MovieChat Forums > Coming to America (1988) Discussion > The sigh of relief makes no sense

The sigh of relief makes no sense

posted 2 years ago by avortac4 (3744)
3 replies | jump to latest

This movie makes a BIG DEAL out of its premise; a man should be able to select his own wife, and you shouldn't share your kingdom with a 'beautiful fool'.

When you look at the 'tiktoks' of today, you can realize how wrong the prince is for even wanting a wife, but putting ALL that aside..

This man is HELL-BENT on finding his own wife. Can we agree on that? HE ABSOLUTELY wants to choose, make his own choice, select for himself, find and get a woman that will arouse his intellect as well as his loins.

Then we suddenly get this OVER-USED trope of presenting someone 'disgusting' and have someone else get really scared, as in 'do I have to marry THAT?!' - only to be shown that the REAL individual was someone else, and at this point the 'victim of forced marriage' (or whatever) sighs of relief.

"Phew, it wasn't her!"

However, think about it. Think hard. Do you get what's wrong with this?

What does it MATTER what the 'wife to be' looks like or is dressed like, how fat or old or WHATEVER she is, when he is HELL-BENT on not accepting her as his wife anyway?

He's not gonna marry an 'arranged woman' in any case, so why would it matter if she's fat, old, ugly, etc.? SO WHY WOULD HE SIGH OF RELIEF WHEN HE KNOWS HE'S NOT GONNA MARRY HER ANYWAY?!

AAGH!

I wish movies made sense..

[–] tanstuff (73) 2 years ago

1.
I would say he is NOT "hell-bent."
We only see him mention it once before the wedding.. during the fight/training scene with Semmi.
So this shows that he is not "hell-bent," -- rather, he is curious, uncertain, doubtful.

2.
He goes through with the wedding. And only when he sees the pretty girl bark like a dog does he decide.. "Ok that's it. I'm going to America." Everything before that, he was willing to see if his parents had actually succeeded in arranging a woman that will arouse his intellect as well as his loins.

[–] aavfreak (3322) 2 years ago

What does it MATTER what the 'wife to be' looks like or is dressed like, how fat or old or WHATEVER she is, when he is HELL-BENT on not accepting her as his wife anyway?

I am now convinced that you are either 12 years old or you have a mental capacity that has not matured past a 12 year old's level.

Why would you think that his objection to the arranged marriage is that his bride would be old or fat? There's nothing in the movie to indicate this is a concern. In fact, there's plenty in the movie contrary to this. The women that service the king and the prince are beautiful. He specifically says that he doesn't want to marry his arranged wife because he does not love her. He wants to marry someone he loves.

The entire premise of your post makes no sense. There's no sigh of relief because his bride is not "old or fat." It's a sigh of relief because it's the woman he loves.

[–] JFZ (1459) a year ago

The worst part was right after, when they all danced like animals for no reason. What the hell kinda marriage ceremony is that?!