Revealing mistake: While Akeem is getting his hair cut, you can see the reflection of the white character he plays in the mirror. It is quite obviously a stand-in, with a fatter face and different glasses. (00:33:45)
Coming to America (1988)
Directed by: John Landis
Starring: Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Arsenio Hall, Paul Bates, Shari Headley
Continuity mistake: When Akeem and Semmi get their apartment, the landlord says that the room has only one window facing a brick wall. But when Akeem is out on the fire escape, he yells out to a street, not a wall. And there are two windows.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Semmi and Akeem are cleaning the soap from the window of McDowells the amount of soap on the window constantly changes from less to more and back to less again. (Look at the very top of the window pane).
Trivia: The man who is getting a (fake) haircut as Akeem first enters the barber shop is played by a then-unknown Cuba Gooding Jr.
Trivia: The two bums who get the bag of money from Akeem are actually the rich men who were made bankrupt in the movie "Trading Places" (1983), starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.
Rev. Brown: I got a special treat for ya' this evening, a young man that you all know as Joe the Policeman from the "What's Going Down" episode of "That's My Momma." I want you to put your hands together, and welcome him to the stage. Big round of applauds for Jackson Heights own, Mr. Randy Watson, YES! Randy Watson.
Prince Akeem: I am Akeem.
Lisa McDowell: It's nice to meet you, Akeem.
Prince Akeem: I have recently been placed in charge of garbage. Do you have any that requires disposal?
Lisa McDowell: No. It's totally empty.
Prince Akeem: When it fills up, call me. I will take it out most urgently.
Lisa McDowell: That's good to know.
Prince Akeem: When you think of garbage, think of Akeem.
Prince Akeem: Fascinating! Semmi, look at this! America is great indeed. Imagine a country so free, one can throw glass on the streets.
Question: How much money did Prince Akeem give to the homeless Randolph and Mortimer Duke from "Trading Places" (1983)?
Question: When Akeem tells the taxi to halt at the airport, there's something red on the hood. What is it? It looks like something to mount a camera on that was left on, but I'm not sure. Is it something taxi/NYC related?
Answer: That is the taxicab medallion, a license that allows the yellow cab to operate. All NYC yellow taxicabs must have one of these metal plates (there are different types) affixed to the hood of their NYC yellow taxi. This particular type is the red Big Apple medallion.
Question: How did both Akeem and Semmi get a job at McDowell's without Akeem's parents noticing? Also, wouldn't Mr. McDowell have noticed in doing Akeem's pre-employment background checks who Akeem really was vs finding out when the parents arrived? (00:44:08 - 01:29:34)
Answer: How would Akeem's parents know what they were up to? They think he's taking an American vacation, and in the pre social media days, it was hard to keep track of people. As for McDowell, what sort of background check did you expect him to do on a fast food employee in the 80s? McDowell seems like a guy who would cut corners anyway.
There aren't exactly a lot of people lining up to work at McDowell's, so Cleo gives the applications a once over and hires them on the spot. I'm in my 40's and I've had plenty of jobs that didn't even call my references, let alone perform a background check.
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Answer: Unknown since we can't see the denomination. But at least a couple thousand dollars.
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