If you asked me to pick out my one most vividly remembered scene from
Coming to America, the classic Eddie Murphy comedy released in 1988, it would be the
Murphy's Prince Akeem of Zamunda is out on a date with his future wife Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley). But he's got a problem: Lisa doesn't know about Akeem's immense wealth and royal lineage, and Akeem, who is trying to pass himself off as a goat herder, ends up stuck with a paper bag filled with thousands of dollars thanks to his meddling friend and personal servant, Semmi (Arsenio Hall).
Enter the two homeless men sitting right outside the restaurant where Akeem and Lisa will have their date. Akeem pauses before they go inside and slips the men his paper bag. A few minutes later, after the happy couple is seated at their table, the homeless men reappear to shout thanks through a nearby window and we in the audience are hit with a realization: It's Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) and Mortimer Duke (Don Ameche), the chief antagonists in the Murphy comedy classic
‘Coming 2 America': All the Callbacks and Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed
And the story behind that sneaky “Trading Places” cameoSamson Amore | March 8, 2021 @ 9:05 PM
Photo Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Eddie Murphy’s “Coming 2 America” is a comedy reboot that doesn’t shy away from callbacks. The sequel, which arrived last week, is loaded with references, innuendos and outright repeat jokes from the 1988 original, like the classic Mets jacket getup and even some recycled old footage. Some of the gags are hard to spot if you — like many viewers — were busy taking in the film’s lavish scenery and costume design, so we’ve got your guide to all the easter eggs you may have missed.
Amazon Studios
Director Craig Brewer said he came up with the idea to give a hat tip to "Trading Places."
The Eddie Murphy comedy is also referred to in 1988's "Coming to America."
"I'm still a believer that there's a crossover movie to do with 'Coming to America' and 'Trading Places,'" Brewer told Insider.
"Coming 2 America" is filled with callbacks to the first movie. But there's also a scene in the sequel that gives a shout out to another classic Eddie Murphy movie.
In the scene where Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler), the illegitimate son of Akeem (Eddie Murphy), goes for a job interview, he sits down and calls the person interviewing him (played by Colin Jost) Mr. Duke. That should ring a bell for Murphy fans, but then the next moment should really drive it home when Duke tells Lavelle to only call him Calvin because "my father is Mr. Duke and my grandfather and great uncle who founded Duke & Duke."
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