Undercover Brother (Widescreen Collector's Edition)

 

 

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Undercover Brother is, first and foremost, a really funny comedy. Some people on both sides of the aisle may shake their heads over the subject matter and mumble something about stereotypes (unwilling to consider the fact that one of the best ways to end racism is to show just how ridiculous it is), but there's no need for all of us with a funny bone to suffer and miss out on such an entertaining show. Alongside its focus on the ongoing battle between the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. and "the man," Undercover Brother manages to spoof all sorts of films and fads from the last few decades. Sure it's dumb - really dumb at times - but we might as well face the fact that dumb is usually pretty darn funny.

Undercover Brother (Eddie Griffin) arrives on the scene (with his 'fro, classic Caddy, and funkalicious threads) just in time to be recruited into the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. at a crucial time. "The man" has somehow gotten to the illustrious General Warren Boutwell (Billie Dee Williams) - this man, who could have become the first black President, stuns the world by announcing his decision to - wait for it - start a fried chicken franchise. But that's just the start of it; more and more prominent African-Americans start making equally questionable career decisions (picture if you will Jay-Z performing Lawrence Welk music). The Chief (Chi McBride) is so flummoxed he keeps having Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon flashbacks, Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams) doesn't know what to make of things, and even Conspiracy Brother (Dave Chappelle) has a hard time coming up with an elaborate conspiracy theory. Sistah Girl (Aujanue Ellis) helps recruit Undercover Brother, and it's up to him to find General Boutwell and figure out what the sam hill is going on. He faces an annoying antagonist in Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan), but the real threat comes from "the man's" secret weapon, Penelope Snow (Denise Richards), aka White She Devil. Just about any man would be putty in Denise Richards' hands, and her character soon drains almost all of the funk out of Undercover Brother - the guy's only one step away from listening to Celine Dion, for goodness' sake. Is this the end? Will "the man's" master plan succeed and bring down the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. and everything it represents?

Neil Patrick Harris is the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D.'s token white guy (affirmative action at work) and he actually manages to be funny every once in a while (but nowhere near as funny as Eddie Griffin or Dave Chappelle, of course). This isn't Denise Richards' finest performance by a long shot, but my girl is just some more kind of fine. Basically, everybody is funny in this movie (except Chris Kattan) - especially Undercover Brother, Smart Brother and Conspiracy Brother (Chappelle never fails to steal whatever scene he happens to be in). It's a dumb movie, for the most part, but many of the numerous parodies are ingenious; this is equal opportunity spoofing at its best.

...Most of the time, the type of comedies we get are teen comedies that pretty much only focus on sexual topics. Not my cup of tea. It's just not funny.

But here, we have a brilliantly funny comedy about a black man mentally stuck in the 70s who's out their protecting racial equality. We also have "The Brotherhood," a secret organization doing the same thing, consisting of mostly blacks. But they stress the message that you just have to be "down" to be in the brotherhood, and you don't have to be black. At first, it seems like only blacks are welcome. But then they realize that working as an equal team is how the job should really be done, regardless of one's race. So this movie has a good message, despite all the racial jokes.

But enough of that. This movie is hilarious! The jokes they make about both black culture and white culture kept me laughing all the way through. You can't take it too seriously. If you do, getting offended will come with the territory for you, and that's not what this movie is about. What goes through my head when the jokes are cracked is, "That's exactly how it is!" And I'm a white guy.

Sure, a lot of the jokes are ones that have been used before. But the WAY they're used in this movie and the creativity behind it all is what made me laugh.

So if you don't get offended easily by culture jokes, and you're in the mood to laugh a lot, this movie is for you.

The DVD has good picture and sound for the movie. It even has 5.1 DTS. This DVD also has a good amount of special features that'll keep you occupied as well, including deleted scenes, outtakes, an alternate ending, a behind the scenes look at the movie, a few original cartoons of Undercover Brother that the movie was based on, etc. - most of which kept me entertained.

Great movie, great DVD!

To quote Snoop Dogg "Its the shizzle for my nizzle". This film is so funny. I saw it once and it really does have good acting. A little cheezy at times but that is how its meant to be! Hope you enjoy it. This is a really good comedy that makes fun of action films as well as blaxplotation films. The actors are quite good all of them no matter what race they may be. All the actors in this film do a really good job at getting their charactor right and some of the one liners are really good as well.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Are you kiding.???
Wow. This was a brilliant movie. When I first saw it all i could think about was how great it was. Eddie Griffen is funny. Chris Kattan is hilarious. Read more

Published on July 6 2004 by KAMAHA

1.0 out of 5 stars Could've been brilliant except...
it milks every joke for all it's worth until it's rendered unfunny. Wow, white people like mayonnaise, black people like hot sauce. Read more

Published on Jun 18 2004 by Charlie Watts

4.0 out of 5 stars Flashback Fun!
Hillarious fun from beginning to end! If you like Raising Arizona, L.A.Story, o Brother Where Art Thou, you will probably get a kick out of Undercover Brother too. Read more

Published on Mar 26 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars This movie was Funky & Funny!!
I've read a lot of reviews that indicated this film was full of racial stereotyping and that is insulting for this reason and that. That's the point. Read more

Published on Mar 17 2004 by AbeStreet

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Funky-Funny Movie
Eddie Griffin is great in this movie. So is Dave Chappelle. Most of the comedy is mild, but there are a few parts that make you laugh so hard you barf! Read more

Published on Mar 13 2004 by M. Tennis

5.0 out of 5 stars Leave your brain at the door...
Once you've done that, you'll enjoy this movie. This is actually one the best SNL star movies I've seen to date. Read more

Published on Feb 27 2004 by Alex J. Williams

1.0 out of 5 stars Hmm, i dunno
Before I saw the movie, I didn't think race would be an issue in the movie's plot. When they were joking about white people and black people, I started to get pissed off, not... Read more

Published on Feb 24 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars SOLID!
Undercover Brother, working undercover as a marketing executive in The Man's firm, and talking about one of their cigarette brands:
"What black person would be satisfied... Read more

Published on Jan 25 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Sam's Version
The first time i saw this movie it made me laugh so hard i almost wet my pants. It is about how an organization named The Brother Hood tries to capture "The Man" from... Read more

Published on Jan 23 2004 by Sami Darouiche

4.0 out of 5 stars Right on! Enjoyable Blaxploitaion Parody ala "Austin Powers"
Eddie Griffin is the hero of this delightful send-up of 70s blaxploitaion films with Austin Powers taste. Read more

Published on Jan 19 2004 by Tsuyoshi

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