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‘Coming2America’ and Much More at the Queens Drive-In

Longing to go to a real live theater, surrounded by real live people?  Tired of being glued to your television set? If you’re caught in pandemic hesitancy, there’s a better way – the all-American drive-in! You get to see movies on the big screen from the safety of your own car and you get to take off your mask for a breather! So even as big theaters open up in New York, there’s good news on the drive-in front, for the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) is showcasing a varied program of movies ranging  from the double feature of ‘Rocky’ and ‘Creed’ to  ‘Dune’. The movies can be seen from March 5 through June 30 at the Queens Drive-In in Flushing.

The Queens Drive-In returns to New York City’s Flushing Meadows Corona Park this spring. It’s a collaborative project between Museum of the Moving Image, Rooftop Films, and the New York Hall of Science, and was created amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in August 2020 to provide arts and entertainment, bring back jobs, and support the larger filmmaking community.

 

The program was launched with a premiere screening of ‘Coming2America’ before it began its live streaming on Amazon Prime. So it was a fun trip not just to Queens where the theater is located – but to the royal country of Zamunda to meet newly crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted buddy Semmi (Arsenio Hall) in brand-new adventurers which bring them once again to America – right to the Queens neighborhood.

I had never been to a drive-in, that most American of experiences, so off we went. Our car trip took us from Manhattan to Queens to – Zamunda!  We joined over 200 cars in this trek, were presented Vietnamese Chicken Terriyaki and Tofu buns to munch and gold knapsacks of Zamundian swag (Soul Glo!), courtesy of Amazon Prime which is streaming the movie after its initial premiere at the drive-in. A photographer also came around, clicking pictures of the guests in their cars and we smiled for selfies, as  an occasional helicopter flew across the starlit sky.

What better film to watch than the sequel to ‘Coming to America’ which had taken the US by storm so many years ago?  Many of the characters from the original are in this sequel, including King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones), Queen Lisa (Shari Headley), Cleo McDowell (John Amos), Maurice (Louie Anderson) and the motley barbershop crew. Joining this star-studded ensemble are Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Fowler, Bella Murphy, Rotimi, KiKi Layne, Nomzamo Mbatha and Teyana Taylor.

In this sequel, newly-crowned King Akeem discovers that he has an unknown son in America and sets out with Semmi to bring back his heir. He already has three daughters but Zamundian traditions insist that only a male can become king. Will Akeem follow age-old customs or will he forge a new way?

There are plenty of laughs and wacky drama as he connects in Queens with his long-lost son Lavelle, who is a school dropout and ticket scalper in Times Square. Can he become a suitable prince and heir to the throne? Will he have an arranged marriage with the woman selected for him by the royals or will he find his own true love? The film is full of zany characters and yes, true love does triumph along with the strengths of family, friendship, girl power as well as cultural pride.

 ‘Coming2America’ will get you out of your pandemic funk with Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and the gang. If you’ve seen the original, you’ll definitely want to see this and catch up with old friends. And even if you haven’t, this good-natured sequel will still make you happy.  Zamunda is a luscious, zen kind of place to visit and the mind-boggling assortment of costumes is great, showing the mishmash of culture that exists, and celebrating it.  As costume designer Ruth E. Carter, who won an Oscar for her work in ‘The Black Panther’ says in the production notes:  “I realized that we could take Zamunda from 30 years ago and bring it into the 2020’s, so that’s what I tried to do. I knew there were going to be a whole lot of costumes, which was exciting to me.”

Among the designers she collaborated with were Maxhosa Africa by Laduma Ngxokolo and Palesa Mokumbung from South Africa, as well as JJ Valaya of India. (As an Indian-American, it was a tickle for me to know she had reached out to the rich design talent in India too!)

“We combined lots of different cultures,” she says: “We borrowed from East Indian culture and combined it with African culture. We also came up with very avant-garde hairstyles and geles and headpieces. So, a headwrap may incorporate flowers or a hairstyle might have some kind of 3-D affect to it. It’s all Zamundan style.”

Movie buffs will also be intrigued to learn that the fabulous Zamundan locales were shot in Georgia and the sumptuous palace is in reality created out of the estate owned by rapper Rick Ross

More Movies at Queens Drive-In for Spring

While ‘Coming2America’ can now be seen on Amazon Prime, there are a whole lot of movies planned for the Queens drive-in which is located in Carona and is a great outing for the entire family.

Ticket sales support the three non-profit presenting partners Museum of the Moving Image, Rooftop Films, and New York Hall of Science; and to the hiring of staff to operate the drive-in. A portion of each ticket is donated to a local community organization. This year, donations will support Plaza del Sol Family Health Center, a not-for-profit health care center serving Corona, Queens.

The programming includes something for everybody including films like ‘The Shining’ and ‘Dune’. There are also lots of double features – ‘Rocky’ + ‘Creed’ ‘Thelma and Louise’ + ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’; ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ + ‘Dazed and Confused’; and  ‘Escape from New York’ + ‘Robocop’. For the kids you also have ‘Babe’ + ‘Babe: Pig in the City’ as well as ‘Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory’.

Tickets for March and April programming are on sale now, and additional free and ticketed events will be announced throughout the spring. Members of the presenting organizations will receive a 20% discount. MoMI members will receive an email with their unique code, which may be used throughout the season.

Details of Programming