Speaking as a Gen Xer, I can confidently say that Coming to America is peak Eddie Murphy. The 1988 classic came out in a run of comedies from Murphy that included Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, and Boomerang, but it almost never got made at all. Paramount initially passed on the movie until Murphy made some critical changes that not only got the movie financed but also helped make it a box office success with an amazing, enduring legacy.
Arsenio Hall, who, in my opinion, was just as important as Murphy in making the movie as funny as it is, was recently asked about the film and why the studio didn't think it was good enough when it was initially pitched. Frankly, it's impossible to think of it without the changes, as it means some of the best characters, like the four old guys at the barber shop, including the Jewish guy, weren't part of the initial pitch.
