Tuesday, March 09, 2021

Superhero movies, remakes, and sequels to old movies nobody asked for

 

Coming 2 America (2021, Craig Brewer) is Crazy Rich Asians in Africa, padded with pop-culture references substituted for humor. But it also spends most of its runtime with callbacks to the original, in a similarly unfunny, desperate, way.

     Coming 2 America doesn’t so much feel like a movie as it does a charity benefit variety show remembering when Eddie Murphy was still funny. I can’t recall the last time a sequel showed as many clips from its predecessor. The gratuitous pandering with returning cast reprising their roles is a ploy to get idiots to feel in the know because they can identify them from the first movie. Same problem with all the 90s pop culture references, which is most inexplicable. 

     Coming 2 America doesn’t so much feel like a movie as it does a lame 30 year high school reunion. There’s a party, decorations, and an endless assortment of dance numbers. The clip show within the movie allows us to share our memories of how everyone looked 30 years ago. We get to laugh at how fun it is to hear songs we haven’t heard in 30 years. 

     The blooper reel at the end proves this movie is made by people who aren’t funny but sat down and all asked each other what’s funny.

 

3/7/2021 Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

Atlanta, GA

DCP

No comments: