Who played Lisas sister in Coming to America?

Who could forget “Lisa’s” (Shari Headley) lil’ sister, “Patrice McDowell,” in the film Coming To America? She was the feisty sister who couldn’t keep her hands off of the men she wanted in the movie. Sure “Patrice” seemed a lil’ desperate chasing after “Prince Akeem,” and then taking in her big sister’s seconds- the “Soul Glo” dude in the movie. But “Patrice McDowell” was one of the most memorable characters in Coming To America…

Her real name is Allison Dean and we were wondering where she’d disappeared to over the past few decades. So we did some research on her whereabouts and found out that she’s been working behind the scenes of the film industry.

Allison mostly lives her life outside of the limelight, but according to what she stated on her website, she is interested in possibly stepping back in front of the camera one day. That’s a movie we’d love to see her make, because she’s a great actress who breathed life into every scene Coming To America scene she was in. And let’s not forget that although she was a new actress at that time, she was able to hold her own among the seasoned actors in the film, including Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and John Amos.

But LAWD, when we laid our eyes on what our girl, Allison, is looking like nowadays we were pleasantly surprised.

First off, Coming 2 America is awesome. For a classic movie (Coming to America) dating back to 1988 and have a sequel released 33 years later, it seems virtually impossible to exceed expectations and they did just that. Before comparing this film to the original Coming to America, this sequel stands alone as a fantastic modern-day comedy.

The Amazon Original flick debuted on the platform in March 2021 and appears to be worth every penny Amazon spent to obtain the rights to this film. So when reading this list, know this is just a wish list speaking to how adding four components to this film could have made this the perfect sequel.

4. Providing an update on Lisa’s sister Patrice

At the beginning of Coming 2 America, there’s a throwback photo of the McDowell sisters framed in the Zamunda mansion. However, the movie doesn’t mention what happened to Patrice McDowell, Lisa’s younger sister. Patrice was terrifically played by Allison Dean in the original film and her absence was definitely a bummer in the sequel.

According to IMDb, Dean’s last acting credit (as of this writing) was in a 2007 episode on season 7 of the hit UPN series Girlfriends. Her long absence in Hollywood only adds to fans wanting to see Dean back in the spotlight so that would have been a twofer — making a comeback and doing such in the role she’s best known for.

Patrice is a core character to this story so her not included does leave questions with fans wondering where is Patrice 30 years later, both figuratively and literally. It’s a mystery whether she had decided to live a life of her own in Queens or is living somewhere in Zamunda and getting the royalty treatment as the sister-in-law to Prince Akeem.

Actor-comedian Eddie Murphy and those filmmakers he worked with on “Coming 2 America,” the sequel to the classic comedy from 32 years ago, faced in, reaching across decades to make a connection.

The fairytale of Prince Akeem (Murphy) and the commoner from Queens, New York, Lisa (Shari Headley), still resonates today, only now it’s given a fairly substantial twist as Akeem must find the son he’s never met.

To that end, for fans of the original there exists a plethora of connections.  Most of the cast returns, with notable exceptions — Madge Sinclair, who portrayed Akeem’s mother, died in 1995; Eriq LaSalle, Lisa’s former boyfriend; and Allison Dean, who played Lisa’s sister, Patrice.

But there will plenty of other faces who are recognizable from the kingdom of Zamunda and the streets of Queens. James Earl Jones returns as King Jaffe Joffer, Akeem’s father, along with the cast of characters — the barbers, preachers and good ol’ Randy Watson, lead singer of the band Sexual Chocolate, who slaughters and slanders classic R&B tunes.

The latter group may thrill the most given that, for the most part, they were creations of Murphy and longtime friend, Warrensville Heights native and former Kent State student Arsenio Hall.  In the original they provided a lot of the viral moments from the film – ones that are still hilarious and quotable today.

“I love when the preacher and Randy Watson are together in any given situation,” Hall said during a recent Zoom news conference.

Review:‘Coming 2 America’ overcomes its shortcomings to deliver

They are joined by new characters that are equally memorable such as Gen. Izzy (Wesley Snipes) and Akeem’s personal Zamundan witch doctor, another Hall creation.

“In the original, I was going to play the witch doctor and I was going to play Wesley's character, Gen. Izzy. Then I started thinking about how long it would be to do these makeup [sessions],” Murphy said. “The witch doctor was like six hours to do, and Arsenio said, ‘I'll do it.’”

Apparently, the eight hours in total he sat in a chair getting the makeup applied and removed whenever he shot in character was worth the torture.

Deciding who would make a return appearance wasn’t easy, Murphy said.

John Amos, who played Lisa’s father, Cleo McDowell, a fast-food restaurateur forever lifting the trade secrets of a certain chain with golden arches, was key.  Murphy saw the potential for laughs.

“It would be kind of funny if McDowell opened a McDowell's in Africa, so he could be there,” Murphy said. “Who would make the most sense and how could we connect the dots the best — that's how we picked who would be in the movie.”

Over the years there have been rumors of the sequel being made.  Hall said seeing Amos on set finally made the movie real for him.

“There was a night Eddie did a scene with John Amos in a McDowell's, and it was the first time I walked into a room and saw John Amos and Louie Anderson, and it was a real special kind of feeling, especially for John.  I love John,” he said. “What John has done for Black people in Hollywood since I was growing up — the dignity he displayed as a man.  I've loved him forever, and seeing him really warmed my heart.”

As important as it was to make that connection to the past, it was equally so to link to the present and move the story forward.  In “Coming 2 America,” Akeem learns he has a son (Jermaine Fowler), who he must bring back to his kingdom to serve as its eventual heir, this despite having three daughters, one of whom would make a wise queen. Law, however, forbids it.

Pulling that off required retconning the storyline of another key addition to the cast, comedian and “Saturday Night Live” alum Leslie Jones, who played Akeem’s one-night stand from back in the day.  Jones, like many fans Murphy fans, grew up with the original film.

“The first day of shooting, for me, was the one that put the bumps, the goosebumps when Eddie walked in dressed as the king,” she said. “It was almost like the movie just continued, like he just walked off from another scene from the original movie.  I don't think he realized that everyone was like [makes gasping noise]: "Oh my God!" and that's when it really started becoming really real.”

“Coming 2 America” will debut exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, meaning monetarily speaking there will be no way to gauge its impact.  The original grossed $288.7 million globally in its initial release. Adjusted for inflation, that’s more than $688 million, a hefty number.

“The legacy of this movie is it's accessible to all audiences,” he said.

Until “Black Panther” it was the highest-grossing Black film on record. He credits that accessibility.

“Most of our movies shine a light on some social injustice, civil unrest or some [expletive] that we went through, and around the world, they don't give a [expletive] about that,” he said. “‘Coming to America’ isn’t about any of those things.  It's about family and love and doing the right thing and tradition.”

Ultimately, in “Coming 2 America,” the DNA hasn’t changed.

George M. Thomas dabbles in movies and television for the Beacon Journal. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas

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