Amazon.com

Half of the characters in this 1988 John Landis potboiler seem to be played either by Eddie Murphy or costar Arsenio Hall, swaddled in elaborate Rick Baker makeup appliances that render them unrecognizable but also weirdly immobile. As a pampered African prince who journeys incognito to Queens, New York, to find a bride who will love him just for himself, Murphy manages to look smug and naive at the same time. There are enjoyable sequences of Murphy's Prince Akeem applying his lordly manner to his new job in a fast-food emporium, and falling for the boss's spirited daughter (Shari Headley), who teaches him how to party down, American style. But the fish-out-water premise is never fully exploited. Star spotters will have a field day locating Cuba Gooding Jr., Donna Summer, Louie Anderson, Vondie Curtis Hall, E.R.'s Eriq La Salle, and Samuel L. Jackson in their minuscule supporting roles. --David Chute ... Read more

Reviews (68)

Hilarious classic that will live in our hearts forever!!!
This is one of my all time-favorite African-American movies. First of all, Eddie Murphy is hilarious (in all of his roles). Arsenio Hall is a perfect foil for Eddie's hijinks. Eddie let his full range of talent show in this film; he played an innocent person who grows into a mature adult right in front of our eyes and realizes that there is a price to pay for love; whether or not you are born into royalty. This is one of those movies that a person watches over and over again and ends up reciting the lines as the movies is playing. James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair are wonderful in this movie as well as the King and Queen. Madge Sinclair was one of the world's best actresses and I miss her greatly. She tells James Earl Jones "put a sock in it, Geoffrey, the boy is in love." Nobody can deliver that line to a black king, except a black queen. John Amos, (whom I have loved since Good Times), is a great actor as well. He plays the part of a black businessman so well, and as a father he takes no stuff off of the King. He tells James Earl Jones, "I will break my foot off in your royal _____); now that's a ghetto father for you. James Earl Jones knew where to draw the line with Cleo McDowell.

I also like the fact that the Kingdom of Zamunda was filled with kindness, and the people were happy, the royal family was truly wealthy and had everything. You know, this movie is truly a fantasy and helps us escape from our everyday lives. Just to see the Queen and King eating breakfast and talking to their son on a "speaker phone" because the table is so long, is funny. The King and Queen taking their entourage to Queens when they received the telegram to send $1 million to Semmi who had spent up all his pocket change is one of my favorite scenes. That music that is playing during the sequence when the entourage arrives in Queens is so wonderful, moving and swirling, I am buying the soundtrack just to get that song. When I get married, I would like that song to play as my "court" walks down the aisle before me.

All the cameos in this movie are great as well. Nobody can play a doped-up thug like Samuel L. Jackson; Samuel is a natural at playing a killer. Also, Louie Anderson was funny, so was Eriq LaSalle, and Alison Dean.

Now the guys in the barbershop have to be taken from classic characters in the black community. In all the black neighborhoods I have been in during my whole life; there has got to be a black barbershop full of men eating, talking stuff, and cutting hair. When "Clarence" says that Martin Luther King, Jr. ran up to him and hit him in the chest, I just crack up, cause Martin Luther King, Jr. was a prophet of non-violence. And, Eddie Murphy playing a white man is too funny, and a Jewish white man on top of that. Now, that takes creativity; and comic genuis, and Eddie's got it. And, Arsenio's portrayal of Rev. Brown is right on target, there is always some country preacher in the neighborhood that comes to every event, eats up the food, and blesses the weddings, blesses the children, and buries the dead.

One of my favorite parts is when Lisa tells Prince Akeem, she cannot marry him; because he lied to her about his identity. That made Akeem grow up very fast, and learn that nobody; no matter who he is, can buy love.

The clothes in this movie are also wonderful. Deborah Nadoolman did a great job showing how royalty would dress in a foreign country where it is warm, Also, how they would dress in Queens during the winter; those fur coats Madge Sinclair had on were fantastic and so were the suits worn by the King himself. His coat of an entire lion's skin was dramatic and the diamond eyes on that lion's head were cool.

The ending this cinderella story was great, love did really win out in the end.

Well, I could go on and on about how much I liked this movie but, I am going to stop now. Get this movie and keep it in your video collection so you can watch it and laugh over and over.

FUNNY !
This is a feel good movie with the main players being Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall. Young Prince Akeem is about to be wed to a beautiful woman, but the problem is he does not love this women. He decides he will travel to Queens, NY In America and find his true love. Now how does a pampered Africian Prince
survive in Queens. Soon he falls in love with his bosses daughter and the story takes you through a tender courtship.
I loved her father, and the King and Queen were priceless!
This was a really fun movie! The wedding scenes at the end were beautiful and my favorite part. Well worth your time to watch!
Qute enjoyable!

F U N N Y
I love this movie. There is nothing I can complain about. This is Eddie Murphy at his Best. This is when Eddie and Arsenio was the BOMB. Every scene makes you laugh. Do you see Samuel Jackson in one of his early roles? Also, ER's Eric LaSalle in his Jeri Curl. This movie is wonderful. I can watch it over and over and over again and laugh at the Soul Glow commercials, because everyone in my area wore a Jerri Curl that looked that nasty. This is a must own.

Fun Relaxed Comedy
Coming to America cheerfully pokes fun at everything. There isn't really a meanspirited moment in the movie. A spoiled Afican Prince comes to Queens, NYC to live a normal life & find his true love. Queens for a future king, get it? The humor isn't exactly highbrow but its constant and Arsenio Hall is hilarious.

Five star cast in a hilariously funny film "fit for royalty"
Coming to America is truly the creme de la creme of the comedic genre. I have watched this movie many times, and never can resist throwing my head back and laughing out loud in total glee. Sometimes I even admit to falling right off the couch in fits of laughter!

Murphy's principal role in the movie is that of Prince Akeem, with Arsenio Hall as his sidekick and personal servant Semi (though both play numerous other minor roles with the help of elaborate makeup to disguise the fact). Promised in marriage to a beautiful woman raised from birth to please him, Akeem finds himself dissatisfied with the very idea of an arranged marriage. He wants to select a wife with a mind of her own who loves him for himself.

Hence Akeem's decision to leave the kingdom of Zamunda to travel to America. Unaware of his son's true purpose for the trip, King Jaffre Jafur decrees that Akeem simply needs to take a trip to "sow his royal oats." James Earl Jones as the King, and Madge Sinclair as the Queen are hilarious in their roles as Akeem's parents.

Akeem and Semi leave their luxurious lifestyle in the palace behind and end up in Queens, NY, posing as "average Americn students." They secure jobs at a knockoff of McDonald's, owned by Mr. McDowell (engagingly portrayed to hilarious effect by John Amos) and his daughters Lisa and Patrice. Falling hard for the eldest daughter Lisa (Shari Headley), Akeem competes with her boyfriend, Darrell(Eric LaSalle), the arrogant, smooth talking heir to the "Soul Glo" hair product fortune, for her affections. The numerous conflicts and silly situations that stem from this will keep you in stitches.

Blessed with an EXCELLENT cast who each make the utmost of their roles (those mentioned previously, plus Samuel L.Jackson, Louie Anderson, Don Ameche and others), truly funny material, witty dialogue, and a delightful feel-good ending, Coming to America is a movie not to be missed. I hope you enjoy this frothy funfilled comedy as much as I did! ... Read more

Reviews (52)

Eddie Murphy at his best!
Eddie Murphy stars and directed this hilarious film. It has the three most funniest comics ever to grace the stage or screen, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx. Eddie plays Quick a hot tempered enforcer for Pryor's gang. It is set during the dirty thrities, in Harlem and is the funniest movie I have ever seen, the fight between Murphy and Della Reese is great. A must see for all Comedy fans

Absolute garbage
If there has ever been a bigger waste of talent than Harlem Nights, I haven't seen it yet.

This movie is what happens when a big star (Eddie Murphy) is allowed to do whatever he wants by a big movie studio. So, he hires his family, friends and his 2 comedy influences Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor.

They spent millions of dollars on wardrobe for this movie and about 5 minutes on the script. It's like they just made it up as they went along. They wanted to look good but left out the funny. Eddie Murphy should be ashamed of this movie.

So, here is Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx being funny or entertaining. Quite an achievment. What a wasted opportunity.

Effort Doesn't Equal Payoff
Murphy's directorial debut is long on good intentions and short on follow through. Occasional bits and pieces are funny or smart but the overall film is somewhat dull and contrived and not a little meanspirited. Can't say I'm terribly fond of the movie's treatment of women, either.

An all time favorite
Just the interaction between Red Foxx and Della Reese is worth the price of the movie! And the "con" involving the gangster and the hooker had me rolling on the floor. This movie is really funny. I have watched it over and over again...and pick up something new every time. Loved it!

Veiwers choice
This movie never really got the exposure it should have. I will admitt it is one of thos movies you simply must watch more than once because you miss all of the funny lines the first time. I did not care for all of the swearing; It should have been toned down. I feel if it were made today Eddie Murphy would have not had so much profanity in it. I also did not care for Jazzmine Guy as a sex symbol- her pettite frame and previous role as Witney Gilbert on the TV sitcom, made it hard for me to see her as sexy. Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx were right on key. I really liked the clothes of that era and Eddie Murphy did a wonderful job of creating a very nastolgic look back. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Funny movie, lousy DVD transfer
While the movie is likely to be enjoyed by anybody who likes screwball comedies and biting satire, the quality of the DVD transfer leaves much to be desired.

After a slow start, the sketches that comprise "Amazon Women On The Moon", a.k.a. "Kentucky Fried Movie II", pick up speed and reach increasing levels of absurdity, up to a widow's wake which turns into a roast. Steve Guttenberg's experiences with the opposite sex and a seventeen-year old teenager's horrible condom buying experience are painful and extremely funny to watch. By the time Russ Meyer (yes, *that* Russ Meyer) appears as a video store clerk, you have learned to stop worrying about whether this is sub-standard entertainment or not, because the sketches get too funy to care. The whole movie culminates in Carrie Fisher's appearance in an "educational movie", playing a woman with a "social disease".

The experience is marred, however, by the poor quality of the DVD transfer. The picture is blurry (this disc has obviously been transferred from video) and the sound is mono. Often enough, horrible compression artifacts appear in the picture, distorting the image beyond recognition. A shame really, since this movie really deserved a better transfer.

Laugh out loud funny!
This movie is a riot! You will have fun not only laughing at the comedic gags and skits, but you will have fun identifying all of the stars who are in this before they made it big! Michelle Pfeiffer, David Allen Greer, Andrew Dice Clay, just to name a few. Really a great funny movie. Adults only, there is some pretty raicy content! Not a family movie, but funny for those over 18!

Quite enjoyable, and quirky!!!
A very clever collection of shorts put together in a way that they seem to flow together, even though most have nothing in common, Amazon Women on the Moon is a very fun movie to watch. It has a long list of talent in its cast including Arsenio Hall, Michelle Pfeifer, Joe Pantoliano, Steve Guttenberg, Roseanna Arquette, Carrie Fisher, and Andrew Dice Clay.

The scene "Blind Date" which stars Steve Guttenberg and Roseanna Arquette is worth the price of the DVD itself. It is absolutely hilarious. I would consider it my worst nightmare (at least in dating terms).

Parts of the movie are ridiculous, but for the most part it is very enjoyable. The best way to watch this is to go into it with an open mind and don't expect it to be realistic.

Ha ha ha! I'm invisible!
What words can describe greatness such as this? Genious. Ageless. Priceless. This movie has everything and anything you could possibly imagine, from Andrew Dice Clay in a video nightmare rental or Arsenio Hall being killed by a VCR. This is not viewing for the average individual. No no. This film is made for the extraoridinary people of the world who would watch anything at 4:35 AM. If only channel surfing really was this fun.

Missing Some Stuff!!!
Okay, first time reviewer here, but I had to share this bit. First, I give the movie itself 5 stars - it is one of my favorites. About this DVD, however... Just bought it and briefly went through a couple of skits (I have them all memorized already) and I noticed a glarring error on the 'Hair Looming' skit - it has been edited/shortened!!! They totally cut out the part where they demonstrate how the hair stays on after the guy jumps of the cliffs of Acculpoco and the police drag his body to the shore and smile because the hair stayed on. (sp?). Why??? That was one of the funniest parts! I think there are a couple of other small omisions in there too - need to go all through it again, but the point is while a fantastic movie, they cut stuff out! I don't get it. If this is the only way to see the movie however (as my VHS copy broke recently), I guess it will have to do. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Contrary to popular rumor, this 1987 collection of comedy skits is not about a group of female employees from Amazon.com on a mission to the lunar surface. It's a series of unrelated spoofs and sketches designed to resemble an aimless night of TV channel-surfing, and the satirical targets include grade-Z science fiction films of the 1950s, sex films of the 1930s, hospital soap operas, and Playboy video centerfolds. There's a charity drive in which legendary bluesman B.B. King pleas for donations to help "Blacks Without Soul," and Ed Begley Jr. thinks he's the son of the Invisible Man, which would be fine if he weren't as visible as everyone else. The various sketches feature an all-star cast including Rosanna Arquette, Griffin Dunne, Carrie Fisher, Michelle Pfeiffer, the late Phil Hartman in an early role, and many others. It's strictly hit-or-miss, and many of the sketches fall flat, especially since the subjects being spoofed (the title sketch is a send-up of the actual 1954 movie Cat Women on the Moon) are funny enough without being satirized. Even though Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide describes most of the sketches as "astonishingly unfunny," this can be a very amusing movie if you're in the mood for a no-brainer with a lot of familiar Hollywood faces. Now a modest little cult film, it's the kind of disposable entertainment that maintains its appeal almost in spite of itself. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Funny movie, lousy DVD transfer
While the movie is likely to be enjoyed by anybody who likes screwball comedies and biting satire, the quality of the DVD transfer leaves much to be desired.

After a slow start, the sketches that comprise "Amazon Women On The Moon", a.k.a. "Kentucky Fried Movie II", pick up speed and reach increasing levels of absurdity, up to a widow's wake which turns into a roast. Steve Guttenberg's experiences with the opposite sex and a seventeen-year old teenager's horrible condom buying experience are painful and extremely funny to watch. By the time Russ Meyer (yes, *that* Russ Meyer) appears as a video store clerk, you have learned to stop worrying about whether this is sub-standard entertainment or not, because the sketches get too funy to care. The whole movie culminates in Carrie Fisher's appearance in an "educational movie", playing a woman with a "social disease".

The experience is marred, however, by the poor quality of the DVD transfer. The picture is blurry (this disc has obviously been transferred from video) and the sound is mono. Often enough, horrible compression artifacts appear in the picture, distorting the image beyond recognition. A shame really, since this movie really deserved a better transfer.

Laugh out loud funny!
This movie is a riot! You will have fun not only laughing at the comedic gags and skits, but you will have fun identifying all of the stars who are in this before they made it big! Michelle Pfeiffer, David Allen Greer, Andrew Dice Clay, just to name a few. Really a great funny movie. Adults only, there is some pretty raicy content! Not a family movie, but funny for those over 18!

Quite enjoyable, and quirky!!!
A very clever collection of shorts put together in a way that they seem to flow together, even though most have nothing in common, Amazon Women on the Moon is a very fun movie to watch. It has a long list of talent in its cast including Arsenio Hall, Michelle Pfeifer, Joe Pantoliano, Steve Guttenberg, Roseanna Arquette, Carrie Fisher, and Andrew Dice Clay.

The scene "Blind Date" which stars Steve Guttenberg and Roseanna Arquette is worth the price of the DVD itself. It is absolutely hilarious. I would consider it my worst nightmare (at least in dating terms).

Parts of the movie are ridiculous, but for the most part it is very enjoyable. The best way to watch this is to go into it with an open mind and don't expect it to be realistic.

Ha ha ha! I'm invisible!
What words can describe greatness such as this? Genious. Ageless. Priceless. This movie has everything and anything you could possibly imagine, from Andrew Dice Clay in a video nightmare rental or Arsenio Hall being killed by a VCR. This is not viewing for the average individual. No no. This film is made for the extraoridinary people of the world who would watch anything at 4:35 AM. If only channel surfing really was this fun.

Missing Some Stuff!!!
Okay, first time reviewer here, but I had to share this bit. First, I give the movie itself 5 stars - it is one of my favorites. About this DVD, however... Just bought it and briefly went through a couple of skits (I have them all memorized already) and I noticed a glarring error on the 'Hair Looming' skit - it has been edited/shortened!!! They totally cut out the part where they demonstrate how the hair stays on after the guy jumps of the cliffs of Acculpoco and the police drag his body to the shore and smile because the hair stayed on. (sp?). Why??? That was one of the funniest parts! I think there are a couple of other small omisions in there too - need to go all through it again, but the point is while a fantastic movie, they cut stuff out! I don't get it. If this is the only way to see the movie however (as my VHS copy broke recently), I guess it will have to do. ... Read more