Long before Eddie Murphy became donkey in the “Shrek” trilogy, he actually took the time to act for the movies he starred in, case in point, the surprisingly star studded “Coming to America.”

Without delving into the plot too much, let me explain the setting. Akeem (Murphy) is royalty in Zamunda, Africa. He is forced to take a wife but convinces his father, the King of Zamunda, to allow him to sow his royal oats for forty days before hand. Like all sappy 80’s movies, he finds an intelligent and beautiful woman in a totally unexpected way in a totally unexpected locale, with totally predictable outcomes. What I found so fascinating about the movie, other than the incredibly choppy editing and the horrendous prop closet cliched accessories, was the cast. It reads like a hollywood African American hottie Who’s who. Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Eriq La Salle, Samuel L Jackson, and Cuba Gooding Jr. I thought I spotted Martin Lawrence in there somewhere, but I couldnt find him listed in the credits. Perhaps I was wrong.

I miss how the older movies played out. The tiny nuances that would wrap a story in on itself and knit together a solid plot. This movie is older, but that doesnt make it any less fun. Its a story of the classes of society in the late eighties, without ever making any sort of lead statement. Watch it to giggle, watch it to explore the dialogue and dissect the underlying social questions. Or just watch it to enjoy the days when Eddie Murphy wasn’t such an ass.

What are some of your favorite 80’s movie

indulgences?

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