Review: Undercover Brother (2002)

This is a Resurfaced review written in 2002 or earlier. For more information, please visit this link: Resurfaced Reviews.

Undercover Brother

Rating

Director

Malcolm D. Lee

Screenplay

John Ridley, Michael McCullers

Length

1h 26m

Starring

Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, Aunjanue Ellis, Dave Chappelle, Chi McBride, Neil Patrick Harris, Gary Anthony Williams, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Noseworthy, Robert Trumbull, J.D. Hall

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Review

An unlikely hero takes a major role in freeing America of its bigotry and intolerance. “Undercover Brother” is a James Bond-style action adventure film with a comedy edge.

Stand-up comic Eddie Griffin stars as Undercover Brother, a retro-dressed vigilante working against “The Man” to lift up his brothers and support African Americans everywhere. When he inadvertently thwarts a covert operation by an underground organization known by the unexplained acronym B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., the group enlists him to assist in a secret mission to stop “The Man” from fully oppressing black people.

His support comes from fellow agents Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis), Conspiracy Brother (David Chappelle), Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams), The Chief (Chi McBride) and Lance (Neil Patrick Harris), the film’s token white guy. Together, they attempt to cease a homogenized black society through the corruption of former presidential hopeful General Boutwell (Billy Dee Williams)

The side of evil doesn’t appear to need much help with only two operatives actively working against the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan) is “The Man’s” primary operative and their secret weapon is a buxom blond named White She-Devil (Denise Richards) who can change any man.

In the 1970s, Hollywood decided to go after the growing African American audience in America by releasing dozens of cheap, action films using pre-existing stereotypes. Labeled blaxploitation, these films have often been celebrated and chastised by audiences of every nationality. “Undercover Brother” is as much a tribute to this genre as it is a parody.

“Brother” takes many of the modern stereotypes, including fried chicken and malt liquor, and crafts an interesting, if not laughable plot. What drives this film is the immense divisiveness of the issue. While it would seem to some as a flagrant slap-in-the-face to the African American public, some would consider it an admonishment of the exploitative nature of the blaxploitation period of Hollywood. Either way you look at it, the film takes many liberties with the short-lived style and surpasses other parodies of its type.

Director Malcolm Lee clearly understands the need to allow those responsible for the various aspects of filmmaking to work independently. Lee isn’t as controlling as other directors are, but doesn’t exercise enough control to keep the plot from feeling trite.

The cast is adequate with good notices to Griffin who keeps things light and unpredictable, Denise Richards who is seductively intelligent and Harris who is surprisingly hilarious and a great choice to fill his role.

Screenwriters Michael McCullers and John Ridley have crafted a funny, imaginative film with a malapropian commentary on blaxploitation cinema. Some selections of action and dialogue are too similar to the genre to be part of the parody. They are instead a tribute to the genre that gave the culture such a boost in familiarity with the American public.

With films like “Shaft” and “Superfly,” it’s not hard to want to both tribute and parody the genre. Audiences will likely find something both to love and to hate about this movie. From the stereotypical characterizations to the flippant derision of those stereotypes, it’s easy to see “Undercover Brother” as a film to celebrate a generation.