The official Coming 2 America trailer has released, and it pays a brilliant reference to the original Coming to America film by making the men in the barbershop (most of whom are played by Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy) appear almost exactly the same as they did in the original. Released in 1988 and directed by John Landis, the original parodic rom-com follows Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy), crown prince of the fictional African nation Zamunda, as he relocates to Queens, New York to find a love match.
Coming 2 America, directed by Craig Brewer and scheduled for release on March 5th, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video, tracks Akeem as he returns to New York to seek out his son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). Fans of the original will be happy to know that many of the original cast members return in the sequel, including Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, and Shari Headley. Further, Coming 2 America adds new talent to its roster, including Morgan Freeman, Leslie Jones, and a very enthusiastic Wesley Snipes. One fan-favorite scene from the original involves a barbershop occupied by elderly African-American men, including Clarence the proprietor (Eddie Murphy), Morris the barber (Arsenio Hall), Sweets the barber (Clint Smith), and Saul, an elderly Jewish patron (Eddie Murphy). As the trailer indicates, these highly popular characters have returned for the sequel to break new comedic ground.
In the original film, one particularly well-loved barbershop scene involves Clarence arguing with barbers and patrons alike about the all-time great heavyweight boxers. The men cycle through several top choices, but ultimately, many all-time greats, including Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Mike Tyson are dismissed. Clarence (played by Eddie Murphy) becomes especially animated when Saul mentions that Rocky Marciano beat Joe Louis, Clarence's clear favorite. Clarence objects that "Joe Louis was 75 years old when they fought . . . Joe Louis always lied about his age." Clarence then claims that at one point Frank Sinatra came in for a haircut, and divulged to Clarence that Louis was a whopping "137 years old." In truth, Louis was reportedly 37 when he fought Marciano — fairly old, but only by boxing standards. Nonetheless, this scene from the original pokes fun at the idea of age and deception, which works because although Murphy and Hall were 27 and 32, respectively, when the film released, they were pretending to be elderly with the help of deceptive character acting and plenty of makeup.
Coming 2 America hopes to amplify the original in multiple ways. At age 59 and 64 respectively, Murphy and Hall are now far closer in actual age to the barbershop men than they were in 1988. In all likelihood, Murphy and Hall now have to wear far less makeup and prosthetics in order to approximate the ravages of time, and this only adds to the hilarity. Further, while the trailer indicates that main characters Akeem and Semmi (Arsenio Hall) have aged normally during the 32 years since the original film's release, the barbershop men seem to appear almost exactly the same, save that today's hi-def technology brings them into sharper resolution. Clearly, the film is having some fun with Clarence's quips regarding Joe Louis "lying" about his age.
Fans will have to wait a few months to find out if Murphy and Hall can capture lightning in a bottle with the film's sequel. Recent years have seen an uptick in relaunches / updates to beloved 1980s movies, whether they be feature films like Top Gun: Maverick, or a series like Cobra Kai. If the trailer provides any accurate indication, then all signs suggest that Coming 2 America acknowledges what fans loved about the original while also adding a few new wrinkles.