‘What Is That, Velvet?’ Beers Rich Enough for Zamunda Royalty and the Wealth of Jokes in ‘Coming 2 America’

Now streaming on Amazon Prime, ‘Coming 2 America’ pays nostalgic fan service in all the right spots while still delivering plenty of fresh laughs. Time to go back to America, then back to Zamunda!

The Movie: Long-awaited and genuinely funny sequel to Eddie Murphy’s late 80s comedic gold / 2021 / Paramount – Amazon Studios

The Beers: Rich, velvety brews with big ABVs! / Fit for kings, queens, and elderly men who hang out at barbershops.

*Mild Spoilers*

“This is beautiful! What is that, velvet?”

While it’s hard to pick a favorite line from Eddie Murphy’s fan-favorite, Coming to America, I think I have to go with this one. It’s a throw-away joke that comes out of nowhere and does nothing whatsoever to further the plot, but it makes you laugh while simultaneously speaking to the stark contrasts between the wealthy and elite King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) royalty and the working class, no-holds-barred barbershop crew from Queens. And yes, both the king and the barbershop guys make it into the freshly released sequel, Coming 2 America.

I went into the new movie excitedly, albeit wholly expecting it to go the traditionally disappointing sequel route. I figured it’d either rely too much on all of the old jokes and ideas that made the first movie so great, or it would try to give everything too much of a modern facelift and strip away all of the familiarity. Basically, I expected Coming 2 America to fall somewhere on the “suck” scale.

But, oh my God you guys, it didn’t suck!

In this follow-up story, a now more mature and subdued Prince Akeem (Murphy) discovers that he has a son he didn’t know about from a drunken one-night stand back in Queens (shortly before he got together with Lisa, to whom he is still happily married). Meanwhile, Akeem’s eldest daughter is frustrated with the situation because she’s been working her whole life toward becoming the heir to the throne even though the law prohibits it, and newfound brother is now another obstacle in her way. Also, McDowell’s restaurant now has an African location and is still totally NOT ripping off McDonald’s, if anyone asks.

No dialogue stand out nearly as much as the original, but there are plenty of quick quips and genuine belly laughs – thanks to the sequel retaining its predecessor’s delightfully not-so-PC humor style. I was honestly worried it’d try to go too boringly PC and inoffensive like so many other movies today, but thankfully, Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and a full cast of other honed comedians strive boldly forward in proving my concerns wrong. I’m sure there will be some keyboard warriors who disagree with me here, but we probably have very different senses of humor.

I lost track of how often I laughed, because it was so consistent for at least the first half. Dare I say it – there were a few moments that actually exceeded the original. The only reason the giggles didn’t come through as strong in the second half of the movie was because that’s where a little more gravity settled into the plot and some lengthier action scenes took place.

The only thing I would really change would be to give the female characters – specifically Akeem’s daughters – some more screen time. At times it felt like they tried to give them some more depth, but the attempts were brief. Honestly, it seemed the world of Zamunda and the lineup of characters featured in this jam-packed sequel was a bit too expansive to allow everyone to be more dimensional. Because it felt like they were running out of time, the ending also felt rushed and didn’t have the emotional fulfillment that the first movie achieved. Despite these flaws, Coming 2 America still easily out-did my sequel standards overall.

And I had HIGH standards. Coming to America is easily my favorite Eddie Murphy movie of all time, and probably in my top 10 most-watched flicks ever. I wasn’t even alive when it came out in 1988, and the first time I saw it was a heavily edited cable version (I’m pretty sure on TBS). It’s since become an funny old friend that I revisit often, and I can probably quote more than two-thirds of it with ease. Watching Coming 2 America felt like spending time with this old friend once they had a new story to tell, and it didn’t matter that this tale wasn’t quite as fleshed out as the first.

All in all, it’s nice to see that Eddie Murphy still has it in the bag. I will also say that I absolutely loved the Zamunda costuming in the first movie, and the sequel took these looks to rich, creative new heights.

On the subject of richness, I’ll move on now to the beer pairings for this movie. If you’re not into beer, there’s always that special Crown Royal release done just for Coming 2 America.

In honor of my favorite line from the original (which does get a nod in the sequel, by the way), and the elaborately displayed wealth of Zamunda, I’m going with some seriously decadent stuff. I know I’m definitely going to re-watch the new movie soon, so it’s worth stocking up on multiple beers here.

Mercurial Silk – Levante Brewing Co.

“Mercurial Silk is the rich velvet dessert nectar of the Gods” is how the brewers at Pennsylvania’s Levante describe Mercurial Silk, and I have to say I agree. This stuff IS delicious. And you know the saying, if it’s fit for the gods, it’s fit for the King and Queen of Zamunda (or maybe that’s not a saying, but just go with it!) To make this surprisingly smooth 12% ABV Milk Stout, the Levante team used plenty of chocolatey dark malts and milk sugar. Yum!

Imperial Red Velvet Ale – Flyway Brewing

Zamunda prizes its traditions, as does Flyway Brewing. This 8% ABV Imperial Red Ale stems from an old family red velvet cake recipe! In addition to deep caramel and chocolate malts, the brewers add cacao nibs and Madagascar vanilla beans for extra luxury. They also hop it with Citra, Centennial and Cascade for some citrus zest, like orange rind garnish on a cake. This beer is pretty tough to find anywhere outside of Arkansas (I got real lucky once through a friend connection), but if you can get your hands on it, pounce!

Velvet Merkin – Firestone Walker

Velvet Merkin is the #10-ranked Oatmeal Stout in the world on Beeradvocate. And not just because it’s from California’s famed Firestone Walker. This annual release flows with flavors of chocolate truffle and fresh-ground espresso. And it’s all aged in bourbon barrels for extra mellow, boozy decadence with whispers of molasses. The ABV for each release usually hovers between 8% and 9%, and something tells me the Zamunda palace would probably have a whole cellar filled with Velvet Merkin vintages.

Dragon’s Milk – New Holland Brewing Co.

Craft beer fans are coming to America… for Dragon’s Milk! This luxurious Milk Stout has built up quite the following over the past few years, thanks to its roasty malt and dark chocolate character, vanilla undertones and notes of oak from barrel aging. It clocks in at 11% too, and the good news is that it’s so in-demand, Michigan’s New Holland Brewing now distributes it in bottle shops and grocery stores across America.

*Bonus Brews*

• Leopard Print / Imperial IPA / BlackStack Brewing – St. Paul, MN
• African Amber / Red Ale / Mac & Jack’s Brewing Co. – Redmond, WA
• King Jaffe’s Zamundian IPL / India Pale Lager / Asheville Brewing Co. – Asheville, NC
• Zamunda Forever / Mead / Garagiste Meadery – Tampa, FL
• Queens Lager / Amber Lager / Queens Brewery – Ridgewood, NY