Coming to America
Coming to America trivia picture

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.

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)

LorgSkyegon

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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.

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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)

jm1138

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.

Brian Katcher

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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