Finally watched it

It’s always weird when you’re late to the party, finally watching a much-loved classic with significant cultural impact, especially when it’s a comedy. ‘What if I don’t find it funny?’ etc.

This was a mixed bag for me. Coming To America is my favourite comedy so I was hoping Landis would deliver again, and he sort of did. I loved the first 10 minutes, the subtle gags throughout, the balls-out zaniness, insane car chases and surprise copious extras plus Spielberg! The singer cameos, Carrie Fisher. There was a sense that music held everything together and the feeling of joy at the end, with even the crew singing along, was magnificent.

I suspect that one of the appeals of this film was how it gleefully broke the rules and subverted conventional filmmaking, but we’re so detached from ‘proper films’ these days that this aspect didn’t tickle me the way I can imagine it did audiences back then.

I also didn’t click with the leads too well. I appreciate they were born of an SNL sketch but they didn’t hook me the way Akeem and his plight did, or even Wayne who had similar SNL roots. They were cool cats but maybe too cool to really warm to (I’m aware this is probably sacrilege).

The runtime was another issue, most comedies clock in at 90mins, this was 2hrs 10 and without a protagonist you really care about and want to succeed it struggled to grip my attention in parts. Again, Wayne and Akeem had relationships and dreams that tugged at the heart, the Blues Brothers had a random ‘mission from god’ which was funny… but hardly relatable. Again, subversion without substance driving a 2+ hour film.

Some plot points had me scratching my head too - why did The Good Ole Boys arrive well after the bar had closed expecting to jump onstage??

I’ve only seen John Belushi in a couple of films, and while he brings the comedy and works well as a side character like Bluto, I think he struggles as a lead we can sympathise with. His apology monologue to Carrie Fisher was played for absurd laughs when it would have been stronger to genuinely charm her before kissing her and dumping her to the ground. Again, sacrilege I know.

The musical numbers and big cameos were impressive but here’s another issue - I’m not a muso nor particularly a blues fan. I think a lot of hardcore love for this film comes from music lovers, and I’m a casual listener at best. So another aspect where I’m appreciating what I’m seeing without deeply connecting the way many fans do.

So yeah, I found it charming and amusing but I didn’t fall in love the way I might have if I’d seen it on release, when I was younger and the culture we swam in was so different. I think comedies struggle more than any other genre to stand the test of time.