Word: semmi
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...that fun may be found in letting royalty rough it for a while below the poverty line. Besides, Eddie Murphy, the nation's top box-office star, is Akeem. And Arsenio Hall, who made waves and friends as host of Fox Broadcasting's The Late Show last year, is Semmi, a royal aide far more reluctant than His Highness to sample the delights of democratic living. So one tends to be rather patient with Coming to America. Surely the filmmakers ought to be able to make something...
...there is a plot to this movie. Murphy plays Akeem, surprisingly liberated prince of the tradition-bound fantasyland of Zamunda, who travels incognito with his friend Semmi (Hall) to look for an equally liberated bride in America (specifically, Queens, N.Y.). The plot provides for a familiar satirical set-up: naive, good-hearted alien exposes by juxtaposition the follies of American customs. The plot is about as predictable as an Orioles game; it exists only as a framework on which to hang the gags...
Fortunately, Akeem has Semmi as a foil. Hall's Semmi is a smarmy, false opportunist, but like Akeem, he's a caricature. Together, Akeem and Semmi are like adult versions of Wally Cleaver and Eddie Haskell. Their squabbles are amusing, but Hall and Murphy's cameos are funnier and more interesting than their primary roles...