Arsenio Hall gives Eddie Murphy someone lively to play against, then finds laughs of his own in characters with far too much confidence. We like him best when that supporting work keeps a comedy from becoming too sweet.
Fi1m perspective
Hall’s Semmi brings welcome energy to the company of Eddie Murphy’s carefully mannered Prince Akeem in Coming to America (1988). The courtship is predictable, so the actors have to give us a reason to stay. Hall helps by making sure Akeem’s politeness does not set the pace for everyone around him. We rate him here for knowing how to make a quiet lead performance work without requiring Murphy to turn the prince into a fool.
The smaller roles, including Morris and Reverend Brown, give Hall room to be more excessive. He and Murphy invest these characters with a confidence that far exceeds any reason we are given to share it. We laughed at that unearned certainty, a welcome jolt after Akeem’s measured politeness. Director John Landis mostly judges how long to leave them on screen, though a few appearances run on. The interruptions slow an already predictable courtship, but cutting them all back would lose some of the pleasure.
The partnership with Murphy continued in Harlem Nights (1989), with Hall as Crying Man. His television work put him at the centre of The Arsenio Hall Show (1989–1994, revived 2013–2014), while the film roles remained largely supporting ones. Credits such as Tasty Freeze in Black Dynamite (2009) belong to that less prominent film career. Those credits ask us to judge Hall by how well he fits the company, not by how much attention he takes from the lead.
In Coming 2 America (2021), he returned to Semmi, Morris and Reverend Brown and added Baba. There is a limitation to this sort of career: Hall can be overshadowed by the leading actor, even when his support is helping the comedy work. Start with the original Coming to America, and give Semmi some attention before looking for Hall in the smaller parts.
Biography
Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian and talk show host. He is known for his multiple roles as Semmi, Morris, the Extremely Ugly Girl and Reverend Brown in the 1988 film Coming to America, and for reprising several of these characters in the 2021 sequel Coming 2 America.
Hall began his career in stand-up comedy after moving to Chicago in 1979, later appearing on television series including Soul Train and as a sidekick on Thicke of the Night. He hosted The Arsenio Hall Show from 1989 to 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. Other film credits include Harlem Nights (1989) and Black Dynamite (2009).
