Undercover Brother (2002)

Starring: Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards
Director: Malcolm D. Lee

Rating: PG-13

Studio: Universal

Review Posted: 6.2.02

Spoilers: Minor

Rating: 2.5/4

By Craig Younkin.

Undercover Brother is a nice idea, and is occasionally funny, but it just can't shed the stretch marks that make this five minute comedy sketch into a full movie. Even at 89 minutes, this movie feels slow at times, and also steals from other movies, mainly Austin Powers and Shaft, among others.

The movie stars Eddie Griffin as Undercover Brother, a flashy dresser with an afro who is hired by the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., an organization meant to stop "The Man" from holding a brother down. In a funny opening segment, it shows how Family Matters' Steve Urkel and former NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman were just some of the implements used by "The Man."

The Man's new plan is even more devious. With the help of his henchman Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan), he has managed to brainwash a black presidential candidate (Billy Dee Williams) into opening a string of Fried Chicken stores instead. This prompts the Brotherhood to send Undercover Brother undercover as one of the whitest of the white to figure out what The Man is up to. But Mr. Feather catches onto the Brotherhood's scheme and unleashes black-man's kryptonite Penelope Snow (Denise Richards) to deter Undercover Brother from his goal.

Undercover Brother is a hit or miss comedy of culture gags, making fun of the clichés we often associate with blacks and whites. It's really funny stuff,  but there isn't really enough of it. This movie does end up turning to cheap laughs like characters getting hit in the crotch and the ass, and some of it is just plain dumb right from the start.

Eddie Griffin has been a possible star in the making for a long time now, and his cool performance as Undercover Brother services the movie well. Kattan is barely seen but does the best with the character's bubbling urge to breakout into James Brown song even though he works for The Man. But who really gets this film rolling, even when it seems out of steam, is Dave Chappelle as the
Brotherhood's "Conspiracy Brother," the guy who will hilariously translate anything you say to him as having a negative alternative.

Undercover Brother is a mixed bag. It's a mostly entertaining comedy that does work, but there also isn't really much here that is special, or that we haven't already seen before.

TOP