RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Coming to America
Coming to America

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Coming to America (1988)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
63 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:35

Fresh:22

Rotten:13

Average Rating:5.6/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: This fantastical fairy tale stars Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem, a pampered African prince who is yearning to be self-sufficient in his extremely opulent society, where his every whim is catered to.... This fantastical fairy tale stars Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem, a pampered African prince who is yearning to be self-sufficient in his extremely opulent society, where his every whim is catered to. When Akeem turns 21 he defies the wishes of his kingdom and refuses to marry the beautiful bride who has been chosen for him. Instead, he sets out for America to find true love with his trusty sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall). Determined to appear common, the pair arrive in Queens, New York, and quickly have to adapt to a world where they are no longer royalty and can't seem to find a modern woman who suits the prince's tastes--until he meets Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), the lovely daughter of Cleo McDowell (John Amos), who owns McDowell's restaurant, a fast-food restaurant suspiciously like McDonald's. Akeem and Semmi get jobs at McDowell's and set about charming the unsuspecting Lisa. As the romance blossoms, Akeem has an increasingly difficult time hiding his true identity, especially when his royal parents (James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair) and their entourage arrive in New York, eager to return their only heir to Africa. John Landis's comedy is an intelligent, funny movie that shows off the myriad talent of Murphy and Hall. [More]

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley, Cuba Gooding

Director: John Landis

Director: John Landis

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Mar 9, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Coming to America

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Superb comic timing, a satirical edge, and Murphy's extraordinary gift for mimicry lift it right out of the trough of mediocrity to which it is all but consigned by its utterly predictable storyline.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

The winning combination of Landis and Murphy redeems the very predictable storyline, which is chock-full of snappy one-liners and impressive caricatures by Murphy and Hall.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
06/06/09
Channel 4 Film

Murphy gives his sweetest, most touching, and most genuinely likable performance to date, playing a character who embraces society instead of holding it in contempt.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/06/09
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Eddie Murphy does everything in this movie successfully, which was probably a bad idea because it made him think that he could write and direct Harlem Nights...

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

No review available.

comment Comment
11/07/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
11/18/02
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

No review available.

comment Comment
05/06/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Film Threat

No review available.

comment Comment
12/01/02
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

The main pleasure in America comes in the romancing of prince and pauper. But the comedy is a mere handmaiden.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/08/04
Eric Melin
Eric Melin
Lawrence.com

so brilliant, it almost makes up for The Golden Child.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
06/28/07
Eric Meyerson
Eric Meyerson
Filmcritic.com

Good comedy romance. Murphy is sincere and the cameos from now-celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson are fun.

comment Comment
07/14/03
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
About.com

In Landis' hands, the film doesn't live up to even the meagerest of expectations.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Hal Hinson
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/04/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

Murphy's last enjoyable film before a long slump

comment Comment
10/07/04
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Not only a great comedic effort but Eddie Murphy's best romantic film as well.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/21/09
Jamie Gillies
Jamie Gillies
Apollo Guide

[Landis] takes a very specific joy in the act of moviemaking and calls attention to it, placing it at a level above the romantic story.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/29/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
77% 77% The Hangover
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
66% 66% Public Enemies
24% 24% G-Force
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
82% 82% Paranormal Activity
57% 57% 9
44% 44% Jennifer's Body
58% 58% A Perfect Getaway

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Critics' Best & Worst

Critics' Best & Worst

RT's critic friends offer their choices

Total Recall

Total Recall

We list 10 New Year's Eve-themed films!

Awards Tour

Awards Tour

Stay up on the latest awards and noms!

Forever After

Forever After

Celebrate Shrek's return with this trailer!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Harold Ramis Discusses Filmography, Teases Ghostbusters 3 Source: Heeb Magazine
0
  • National Film Registry Adds 2009 Selections Source: Hollywood Reporter
0
  • New Moon Tops Moviefone's 2009 List Source: Hollywood Reporter
25
  • Star Trek Tops 2009's Most-Pirated Movies List Source: Hollywood Reporter
19
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
111
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
26
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
  • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
1
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar, Sherlock, and Alvin Team Up To Break Records
331
  • RT's Best of the Decade!
185
  • RT Editors Choose Their Favorite Films of 2009!
106
  • Critics Choose Must-Sees and Worsts of 2009
71
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
37
  • Critics Consensus: Sherlock Holmes Is Worth Investigating
34
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: 9 and Paranormal Activity
28
  • Total Recall: New Year's Eve Movies
19
  • Friday Harvest: Sherlock Holmes, Toy Story 3, and more!
10
  • What We're Watching on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox!
1
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
72
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
24
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Coming to America at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Coming to America at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Dozen of the Decade
Best Dozen of the Decade External Link

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Top 50 of 2009
Top 50 of 2009 External Link

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Santa's Naughty List
Santa's Naughty List External Link

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

Top 10 Movies of 2009
Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Top 20 of the Decade
Top 20 of the Decade External Link

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.