Celebrate ‘Coming 2 America’ with Eddie Murphy’s best movies

It’s almost here! Eddie Murphy’s sequel to the 1988 comedy Coming to America will be available to stream on Amazon Prime in a couple of short weeks. Eddie Murphy will reprise his role as Prince Akeem, who has to return to America to find his long-lost son & heir. More hijinks will ensue as Akeem explores a new New York landscape. 

Of course, this isn’t Eddie Murphy’s first rodeo. The comedian has starred in a ton of movies since his days on Saturday Night Live in the early 80s. To prepare to stream Coming 2 America, here are some Eddie Murphy movies we highly recommend you watch right now. 

Trading Places

“Is there a problem, officer?” Starring a young Eddie Murphy and fellow SNL vet Dan Akroyd, this movie delves into race & class relations to ask the question: are people the way they are because of their internal character, or because of the way they’re treated? 

Eddie Murphy plays a homeless man, and Dan Akroyd plays a young, wealthy stockbroker who are unwitting pawns in two older stockbrokers’ bet. Their bet causes Akroyd to lose his job, money, and reputation overnight and boosts Murphy’s station to where the two end up “trading places”. However, the duo soon realizes they’re being played and hijinks ensue. 

Beverly Hills Cop

As the trailer says, Eddie Murphy plays a Detroit cop who goes on “vacation” in Beverly Hills. Really, he’s there to investigate the murder of his friend against the orders of his superior. From badly covering up his investigation & stakeouts to fish-out-of-water moments, there’s plenty of comedy in this movie for everyone to enjoy. 

Or shall we say, movies? There’s a Beverly Hills Cop 2 & 3 and Eddie Murphy was reportedly working on a fourth one for Netflix. According to IMDb though, the plot is still unknown and the last anyone’s heard of the project was in the fall of 2019. 

The Nutty Professor

Who can forget Eddie Murphy in a fat suit? Murphy stars as Sherman Klump, the awkward, overweight professor from a huge, dysfunctional family. Then, Klump discovers a breakthrough in his lab one night, magically making him svelte. However, his potion has some unintentional side effects leading to wacky hijinks and a lesson about self-acceptance. 

Dr. Doolittle

If you’re looking for more family-friendly fare, introduce your kids to Eddie Murphy’s take on Dr. Doolittle. Originally a book series and a not-so-well-received film starring Rex Harrison, Eddie Murphy’s Dr. Doolittle is great for kids, especially those who are into poop humor. 

Murphy stars as Dr. Doolittle, a vet who discovers he can talk to animals. Wacky hijinks ensue as he finally learns what his animal patients have been saying all along. 

Shrek & Shrek 2

We’re going to pretend these are the only movies in the Shrek franchise. Eddie Murphy makes these movies even more enjoyable as Shrek’s foil, Donkey. Even though he’s an annoying, irritating talking donkey, Mike Myers’s voice work as grumpy ogre Shrek makes Murphy’s performance hilarious. 

In the first film, Shrek sets off to take his swamp back from fairytale creatures plugging up his peaceful abode. Unfortunately, to embark on his quest, he’ll have to tolerate Donkey, a talking jack*ss who won’t shut up. The animal, not the butt. 

The second film is arguably more enjoyable than the first. Shrek & Fiona are settling into their happily-ever-after when the couple receives a summons from Shrek’s biggest challenge yet – his judgmental in-laws in the kingdom of Far, Far Away. Murphy reprises his role as Donkey, and even becomes a beautiful noble steed in the second half! 

Coming to America

Did you think we’d forget the first Coming to America movie? Eddie Murphy puts on his finest fish-out-of-water performance yet as Prince Akeem who travels to Queens, NY to look for someone who can “stimulate his intellect as well as his loins”. 

With his advisor, played by Arsenio Hall, he goes from a well-attended prince who literally has servants to wipe his behind for him to a fast-food worker in New York City. Hijinks ensue as Prince Akeem adjusts to life in America without his comforts as a royal. 

As a bonus, this film also stars James Earl Jones (Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King) as Akeem’s father. It’s also worth a rewatch as, obviously, Coming 2 America is available to stream on March 5. 

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What are your favorite Eddie Murphy movies? Let us know in the comments!