Cast: Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, David Chappelle, Aunjanue Ellis, Neil Patrick Harris, Chi McBride, Billy Dee Williams
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Producers: Brian Grazer, Michael Jenkinson, Damon Lee
Screenplay: John Ridley and Michael McClullers
Cinemtography: Tom Priestley Jr.
Music: Stanley Clarke
U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
One could make the argument that it's too easy to satirize the so-called Blacksploitation genre, considering that many of the legitimate entries function as self-parodies in their own right. Nevertheless, Undercover Brother, like its forerunner, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, does quite nicely with the material at its disposal. Although far from a classic, this new comedy attains its modest goal of generating laughter. It does this through a wide variety of means. There's dumb comedy; smart comedy; the lampooning of race, color, creed, gender, and social class; cheesy music; overhyped action sequences (including the obligatory Matrix knock-off); and various visual gags. There is not, thankfully, a reliance upon flatulence and body fluids. In fact, this may be the first PG-13 comedy in recent memory that survives without an abundance of gross-out material.
The filmmakers atop Undercover Brother understand that no parody, no matter how inherently witty, can last for 90 minutes. Repetition will give birth to boredom. Thus, to keep the audience's interest, the film changes tone and focus on a fairly regular basis. By re-inventing itself every 20 minutes or so, Undercover Brother plays more like a series of thinly-connected skits than a coherent motion picture; however, for this kind of production, that's not a detriment. Also, director Malcolm D. Lee (cousin of Spike Lee) and his cast understand the meaning of the term "comedic timing". Because of that, jokes work here that might not have worked in other, similar endeavors (like a bad flashback, the horrible Kung Pow comes to mind).
Anton Jackson (Eddie Griffin) is Undercover Brother, a very conspicuous guy whose wardrobe and appearance are stuck in the '70s, and who is devoted to the cause of the Black Man. One day, Undercover Brother's path inadvertently crosses that of B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., an organization dedicated to opposing the schemes of The (White) Man and his assistant, Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan), whose goal is to promote racial divisiveness. When the Chief of B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. (Chi McBride) is impressed by Undercover Brother's moves, he offers the ultra-cool guy with the mega-afro a position in B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D.'s inner circle, joining the likes of Sista Girl (Aunjanue Ellis), Conspiracy Brother (David Chappelle), Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams), and Lance (Neil Patrick Harris), the white, affirmative action intern. Undercover Brother's first assignment: go undercover playing the black sellout in a white corporation and discover how Mr. Feather has managed to force a Colin Powell-type Presidential candidate (Billy Dee Williams) to abandon politics in favor of opening a fried chicken fast food chain.
The most consistently funny parts of Undercover Brother - and there are surprisingly quite a few to choose from - involve Undercover Brother losing himself in white corporate America. (There are also some throw away gems about famous black people selling out - John Singleton directing a remake of Driving Miss Daisy and Terry McMillan writing How Stella Got Her White Man Back.) The movie uses humor to make its points, but it does so gently, not stridently, and with a smile, rather than an angry grimace. Of course, Undercover Brother is more interested in getting laughs and appealing to a wide audience than in making a social statement. Consequently, it takes equal jabs at black and white culture.
Eddie Griffin, one half of TV's "Malcolm and Eddie", has no problem going retro, donning the platform shoes, and playing Undercover Brother to the hilt. David Chappelle is delightfully paranoid as the appropriately named Conspiracy Brother - a man who makes Oliver Stone look mild-mannered (although not even he believes that O.J. is innocent). Chi McBride is suitably loud as the Chief, while Doogie Howser, Neil Patrick Harris, has no trouble playing the square peg in the round hole. Aunjanue Ellis, as Sistah Girl, and Denise Richards, as the White Man's Secret Weapon, flaunt their sexuality - especially in a hilariously over-the-top catfight where Undercover Brother pulls up a sofa and kicks back to enjoy the show. The only sour note is struck by "Saturday Night Live" alum Chris Kattan, who continues his miserable string of failed attempts to be funny. Instead, he's just annoying.
Undercover Brother is to Blacksploitation films as Austin Powers is to the James Bond genre. Yet, in a strange way, this movie seems breezier and less self-conscious than the Mike Myers franchise. The trailers, which are aimed at a least-common denominator audience, make the film seem less clever than it actually is. Undercover Brother needn't be a guilty pleasure - it's made with enough savvy to be appreciated on its own terms. There are laughs aplenty, and, as a bonus, viewers don't have to worry about being subjected to farts, urine, feces, semen, or any of the other foul substances that have overrun modern-day comedies.
© 2002 James Berardinelli