Undercover Brother Review:


Synopsis

Undercover Brother (Griffin) is a super hero like no other - funky, sexy and proud to be black, he possesses a cool sense of style, a smooth way with the ladies and an enormous Afro. Dressed for action in his flares, platforms and medallion, he has a hunger for justice and is ready to take care of business in his gold Cadillac. Undercover Brother is recruited by a dedicated group of good guys known as the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. to infiltrate a sinister underground movement headed by The Man. Leading the evil perpetrators of Operation Whitewash, The Man has already drugged the first black presidential candidate into thinking that he'd rather sell fried chicken and is now brainwashing the rest of the population.

Joining forces with the sassy Sistah Girl (Ellis), only our hero can stop them but must first undergo an agonising crash course in white culture and trade in his funky wardrobe for a disguise of tennis sweaters and penny loafers as preppy nerd Anton Jackson. On discovering the deception, the evil leader's ruthless right arm, Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan) dispatches the conspiracy's sexy secret weapon and black man's kryptonite, Penelope Snow (Denise Richards) - otherwise known as the White She Devil. Can Undercover Brother handle the action on the streets and under the sheets?

Critique

Undercover Brother is a surprisingly funny mix of spy spoof, stereotype commentary and black pop culture references. Eddie Griffin stars in the title role, playing a well-meaning African-American that happens to be firmly stuck in the Seventies. Sporting a gigantic afro and retro Cadillac, Undercover Brother works by himself to help the black community in Robin Hood fashion. Unbeknowst to him, virtually all obstacles and problems faced by African-Americans have been artificially created by 'The Man'. Fighting this white foe is the secret B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., which labours valiantly but never seems to fully succeed.

When it appears likely that a black presidential candidate will win the forthcoming elections, 'The Man' uses mind-controlling drugs to stop the potential leader from winning. Suspicions are aroused at the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., who promptly recruit Undercover Brother to get on the case. The film is incredibly silly, but enjoyable at the same time. Unlike many other films in the spoof genre, jokes do not outstay their welcome since they are held no longer than absolutely necessary, while the entire feature is sensibly a mere 82 minute long including credits. The whole spy genre is not sent up significantly - instead, it is modern American culture and various stereotypes that are examined.

B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. operative Sistah Girl, played by Aunjanue Ellis, is a feisty force of nature that was clearly based on the likes of Pam Grier in her Seventies offerings. As is often the case with films like this, Ellis is more of a love interest and not directly involved in the comedy too much. However, she is far better than the likes of Elizabeth Hurley in Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery and, more recently, Natalie Imbruglia in Johnny English. Meanwhile, The Chief is a parody of the black police chiefs seen in various films like Beverly Hills Cop - in fact, the wall of his office at the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. is amusingly covered with framed photos of possibly every black actor that has ever played a police authority figure.

Dave Chappelle is absolutely hilarious in the film and possibly generates more laugh than anyone else. He plays Conspiracy Brother, the racial stereotype of a stupid, marijuana-smoking fool that dresses in black and, obviously, thinks that everything is a conspiracy. His improvised lines are always welcome and it's just a shame that he doesn't get even more screen time. Meanwhile, Smart Brother, as played by Gary Anthony Williams, is a mixture of James Bond's Q and all-round computer whizz. Incidentally, Williams was the voice behind the Undercover Brother animated shorts that the film is based on.

Chris Kattan is the second-in-command of 'The Man', basically the underling that actually carries out all of the sinister schemes. Kattan is funny for the most part, although he has to mainly rely on physical comedy, as opposed to humourous dialogue, when pitching in with the laughs. Denise Richards also appears in the film - she plays White She Devil, essentially the eye-candy that 'The Man' uses to seduce and control any black man causing problems. The earliest scenes for Richards are her funniest, where she embraces the required stereotype fully. Later on, the humour from her character fizzles out, although she changes into a white catsuit to compensate.

As mentioned before, almost none of the jokes are overheld, making the film steam away with endless gags. Even some of the smaller speaking parts, like those of television news reporters and corporate climbers, have some hilarious one-liners. There are lots of little touches as well, which will often go unnoticed, making repeat viewings worthwhile for anyone who enjoyed the film first time round. Directed by Malcom D. Lee, cousin of the famous Spike Lee, the film is well-crafted with colourful sets, unimaginative yet vibrant cinematography and pacey editing. Joining the humour is a fantastic collection of source music that sets the mood perfectly - tracks from the James Brown era right up to today's Snoop Dogg are included.

Ultimately, there is nothing terribly intelligent or clever about the film in the more profound sense - the various references demand much pop culture knowledge from the audience and many of the gags may simply confuse some viewers. However, when viewed in the right light, this is a consistently amusing offering that utilises every second of its running length to deliver joke after joke after joke.

6 out of 10

The Video

This is an extremely colourful, stylised film and the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is very faithful in reproducing the visuals. Colours are very vivid and consistent, while sharpness is pleasing throughout. There are no undesirable marks or specks on display, as expected for such a new film, while black levels are perfect (although not really tested due to the bright nature of the cinematography).

Grain is thankfully absent, although a little noise is sometimes visible - as long as there are some objects in the background, this minor flaw is basically non-existent, but exterior shots aggravate the problem since solid coloured skies expose the noise quite readily. There is a tiny amouny of aliasing at times, although nothing terribly noteworthy and, overall, this is therefore a great transfer that performs very well all-round.

8 out of 10

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is perhaps not as impressive as the excellent video transfer, but still of a very good standard nonetheless. None of the channels lack power, while the endless mix of score and source music is delivered with significant bass. As a very general rule, the source music tends to inhabit the front channels, while the score experiments considerably more with the rear speakers as well.

Dialogue is very clear and the subwoofer is even thrown the odd piece of work every now and then. General usage of the surround speakers varies quite significantly - at times, there is some great ambience as people work away in the distance, for example, in both the 'good guy' and 'bad guy' hideouts. At other moments, the ambience could have done with a bit of boosting. Likewise, a few discrete effects will also surface from behind, although perhaps not as often as one would like. However, as mentioned before, a lot of the music bleeds back to the rears quite often, creating the impression of a more active rear soundstage anyway.

Overall, the 5.1 track is rock-solid throughout and reproduction of the various music tracks is executed well.

8 out of 10

The Extras

Since this title (sensibly) avoided the inclusion of a DTS soundtrack, a satisfying number of extras could be squeezed onto the disc to accompany the film. All the video extras are in non-anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound unless otherwise stated, while the audio commentaries are in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.

Starting off the extras is the audio commentary by Director Malcom D. Lee - this is a fantastic track that presents a vast quantity of information in an intelligent fashion. Explanation of the various references and jokes, together with more technical trivia about the production is all on offer here, making it an excellent resource for fans. In comparison, the audio commentary by Eddie Griffin is pretty poor. Unlike the non-stop Lee, Griffin introduces a lot of silence in his track and, when he actually does speak, his comments aren't particularly interesting. He makes a few jokes and tells a few funny behind-the-scenes stories at times, but overall, this is the weaker of the two commentaries by a very long way. Further cast members should have been assembled for this second track in order to make it more chatty and active.

Next up on the disc is a 3 minute alternate ending with optional audio commentary by Director Malcom D. Lee. This is not terribly different to the final ending except for the last minute or so - either way, the changes are not terribly funny and it's easy to see why this version was not used in the completed film. Lee's commentary starts quite late into the clip, but offers the usual explanations for why the ending was dropped.

Following on from the alternate ending is the 22 minute 'Welcome To The Brotherhood: The Making Of Undercover Brother' featurette, which serves as a general promotional look at the film. Despite its clear PR tone, this item is still worth watching for its multitude of interviews and behind-the-scenes clips. The featurette even gives us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the 'Undercova Funk' music video by Snoop Dogg.

The extras continue with a host of deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by Director Malcom D. Lee - impressively, there are 16 scenes here altogether, totalling up to some 31 minutes of viewing. Fans should not only be pleased by the duration of the scenes, but also by the fact that most of this is completely new material, as opposed to minor trimmings from existing sequences. There are a few laughs to be found in the half-hour reel and Lee's commentary makes for a worthwhile listen once again.

Universal Pictures Video like providing buyers with outtakes and this disc is no exception - they are particularly appreciated for comedies. The 4 minute reel here is not the funniest around, but still amusing in places and worth watching. Some animated shorts by Urban Entertainment that (are referenced in the main featurette and) inspired the making of the film have also been included on the disc. There is approximately 20 minutes of viewing to get through here, presented in 1.33:1 full-frame with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound.

The 5 minute 'Undercova Funk' music video by Snoop Dogg is the next bonus material item, while two minute-long trailers close out the disc - the 'Hulk' teaser trailer and the 'Johnny English' theatrical trailer. On a final note, the colourful menus are animated and accompanied by background music in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Overall, a lot of quality material has been bundled onto this single-disc title - the two commentaries, a featurette, half and hour of deleted scenes and much more beyond perhaps even tops some double-disc offerings. The quality of almost each item is good as well, making this a fine collection of supplements for fans.

8 out of 10

Movie 6
Video 8
Audio 8
Extras 8

OVERALL (not an average) 8

DVD Bulletin

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