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Undercover Brother
***1/2
Cinema
Reviews - Week of February 21, 2003
Rated on a 4-star scale. Certificate 12A. USA.
85 minutes. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee. Written by Michael McCullers, John
Ridley; from a story and internet series by Ridley. 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.
Spoofs have been getting tiresome of late. A lot
of filmmakers seem to think that pointing at something wackily is the same
thing as satire, and friends, it just ain't so. "Scary Movie" was a big hit,
but what was the point, when it sent up "Scream", which was a send-up in
itself? "Not Another Teen Movie" was filled with movie references and slapstick,
but all it added up to was a desperate act of listmaking.
"Undercover Brother" shows these
fools what time it is. It works for a lot of reasons, the main ones being
that the humour has ideas behind it, and the fact that the material has fun
with the kinds of clichés that are usually pretty entertaining even
when they're being used sincerely. The UK release has taken its time in arriving,
and there has been little publicity, perhaps because distributors feel that
a comedy about American black culture would fall on deaf ears over here.
But I saw an afternoon show with only about twenty people, and the audience
laughed its ass off so thoroughly that it felt like a packed
house.
The movie is a take on the blaxploitation flicks
of the '70s, with its funky soundtrack, outrageous costumes and retro colour
scheme. Eddie Griffin plays a fly lone warrior known only as Undercover Brother,
who is a wisecracking master of disguise, using his skills to rob from the
rich and help the poor. Early in the story he is enlisted by a spy organisation
called B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., which fights for "truth, justice and the
Afro-American way". And wacky adventures ensue. To call this the black "Austin
Powers" would be an easy comparison, but also a deserved one.
Based on an internet series by John Ridley, the
screenplay plunders clichés of movies, fashions and societal hang-ups,
and offers us characters like the ever-angry Chief (Chi McBride), an egghead
named Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams), the self-explanatory Conspiracy
Brother and a badass foxy heroine named Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis). The
villain is The Man -- who, in a joke that somehow does not get tiresome,
is actually one specific man. B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D.'s mission over the course
of the film is to foil The Man in his attempts to control the mind of a black
presidential candidate by making the guy abandon politics and open a chain
of fried chicken restaurants.
I can imagine an embarrassing movie that would
employ jokes like the ones I have mentioned and fall dead by expecting them
alone to carry a feature. "Undercover Brother" has no time for that --
accompanying every funny character name or plot detail is a speech, a visual
gag and a further zinger twist. The movie uses physical humour, cultural
commentary and a right-on value system, and displays all this in sound and
visuals that are vibrant, sexy and nostalgic. Not for one moment does it
get serious or stop for a straight action sequence, and yet it develops into
something genuinely exciting, just through the enthusiastic velocity of its
streams of jokes and images.
"Undercover Brother" feels sharp, full and adult
without requiring the use of gross-out humour or lines that rely on the rhythm
of F-words. It's too clever and well-designed, and has too much to impart,
to bother resorting to such easy tactics. It's also so much plain fun that
although I could go on, I don't want to. This is not a movie you feel like
analysing or even rehashing-- you just want to run out and recommend it to
your buddies, with a knowing grin at the fun they're about to
have.
COPYRIGHT©
2003 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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