Coming 2 America, the sequel to the 1988 classic Coming to America, is a sad exercise in confirming what we already know: Film and Television today pales in comparison to the ’80s. Which was, quite frankly, the greatest decade for film in the history of cinema. No other decade comes close. None.
The ’80s were the pinnacle.
There are many reasons for this, but one of them was the ideology of the left then was very, very different from the ideology of the left now. Sprinkling liberal values in movies at that time produced an entirely different taste than what is sprinkled, well, more like poured into movies now.
Because this ideology is so abhorrent, so hateful, so bereft of moral value or compass it instantly sours anything it mixes with. Making the taste unpalatable and films virtually unwatchable.
In the original, Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) of Zamunda’s biggest gripe is his arranged marriage. He wanted to marry for love. That’s fine, it’s an argument you can make. There are pros and cons to such things (his parents turned out fine, for example). The sequel’s biggest argument is for women being rulers in a society that has laws against such things. That’s fine too, however, the ridiculous manner in which this prospect is rendered viable makes your stomach churn. When the crux of your argument relies on abandoning the realities of the sexes you not only have a failed argument, you have a stinker of a movie.
But this is part and parcel of what makes modern leftist ideology so grotesque. It operates purely on emotion and eschews logic, reason, and most important of all…reality. The film launches hamfisted attacks on inarguable concepts like the importance of having a father in the home. It builds a strawman white male character (the only one in the film from what I could tell) so he can be leveled by one of the protagonists. These infestations of woke talking points bring the movie screeching to a halt and renders laughter for anyone with a functioning brain impossible.
“His momma named him Clay, Imma call him Clay.”
As you watch you realize that the hilarious barbershop scenes in the first film could never happen in this one as you witness the moronic topic of Nazis being brought up in a modern-day context. Imagine, discussing Nazis in 2021, as if they were still around. It felt as if there was a tug-of-war happening in the scripting of this film. The classic elements, characters, and scenes from the last film would be retrieved only to be dipped into the toxic, political goop that has permeated the first quarter of the 21st century.
And the less said about the ‘championing’ of ghetto culture the better. I don’t even know where to begin with this idiocy save to shake my head as if recovering from a fever dream. Needless the say the black stereotypes embraced in this film coupled with the regressive viewpoints obliterated any chance of this being an entertaining film revisited for decades to come.
I suspect a lot of this has to do with Kenya Burris being listed as a screenwriter on the film. I generally avoid this creature’s work like the plague and feared I was going to regret watching this sequel with him attached.
In that, I was right.
I thought Eddie Murphy knew better than to be involved with garbage like this.
In that, I was dead wrong.
2 out of 5 stars
Propaganda meter: Toxic – avoid.
- Fourth Wave Feminism
- Celebration of degeneracy
- White Men Bad
Summary
They should have left well enough alone
