‘It was iconic. I’m very happy to be part of part 2’
TRACY MORGAN UNCLE REEM
Comedian Tracy Morgan remembers that when he saw the first film back in 1989 it was like the black Wizard of Oz.
“It was incredible. I’d never seen that type of cinematography. Eddie was magic and, as a black American, to see black excellence on screen was exciting to me. It was iconic. I’m very happy to be part of part 2.”
He describes the atmosphere on the set of Coming 2 America as ”a party. Every day. You didn’t want to leave the set. It was like being back on the corner drinking a beer with your boys — it was fun.” He hopes that the new film will show audiences that the cast wanted to do things that people can relate to and identify with: “Family and love. Not forgetting where you come from, staying true to yourself and giving yourself a chance.”
WESLEY SNIPES GENERAL IZZY
Wesley Snipes auditioned for a role in the original Coming to America, but didn’t make the cut. The veteran star jokes: “It made me feel extremely disappointed. I wanted to quit the business and re-evaluate my purpose for living.” Those feelings were made worse when he saw the film on its release in 1989. “It was magical and the imagery was magical and it was a cast of actors I’d long admired.” Since then he’s worked with director Craig Brewer and star Eddie Murphy on the 2019 film Dolemite is my Name. Now he’s back with them for his role as the comic villain in Coming 2 America. He had a lot of fun making the new film and hopes that it will show audiences around the world how long it’s been since we’ve seen that scale of “African excellence”. “It’s Afro-futurism and black love, and we’ve all longed for it,” he says. “We’re reminded when we see it, how much we missed it. This is another one of those occasions. It’s a wonderful, family-oriented film, something that the kids can watch as well as the adults and all the adults that are still kids. It’s an upbeat film and that’s something that we need now — some upliftment.”
Julia Anastasopoulos throws off her wedding gown and dons some trendy maternity wear for the return of her uncomfortably recognisable but beloved Cape Town kugel creation Tali Shapiro in this second season of the Safta awardwinning mockumentary.
Recently married and busily forging a career as a fitness Instagram star, Tali’s world is thrown into disarray when it turns out that hubby Darren’s (Anton Taylor) “David Schwimmers” can actually “schwim” and she’s going to have a baby. Ever resourceful Tali turns this unforeseen obstacle to her advantage as she discovers the hungry social media world of “momfluencers” and sets about crafting her baby plans as fussily as she did her wedding arrangements.
Featuring cameos from Danny K, Deon Lotz, Schalk Bezuidenhout and Siv Ngesi, it’s another rollicking piece of light-hearted satirical comedy that milks our capacity to laugh at ourselves for all it’s worth.
It may not have anything too deep to offer in the way of social critique but it’s certainly strong on exposing the foibles of human nature within the framework of its solidly crafted white, middle-class Cape Town bubble world. Perhaps as much as we hate to admit it, there’s a little bit of Tali in all of us and Anastasopoulos, together with husband director Ari Kruger, exploits that to pleasantly entertaining if forgettable effect.
As a patchwork of sometimes cringeworthy pokes at our social foibles, the second season works as effectively as its predecessor while also making the most of the situation and its initial success to sometimes go in a slightly wilder and weirder direction. This provides some welcome distraction in these anxious times.
It never quite manages to prick the balloon of privilege and wilful ignorance that enables its characters to live in their world but it has plenty of fun shaking things up within that balloon. Admittedly, that’s a necessary blind spot for a show whose main character’s source of laughs is her obliviousness to the world around her — popping the bubble would leave us with nothing to laugh at.
Where next Tali Shapiro will land as she stumbles in uncomfortable heels along the (not very) perilous journey up the marble steps of her carefully crafted path through middle-class problems, remains to be seen. For now there’s plenty to guffaw at as she pulls herself to the top in her inappropriately fashionable threads, huffing and puffing with indignation and retouching her hair and makeup for selfies, stomping ever onwards, with her inept crew faithfully tagging along behind her.
The first four episodes are currently available on Showmax. The last six episodes will be available from March 12.
Described as the “Edmund Hillary of swimming”, Lewis Pugh is the first person to have completed a longdistance swim in every ocean of the world. But he’s best known for being the first human to swim across the North Pole. Pugh does it to campaign against climate change and melting sea ice, highlighting the need to protect marine ecosystems. These days, many people swear by the benefits of cold-water swimming, which include boosting your immune system — the white blood cell count rises because the body is forced to react to changing conditions; a natural high — it activates endorphins; improved circulation — it flushes your veins, arteries, and capillaries and forces blood to the surface; increased libido — by boosting oestrogen and testosterone production; burning calories — the heart has to pump faster in cold water; and reduction of stress. And believe it or not, it’s fun.