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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 48 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    Chicago Tribune | Gene Siskel

    It's a sweet, oft-told story, and Murphy and Hall add a number of very sharp supporting roles-hidden by makeup-to add spice to the general level of gentleness. [1 Jul 1988, p.A] Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Eddie Murphy's latest picture, Coming to America, is a harmless, fairly amusing comedy that will delight Eddie Murphy fans and keep everyone else mildly entertained. [30 Jun 1988, p.E1] Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | Vincent Canby

    Though Coming to America is a romantic comedy the director steers the film more often toward quick, in-and-out comic situations and gags that are only mildly funny. In part this is due to the fact that Mr. Murphy plays the prince with cheerful, low-keyed innocence that is completely legitimate, but is not supported by the short attention span of the screenplay. The romance is tepid. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Jay Carr

    The romantic stuff is tepid. Luckily, his onscreen buddy, Hall, never strays far. Coming to America is at its best when they're playing off each other, and not just as the prince and his buddy. [29 Jun 1988, p.69] Read full review

  • 60
    Washington Post |

    The main pleasure in America comes in the romancing of prince and pauper. But the comedy is a mere handmaiden. Read full review

  • 60
    Washington Post | Hal Hinson

    Coming to America isn't as aggressively awful as the "Cop" films or "The Golden Child," but at least in those films there was something to react to. In making Coming to America, Murphy seems to have set his sights on the lowest prize imaginable. He aspires to blandness. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today |

    There are some laughs, Murphy is appealing and the ancient theme of love conquering all is beguiling. But America's mean-spiritedness lingers after its pastel-pretty ending. Read full review

  • 10
    Time | Richard Schickel

    Coming to America seems to be more career move than movie. After the raucousness of Beverly Hills Cop II and the raunchiness of Eddie Murphy Raw, the star apparently wants to assert his claim on the currently vacant title of America's Sweetheart. His aspirations must be bigger and badder than that. We want -- may actually need -- something more from this gifted man than Eddie Murphy Tame. [4 July 1988 p.66] Read full review

  • 10
    Variety |

    Coming to America starts on a bathroom joke, quickly followed by a gag about private parts, then wanders in search of something equally original for Eddie Murphy to do for another couple of hours. It's a true test for loyal fans. Read full review

  • 10
    Los Angeles Times | Sheila Benson

    James Earl Jones proves that he is probably the only actor in America who can wear the skin of a full-grown lion-jewels in its eyes, its tail in its mouth-over street clothes and not look like a damn fool. But there's not a thing he can do with this flaccid, foolish film. [29 Jun 1988, p.1] Read full review


Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Silly, curse-happy '80s Eddie Murphy vehicle.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that there's plenty of foul language and some negative female stereotypes to watch out for here.
  • Families can talk about the role of women in society -- what's your view? Do you think it's something to joke about like they do here? They could also discuss the pros and cons of arranged marriages, and the way other countries view Americans.
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Not an issue
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: Cartoonish scuffling in several scenes.
  • sex false3 Sex: Bare breasts are lingered upon just minutes into the movie; contact between the movie's royals and their servants is discussed explicitly.
  • language false5 Language: More f-words and other epithets than you can shake a stick at.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters are shown drinking cocktails and beer at a bar and at home.

Coming to America (1988) Movie Ratings + Reviews

Fans say

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Critics say

So-so See all critic reviews

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