Undercover Brother Review
by Jon Popick (jpopick AT sick-boy DOT com)June 5th, 2002
Planet Sick-Boy: http://www.sick-boy.com
"We Put the SIN in Cinema"© Copyright 2002 Planet Sick-Boy. All Rights Reserved.
Undercover Brother is an urban version of Austin Powers shaken with some James Bond and a finger of Dolemite. Based on an animated web series (you can still find it at urbanentertainment.com), it's the summer's first raucous comedy and, thanks to a PG-13 rating, the film isn't any more offensive than most television sitcoms (and its one use of the f-word is very nicely placed). Granted, Brother doesn't make much sense at all when you really think about it, but neither did the last Austin Powers flick, which went out of its way to flaunt its nonsensical script.
Here, Eddie Griffin (The New Guy) plays the titular Undercover Brother, a '70s throwback and Macy Gray lookalike who tries to aid the cause of the black man wherever and whenever he can. Early in the film, one of his self-appointed missions accidentally jeopardizes an operation being conducted by the highly covert B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. group (led by Boston Public's Chi McBride). But B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. likes what it sees, and decides to recruit UB into its ranks.
The majority of Brother is spent following B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D.'s attempts to thwart the diabolical plans of The Man, whose Operation Whitewash is intent on turning back the clock to the days before black culture was readily accepted by white people. UB goes undercover in an attempt to infiltrate the very organization trying to both stop him and keep him down, but The Man's chief underling (Chris Kattan, Corky Romano) gets wise to UB and decides to combat him with "black kryptonite" (i.e., a very hot white girl - Valentine's Denise Richards).
With the fine whiteness of Richards' Penelope Snow keeping UB distracted (he turns into a Tony-Gwynn-sounding, Bryant-Gumbel-dressing, Pottery-Barn-shopping cracker), The Man is able to keep the country's retired Defense Secretary (Billy Dee Williams) from becoming the first legitimate black presidential candidate. How do they do it? Via mind-altering drugs distributed through fried chicken (General's Fried Chicken's - or GFC - motto is "I used to run the Pentagon; now I want to help get your chicken on").
Griffin, in his first starring role, finally gets a chance to show off the humor that makes him such a bright standup comedian, though he's still nowhere near as funny as David Chappelle, who plays a B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. agent hooked on both pot and numerous conspiracy theories. And, of course, like any urban-themed movie, there's a goofy white guy (Richards' Starship Troopers costar Neil Patrick Harris) to serve as the butt of most of the film 's jokes, though it's done with a lot more care and wit here. For the most part, it's all a lot of good-natured ribbing, but one can't help imagine Spike Lee's (his cousin Malcolm directs) outrage if, say, Quentin Tarantino had made a film like this.
1:28 - PG-13 for language, sexual humor, drug content and campy violence
More on 'Undercover Brother'...
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
