It doesn't hurt, either, that
scripters David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein have packed the narrative with a number of laugh - out - loud funny gags and set pieces, with the movie's heavy emphasis on Akeem and Semmi's fish - out - of - water exploits certainly perpetuating the irresistibly comic vibe.
For a movie that hinges on a soulless man developing feelings, Criminal is noticeably lacking any of its own, what with its roster of repellent characters and the chilly approach taken by director Ariel Vroman (whose previous feature, The Iceman, was similarly, uh, frosty) and
scripters Douglas Cook and
David Weisberg — note, as but one example, that the death of a highly sympathetic character (and played by a highly billed performer) is treated as an aside, completely ignored by the person's friends and colleagues and, by extension, the filmmakers themselves.