](https://film.one/film/the-wedding-banquet) (1993, Fi1m 81): Romantic concealment and family expectations generate sharper complications without losing the warmth.

### Reviews we read (9)

- **Slant Magazine**, Zeba Blay (80/100, inferred): The piece praises the film's humor that still holds up and its positive, subversive portrayal of African characters and culture. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/summer-of-88-coming-to-america/)
- **Time Out**, SCu (75/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as slick and funny, crediting director Landis for harnessing Eddie Murphy's talent through superb comic timing, a satirical edge, and his gift for mimicry, which elevates it despite a predictable storyline. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/coming-to-america)
- **Empire**, Gavin Bainbridge (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film entertaining thanks to strong performances from Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and James Earl Jones, who help overcome predictable plotting. Landis delivers reliable laughs through confident execution rather than originality. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/coming-america-review/)
- **The AV Club**, Nathan Rabin (70/100, inferred): The review calls it a disarmingly sweet fish-out-of-water comedy with heart and fresh comedic shtick from Murphy and Hall in multiple roles. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/trading-places-coming-to-america-1798202682)
- **Radio Times**, John Ferguson (3/5): The critic finds the script less clever than it thinks it is, but notes that Murphy carries the picture with aplomb and delivers funny cameos thanks to make-up; the supporting cast, including cameos from Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy, provides highlights. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-2774ly/coming-to-america/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Duane Byrge (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a bland sitcom that wastes Eddie Murphy's talents and John Landis's sensibilities in a dull-witted screenplay and flat direction. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/coming-america-review-1988-movie-1017600/)
- **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (30/100, inferred): The film has a promising title and premise about an African prince seeking a bride in New York but suffers from a screenplay that feels underdeveloped and prioritizes quick gags over romantic comedy structure. Landis and the writers lean into mildly funny situations rather than sustaining the central idea, with Murphy's innocent prince standing out amid the short attention span of the script. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/29/movies/review-film-african-prince-in-queens.html)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (**): The film opens with crude jokes and struggles to find fresh material for Eddie Murphy beyond the initial premise. Murphy effectively portrays the sympathetic prince seeking independence, but the overall execution tests the patience of fans. [Read](https://variety.com/1987/film/reviews/coming-to-america-3-1200427624/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Sheila Benson (10/100, inferred): The movie is a hollow and wearying fairy tale that wastes its talented all-Black cast and Eddie Murphy's restraint on scatology, with an anemic TV-skit screenplay and pointless multiple-character impersonations that stall the action. Landis directs a plentiful waste of time and money, relying on fuzzy satire and reaction shots for laughs in an ultimately mortifying effort. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-29-ca-4869-story.html)

## Details

- **Director:** John Landis
- **Director:** John Landis
- **Screenplay:** David Sheffield, Barry W. Blaustein
- **Story:** Eddie Murphy
- **Cinematography:** Sol Negrin, Woody Omens
- **Editor:** Malcolm Campbell, George Folsey Jr.
- **Music:** Nile Rodgers
- **Production design:** Richard Macdonald
- **Costume design:** Deborah Nadoolman Landis
- **Producer:** George Folsey Jr., Robert D. Wachs
- **Cast:** Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem / Clarence / Randy Watson / Saul; Arsenio Hall as Semmi / Extremely Ugly Girl / Morris / Reverend Brown; Shari Headley as Lisa McDowell; John Amos as Cleo McDowell; James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer; Madge Sinclair as Queen Aoleon; Eriq La Salle as Darryl Jenks; Allison Dean as Patrice McDowell
- **Runtime:** 1h 57m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 29 June 1988
- **Genres:** Comedy, Romance
- **Budget:** $30 million
- **Box office:** $289 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDme5Y5E-bI

## Where to watch in the US

- Peacock: streaming, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- AMC+: streaming
- Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- Pluto TV: free
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd, leaving 2026-10-01

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: CA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1989: Best Costume Design (nominated); Best Makeup and Hairstyling (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Roman Holiday* (1953), Fi1m 88: Another royal discovers ordinary life, with a romance given more room to breathe. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/roman-holiday.md)
- *Local Hero* (1983), Fi1m 86: A gentler outsider comedy, equally interested in money, manners and unexpected affection. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/local-hero.md)
- *The Wedding Banquet* (1993), Fi1m 81: Romantic concealment and family expectations generate sharper complications without losing the warmth. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wedding-banquet.md)
- *The African Doctor* (2016): An African newcomer’s encounter with provincial France turns cultural misunderstanding into affectionate comedy.
- *The Nutty Professor* (1996): Murphy divides himself among competing personalities again, with sweetness beneath the louder jokes.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/coming-to-america