DVD Movie Rating for: Undercover Brother, Eddie Griffin, Denise Richards (2002)

2 out of 5 stars

Movie Plot of: Undercover Brother

He's All Action

Anton Jackson is an African-American man who seems harmless enough on the surface, but is a secret agent in the all-black Brotherhood, an entity that levels the playing field against the all-white establishment. Partnered with the sassy, stunning Sistah Girl, our hero must first undergo the ultimate attitude adjustment and trade in his 'fro and platforms for tennis sweaters and penny loafers. Once the transformation is complete, he's ready to take on the evil perpetrators of Operation Whitewash--Mr Feather, Penelope Snow aka White She Devil, and, ultimately, The Man.

DVD Production Details of: Undercover Brother

Starring: Eddie Griffin, Denise Richards

Director: Malcolm D. Lee

Studio: Universal Studios

DVD Release Date: August 12, 2003
DVD Features:
Theatrical trailer(s)

Alternate Ending

Hilarious Blooper Reel

Original Short Films which inspired the Making of the Movie

Deleted Scenes

Snoop Dogg Music Video

The Making of Undercover Brother

Commentary from Eddie Griffin and director Malcolm Lee

DVD Easter Eggs

Undercover Brother

Cast of the movie: Undercover Brother

• Eddie Griffin .... Undercover Brother
• Chris Kattan .... Mr. Feather
• Denise Richards .... White She Devil
• Aunjanue Ellis .... Sistah Girl
• David Chappelle .... Conspiracy Brother (as Dave Chappelle)
• Chi McBride .... The Chief
• Neil Patrick Harris .... Lance
• Gary Anthony Williams .... Smart Brother
• Billy Dee Williams .... General Boutwell
• Jack Noseworthy .... Mr. Elias
• Robert Trumbull .... The Man
• J.D. Hall .... Narrator (voice)
• William B. Taylor .... Roscoe (as William Taylor)
• Shauna MacDonald .... Wendy
• Ron Pardo .... Chuck
• Susie Spear .... Bonnie
• Jim O'Connor .... Chad
• Dave Pearce .... Reporter
• Liz West .... Reporter
• Enid-Raye Adams .... Reporter
• Divine Earth Essense .... GFC Jingle Singer
• Jenni Burke .... GFC Jingle Singer
• Keisha T. Fraser .... GFC Jingle Singer
• James C. Mathis III .... GFC Announcer (voice)
• Troy Taylor .... Li'l UB
• Robert Townsend .... Mr. UB
• Gina Sorell .... Multiracial Receptionist
• James Brown .... Himself
• Simon Reynolds .... Golfer
• Kenner Ames .... Golfer
• Lee Smart .... Golf Cart Guard
• David Sparrow .... Golf Cart Guard
• Randy Butcher .... Bank Security Guard
• Bryan Thomas .... Bank Security Guard
• Tig Fong .... White She-Devil's Enforcer
• Darren McGuire .... White She Devil's Enforcer (as Darrin McGuire)
• Marvin Kaye .... Fortress Security
• L.J. Vasilantonakis .... Fortress Security
• Paul Rapovski .... Fortress Security
• Layton Morrison .... Fortress Security
• Marco Bianco .... Fortress Security
• Nick Alachiotis .... Fortress Security
• Peter Szkoda .... Fortress Security
• Wayne Downer .... Fortress Security
• Bryan Renfro .... Fortress Security
• Jim Kelly .... Himself (scenes deleted)
• Judi Embden .... Reporter (uncredited)
• Jesse Jackson .... Himself (shouts I Am Somebody) (uncredited) (archive footage)
• Martin Luther King .... Himself (applauded for I Have A Dream speech) (uncredited) (archive footage)
• Mr. T .... B.A. Baracus (uncredited) (archive footage)
• Dennis Rodman .... Himself (uncredited) (archive footage)
• Richard Roundtree .... John Shaft (uncredited) (archive footage)
• Jaleel White .... Urkel (uncredited) (archive footage)
• Brad Wietersen .... Hot Dog Cart Vendor (DVD: deleted scenes) (uncredited)

Photo Gallery of the movie: Undercover Brother

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size, high resolution photographs

Reviews of the movie: Undercover Brother

Blaxploitation movies deserve a good spoofing, and Undercover Brother tweaks the subgenre with a few good laughs. But what might have been an Afro-centric Austin Powers (adapted by John Ridley from his Internet film series) is instead a lackluster comedy with one basic joke: "Whitey"--personified as a faceless corporate despot known as "the Man"--has the power, but black folks have soul. With enough funk to make Shaft look passé, Eddie Griffin plays "U.B." with an oversized 'fro and a firm grasp of comedic possibilities. He's recruited by the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. (an all-black justice league) to foil the Man's plan to derail a Colin Powell-like presidential candidate (Billy Dee Williams), and U.B.'s undercover exploits keep the slim plot moving. Denise Richards and Neil Patrick Harris are gamely ridiculed as token white allies, and it's all in good fun as director Malcolm D. Lee (Spike's cousin) finds room for mild jolts of relevant social commentary.

'm pretty sure the point of this film was to make a spoof of the 70's blaxploitation flicks, like Keenan Ivory Wayans did in "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." Good intention, but the result is all over the map. I've read a lot of comparisons to "Austin Powers," and it is in the same format as the "Austin Powers" movies--just spoofing different genres--with the weird camera angles, zoom-ins and asides to the camera, but the end result of "Undercover Brother" is much less successful. It's not a bad film, I found it watchable, but it could've been a lot funnier and more often than not took very cheap shots.

Now, I'm getting a little bit tired of these gross-out comedies that pollute modern cinema by the second, but I'm not gonna regard any movie that doesn't contain a penis or fart joke in every scene as refreshingly enjoyable. This movie doesn't contain that many crude jokes, but it uses other cheap methods to get laughs. For example, heavy-handed racial stereotypes.

Unless you're extremely sensitive to racial humor, you shouldn't be offended by any of the gags in the film. That's not the problem I had--I didn't find the jokes offensive. It's the way the jokes are handled--they're extremely forced! When Neil Patrick Harris struts into a room full of black people and says, "It looks a Source Award in here," you can just imagine a black man scribbling that line down on a cocktail napkin and giggling to himself. That's my point--most of the dialogue seems more written than said. The average sitcom seems to have the same problem. When you hear a line of dialogue that you can just picture on the script, it's either a bad joke or a mediocre joke. That's why in my Screenwriting class, we learn that if you write a piece of dialogue that you adore so much and simply leaps from the page...delete it! And I hang around with a lot of black people, so some of the stereotypes were just too broad for their own good. Like mayonaisse--Who the hell coined the stereotype that black people don't eat mayonaisse? Every joke must be based on an element of truth. However, it is a common stereotype that blacks love to eat fried chicken and drink malt liquor. So that mock commercial where Billy Dee Williams was advertising his new fried chicken shack, where you get a free 40 oz. with every meal made me chuckle. Besides, some of the racial humor has been done to death, but apparently the writers and director lost touch of that. When Richard Pryor did stand-up acts, comparing white people and black people, that was funny! It's not funny anymore! Another flaw in the humor is its ignorance of time. I forgot which character said it, but when whoever commented on Undercover Brother as "Macy Gray with pork chops" that may be funny now, but who's gonna laugh at that 2 or 3 years from now? That's why pop culture is not a great target for humor. And of course, there are some jokes that are just plain stupid. There's one scene where Neil Patrick gets furious and, for no apparent reason, starts ripping out people's hearts and intestines.

Now, I went to see this movie with a group of friends who were laughing their heads off throughout. And I think if I weren't with them, I would only receive a few chuckles. But the laughter was contagious, and I laughed too. But there were some jokes that made them laugh hysterically that simply made me roll my eyes at them. For example, in one scene Eddie Griffin is beating the crap out of a guy, and they shoot him from the waist up as cheesy sound f/x make him sound like he's snapping the guy's neck with his foot. We then find out that he's crushing a bag of Lay's potato chips. How did they get a kick out of that? Who the hell knows?

Eddie Griffin is a decent comic, and is decent in the lead role, but seeing Dave Chapelle steal the spotlight in the supporting role, I wish Dave could've been the lead. His manic energy would've fared better with audiences. Denise Richards is incredibly hot and has an incredibly hot catfight/shower scene, where she's wearing tight clothing and gets soaking wet. Need I say more? It's nifty how they used her for the marketing campaign--if you see any of the posters, Eddie Griffin is in the background while Denise is in the foreground, flaunting her voluptuous curves. Chris Kattan has yet again proved that he's better off sticking to supporting roles, his first time being "Monkeybone." He has some of the funniest scenes in the movie, and I was so much more glad to see him ham it up in a small role than in a lead role like in "Corky Romano."

I also liked the hip 70's soundtrack. Basically, this film is worthy of a few cheap laughs, but it needs a maximum dose of wit.