It’s been almost 33 years since John Landis directed Eddie Murphy in Coming to America (1988). So while it’s an unusually lengthy wait for a sequel, it’s certainly not unprecedented. Director Craig Brewer is fresh off a fantastic collaboration with Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name (2019), and the writers include Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield, who were both involved in the original Coming to America (plus other Eddie Murphy projects), and Justin Kanew and Kenya Barris (“Blackish”).

Coming 2 America opens with Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his wife Princess Lisa (Shari Headley) being greeted in the morning by their three daughters who wish them a happy 30th wedding anniversary. If you recall from the original, Akeem met Lisa on his eventful visit to Queens, NY. Her father Cleo (a returning John Amos) gave Akeem a job at the McDowell’s (not McDonald’s) fast-food restaurant he owned.

A basic synopsis of the story this time is that King Jaffe Joffer (90-year-old James Earl Jones) is near death, which would mean Akeem would take the crown of Zamunda. A brewing conflict involves General Izzi (Wesley Snipes taking over for Calvin Lockhart, who passed in 2007) who threatens violence if Akeem doesn’t allow Izzi’s goofball son to marry Akeem’s eldest daughter Meeka (KiKi Layne, If Beale Street Could Talk, 2018), who wants nothing to do with him…but does have her sights set on being next in line for the throne after her father. A film about Meeka could be interesting on its own. Of course, Zamunda law requires a male heir, and that’s the final kicker, as Akeem learns he has an illegitimate son conceived from a drug-fueled episode during his previous trip to Queens.

The royal jet whisks Akeem and his trusty sidekick Semmi (Arsenio Hall) back to Queens, where after a trip to visit with all the old characters from the neighborhood barbershop, they track down Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler, Sorry to Bother You, 2018), son of Mary Junson (Leslie Jones). A flashback gives us context to Mary and Akeem’s moment of passion. It’s at this point where we also meet Lavelle’s Uncle Reem (Tracy Morgan). The Queen’s clan then heads back to Zamunda.

While there is a story, this is not a movie in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s a nostalgic trip for a big chunk of the cast, as well as for the target audience. An abundance of cameos will keep viewers on their toes, and any movie that features two of the greatest movie voices of all-time, James Earl Jones and Morgan Freeman, deserves extra credit. For me, there were no big laughs; however, I enjoyed a few good chuckles…the best being “Idiot Amin” (your ears have to work fast in the barbershop). The homage to Trading Places was a nice touch, as was a particular finger wag, and a joke about sequels. It seems odd (given the title) that only a very small percentage of the story takes place in America, but I’m sure many will enjoy the outtakes over closing credits, and a surprise musical bonus after that. Also worth noting is that this sequel gets a PG-13 rating versus the R-rating of the original.

Coming 2 America is available on Amazon Prime.