Coming to America

Coming to America (1988) is a comedy directed by John Landis — watch it online on iFILM. Eddie Murphy plays Prince Akeem of Zamunda, a fictional African kingdom where servants bathe him, dress him and brush his teeth. His parents have already picked out a bride trained to agree with everything he says. Akeem wants a woman with opinions and talks his best friend Semmi, played by Arsenio Hall, into flying to Queens, New York, where real people live.

Posing as poor African students, the two land jobs mopping floors at McDowell's — a fast-food joint run by Cleo McDowell, played by John Amos, that bears a suspicious resemblance to a certain other chain. Cleo's daughter Lisa, played by Shari Headley, is not fooled for long. Murphy and Hall each play four different characters, with makeup artist Rick Baker transforming them into barbershop regulars and a terrible soul singer called Randy Watson. James Earl Jones plays Akeem's disapproving king of a father. Samuel L. Jackson and Cuba Gooding Jr. both appear in early, small roles.

Made for $30 million, the film earned nearly $289 million worldwide and spent two weeks at number one at the US box office. A Paramount Pictures and Eddie Murphy Productions release. Watch Coming to America (1988) online on iFILM.