OPINION | There are a few things ‘wrong’ with ‘Coming 2 America’, but Nomzamo Mbatha’s accent ain’t one of them

The first time I heard To Be Loved was in the original Coming to America movie, sung by an infatuated Eddie Murphey while dancing down a snowy street as Akeem. I’ve loved the song and Coming to America since then, which I’ve since watched dozens of times.

Now, cue the more than two decades in the making sequel ... I’ll admit I wasn’t immediately excited about it. The film is such a classic that I felt a sequel may ruin it, you know like it made a great first impression, and like Mirembe said, “If something is good, why ruin it”?

My concerns seem to be well-founded because after the release of Coming 2 America I am not the only one who thought the sequel does not match up to the hype.

I felt a bit odd not loving the sequel as much as I loved the OG film but when I read other people’s reviews — many of whom share sentiments similar to mine - I was relieved.

Myself and some folks who were not 100% satisfied with the film feel among other things that the comedy is outdated. Woke me will even go as far as saying there’s no real African representation — not that there was any in the original — other than the inclusion of the Maxhosa fashion line. Not much is changed in the story — not for lack of trying — to portray the evolution in society from the 1980s to 2021.

However, this opinion piece isn’t about what is wrong with the film, it is about what is right with the film and Nomzamo Mbatha and her Mirembe are spot on.

Obviously, as a South African the fact that home-brewed Nomzamo got a role in the film made it super appealing for me. I'll be honest and say had she not been cast as Mirembe, I may have been willing to wait for the film to make it to DVD before I got a chance to watch it. But because of Nomzamo, I signed up on Amazon Prime for the 7-day trial, got my popcorn  ready and watched the film, in anticipation of the KwaZulu-Natal beauty’s scenes.

The verdict? I loved her. I like Mirembe and what she stands for and represents in the film. I also loved the way Nomzamo brought her to life.

Hence I was puzzled when I went on Twitter and found author Zakes Mda shredding the actress’ choice of accent to pieces.

Weighing in on the “accent” debate, Zakes said for some reason Nomzamo had to change her accent to fit in.

“Oh I agree completely about the accent! For some reason the actress had to change her SA accent, which is African, into something else that she and her director imagined to be an ‘African accent’ in keeping with the ‘African accents’ of the African-American actors,” he explained.

I admit I also couldn’t quite place her accent but I genuinely don’t think that’s a bad thing. Her accent wasn’t one distinct African accent because Mirembe isn’t African.

It's fiction, plus Coming 2 America literally has nothing to with us. Zamunda is a fiction of the producers’ imagination, a depiction of what Africa is to them.

Having watched most of her interviews, I have understood Nomzamo to have said she mixed a few existing African accents to create Mirembe’s accent. Which, I feel ,was fitting for the role.

I mean considering the fact that Zamunda is a fictional, African-inspired place, I am quite alright with her accent being fictional and African-inspired.

So like I said, there are a lot of things wrong with Coming 2 America, but Nomzamo’ accent or performance is not in that list, at least not for me!