The prince from Zamunda

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Movie
German title The prince from Zamunda
Original title Coming to America
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1988
length 116 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director John Landis
script David Sheffield ,
Barry W. Blaustein
production George Folsey Jr. ,
Robert D. Wachs
music Nile Rodgers
camera Sol Negrin ,
Woody Omens
cut Malcolm Campbell
occupation

The Prince of Zamunda (Original title: Coming to America ) is an American comedy film directed by John Landis from 1988. The story for the film was written by Eddie Murphy , who also plays the lead role.

action

Prince Akeem is the son of King Jaffe and Queen Aeoleon in Zamunda , a fictional kingdom in Africa. The heir to the throne lives in luxury and is looked after by numerous servants - so much so that he practically does not have to do anything himself, let alone may. According to old tradition, his father wants to marry him on his 21st birthday to a woman of his standing. The Chosen One, Imani Izzi, was brought up to blindly obey Akeem's instructions. Akeem doesn't like that because he wants a woman with an independent opinion.

So Akeem travels to the United States with his royal servant and best friend Semmi to find a bride he likes. According to his logic, he can only find his dream woman in the New York borough of Queens , because "Queens" is the English word for " queens ". His father allows him to travel because of a misunderstanding: he believes the prince wants to have sexual experiences before the wedding.

In New York, Akeem and Semmi pose as penniless students and move into a shabby apartment. After a few mistakes, Akeem meets the girl he likes: Lisa McDowell, the daughter of the owner of McDowell’s fast food restaurant. In order to get to know Lisa, Akeem has himself and his servant hired as auxiliary workers in the restaurant.

Akeem begins to please his life as a simple man, and little by little he even wins Lisa's heart, but hides his origins from her, because he wants to be loved for himself and not because of his status as a wealthy prince. Lisa's father is vehemently against the relationship between the two, as he favors Lisa's previous rich friend Darryl as his future son-in-law. In contrast to Akeem, Semmi doesn't like the new, hard-hitting life at all, and that's why he has their shared apartment in Queens renovated in a luxurious way. He pretends to be a prince and gets the attention of Lisa's sister Patrice. When Akeem took all the cash from his servant, the latter telegraphed the king and asked him to increase their financial resources. The king is deceived by his son and, furious, travels to New York with his servants. He visits Lisa's father and reveals Akeem's true identity. He explains to Lisa that Akeem already has a future wife and only wants to "cast off his horns" before the wedding, whereupon Lisa separates from Akeem disappointed. The Queen advises Akeem to try to win Lisa back, but it fails because Lisa does not feel worthy of the royal family's expectations. When the Zamundian delegation leaves together with the deeply sad Akeem, the queen persuades her husband to change his mind about the choice of bride.

Finally, Akeem stands in front of the altar in Zamunda and waits to meet the woman his parents had chosen for him at the beginning. But when he lifts the veil of the incoming bride, she surprisingly turns out to be Lisa, and the wedding turns out to be a happy ending .

Awards

The film was in 1989 for two Oscars nominations:

  • Best costume design
  • Best makeup

The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating "valuable".

Reviews

“Naive film fairy tale with a few happy swipes that aims to provide entertainment for the whole family; coordinated with Eddie Murphy, who can give rehearsals of quieter comedy. "

- Lexicon of international film

"John Landis' last great comedy is a veritable Eddie Murphy festival."

- Scott Weinberg

useful information

  • In addition to Prince Akeem, Eddie Murphy also plays three supporting roles in which he is practically unrecognizable because of the make-up: the hairdresser Clarence, the singer Randy Watson who was unable to work and the white old Saul.
  • In addition to his role as Semmi, Arsenio Hall also plays three other supporting roles: the old babbler Morris from the barber shop, Pastor Brown and, in the bar scene, the transvestite in the red dress who sits next to Eddie Murphy.
  • In a short sequence, Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy play the roles of the brothers Mortimer and Randolph Duke, two main characters from The Soldiers of Fortune . In that earlier John Landis film, the brothers lost all their fortune on a bet and the like. a. to Billy Ray Valentine, played by Eddie Murphy. In The Prince from Zamunda , the two brothers appear briefly as homeless people lying on the roadside. Prince Akeem gives them a paper bag filled with money, whereupon they allude to the soldier of fortune film with the slogan “Mortimer, we're back!”.
  • The producers of the film had to obtain approval for the use of the name McDowell’s from McDonald’s due to the very similar sounding name and the obvious allusion associated with it. In the film, a competition to McDonalds is shown.
  • Some actors have their first roles in this film: At the beginning of the film, Akeem bathes with three naked women. One of them, Victoria Dillard (the Diver), later became known as Janelle Cooper of Chaos City . Michele Watley (you can only see her back) later made a career in the porn industry under the stage name Midori . Garcelle Beauvais played another rose girl. She, too, is now a respected actress ( New York Cops - NYPD Blue , Bad Company ). Even Samuel L. Jackson and Cuba Gooding , both still early in their careers, are seen in the film. Jackson plays the robber who tries to raid the restaurant. Cuba Gooding junior, on the other hand, is one of the customers in the hairdressing salon. Also, Ruben Santiago-Hudson had one of his first appearances, he plays the fence , trying to golden True to sell, which is previously stolen with along with the entire luggage from the cheap flophouse that relate to Akeem and Sammi.
  • In 1990 the American satirist Arthur Buchwald litigated Paramount Pictures for illegally adapting one of his stories, on which the film The Prince of Zamunda is based. Buchwald won the process.
  • The choreographer for the dance interludes was Paula Abdul .
  • The filming location of the run-down apartment building and the hairdressing salon My-T-Sharp is on Hooper Street at the corner of South 5th Street and therefore not in the borough of Queens, but in Brooklyn.
  • The director of the film, John Landis, can be seen in a short scene as Eddie Murphy's taxi driver.

production

The film is a co-production by Paramount Pictures and Eddie Murphy Productions . The theatrical and video distribution rights for the comedy are owned by Paramount Pictures and its subsidiary Paramount Home Entertainment . United International Pictures owns the rights for the German theatrical distribution . The budget was 39 million dollars and played worldwide 288 million dollars, of which 128 million (44.37%) in the US alone.

The film was shot entirely in the USA . The boroughs of New York Brooklyn , Queens and Manhattan , as well as the city of Los Angeles and a ranch in Simi Valley ( California ) were used as film locations. Further recordings were made in and in front of Madison Square Garden , the Waldorf-Astoria and a Wendy's restaurant in Queens.

Theatrical releases

The film opened in US cinemas on June 29, 1988. In August the film was released in Norwegian (August 2nd), French (August 24th) and Australian cinemas (August 25th). On September 1, 1988, the film ran in the Federal Republic of Germany, seven days later it could be seen in Argentine cinemas. Also in September, the film was released in Denmark (September 16) and Finland (September 23).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Prince from Zamunda on fbw-filmbassy.com
  2. ↑ The Prince from Zamunda in the Lexicon of International Films Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used
  3. ↑ www.efilmcritic.com (English).
  4. ↑ Box Office / business for Coming to America (English).
  5. ↑ Filming locations for Coming to America (English).