Plot
When "The Man" tries to derail a black candidate's presidential campaign, Undercover Brother and his fellow secret agents come to the rescue.
Release Year: 2002
Rating: 5.7/10 (17,695 voted)
Critic's Score: 69/100
Director:
Malcolm D. Lee
Stars: Eddie Griffin, Denise Richards, Aunjanue Ellis
Storyline A white faceless corporate despot known only as "The Man", has the power to unleash a terrifying top-secret weapon: an irresistibly packaged psycho-hallucinogenic drug that will reduce the entire population to mindless zombies. but black folks have soul. But with enough funky sense of style, a smooth way with the ladies and an absolute hunger for justice, with his Bruce Lee moves, Cadillac attitude and an arsenal of outrageous disguises and gadgets, Undercover Brother is recruited by the group of Good Guys, know as 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, and Undercover Brother's undercover exploits keep the slim plot moving. But while he and his sassy cat-fighting partner known as Sistah Girl tries to find out what's going on, the leader's ruthless right arm, Mr. Feather, discovers the conspiracy's sexy secret weapon, Penelope Snow.
Writers: John Ridley, John Ridley
Cast: Eddie Griffin
-
Undercover Brother
/
Anton Jackson
Chris Kattan
-
Mr. Feather
Denise Richards
-
White She Devil
Aunjanue Ellis
-
Sistah Girl
Dave Chappelle
-
Conspiracy Brother
Chi McBride
-
The Chief
Neil Patrick Harris
-
Lance
Gary Anthony Williams
-
Smart Brother
Billy Dee Williams
-
Gen. Warren Boutwell
Jack Noseworthy
-
Mr. Elias
Robert Trumbull
-
The Man
J.D. Hall
-
Narrator
(voice)
William S. Taylor
-
Roscoe the Barber
(as William Taylor)
Shauna MacDonald
-
Wendy Marshall - TV Anchor
Ron Pardo
-
Chuck
Opening Weekend: $12,037,685
(USA)
(2 June 2002)
(2167 Screens)
Gross: $38,230,435
(USA)
(14 July 2002)
Technical Specs
Runtime:|
Argentina:
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UK:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
When Undercover Brother first meets Sistah Girl in his bedroom he coins the phrase "get the body slamming and get to jamming", a play on the lyrics of "U Got The Look" by Prince - a distant cousin of Eddie Griffin.
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers):
When Lance asks Undercover brother about the show
Friends, he asks what Ross saw of Julie's in the third season. This happened in the second season, Julie was not on Friends in the third season. He also calls her Julia instead of Julie.
Quotes: Undercover Brother:
Hi. Conspiracy Brother:
"Hi"? What you mean "hi"? Like "high yellow wanna be white"? "High" like the *white man* wants to keep us? Wait, you don't smell any weed on me, do you? Undercover Brother:
Brother, when you get a minute, could I get a list of the words that trigger these fits?
User Review
Think "Shaft" meets "Get Smart" here. :-)
Rating:
There's seems to be a lot of misplaced animosity among, what I presume,
are "white" commentators, regarding this film's racial thrust.
The film isn't about belittling or ridiculing "white people."
The film is about tackling prejudices: And specifically those among the
U.S.'s so-called "white" and "black" populations, but told from,
ostensibly, a "black" perspective, and told with humor.
Reading the negative comments on this film I wonder what movie some of
the angry folks were watching. Racism is using one's own physical
traits to establish social superiority over another person, or group of
people, who don't look like themselves. I saw nothing of any of the
African/Black/persons-of-color trying to "reverse role play" by holding
themselves in a superior light over so-called "white people."
It simply wasn't there.
Myself, I hate "white guilt" messages in media of all forms. I've had
enough social agenda thrust in my face. But that's NOT THE MESSAGE of
"Undercover Brother."
What a lot of the "angry-white-commentators" are bothered by is the
fact that they believe this film makes ALL so-called "white persons"
look like evil-clowns, or condescending jerks. IT DOESN'T. If that's
what you see in this film, then maybe you shouldn't be watching movies
in the first place.
This film, as stated clear as day by both cast and crew, is an attempt
to tackle a social problem with good humor. If you're offended by the
jokes in this film, then you've completely missed the point, and are,
in fact, the racist idiot that you claim this film to be (I believe
psychologist call this phenomenon "projection," where someone refuses
to acknowledge their own faults, and casts their own negative qualities
on people they dislike).
But to the movie; it was hilarious. Myself, not being black, I couldn't
help but laugh of the number of stereotypes this film poked fun at;
especially "Conspiracy Brother" (played by Dave Chappell), whose loose
form of illogic-thinking and one-liners had me, quite literally,
falling out of my chair with laughter. And Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie
Howser M.D. fame) playing the "affirmative action" intern nearly bust
my gut, particularly near the end of the film. And Chris Kattan as the
evil high energy second in command was just brilliant. The entire cast
and film was superb. Think "Shaft" meets "Get Smart" here. :-)
What this film needed was to poke more fun at itself in a more direct
manner. In a large sense this film pokes fun at itself in terms of its
genre, but I think it also needed to show a couple more stereotypes.
One of the great "high-profile" stereotypes in white America are black
people talking in theaters, or otherwise being loud and obnoxious in
places and circumstances "white" Americans thinks inappropriate. It
would've been nice to see Undercover Brother cleaning up "his peoples"
stereotypes, but doing so with humor before going after "the man."
I think that's a thing the film makers missed, because the other thing
I believe "angry white commentators" are bothered by is the fact that
there are "black" folks who have their own prejudices, and that this
film might seen by that segment of black-America as a green light for
ridiculing "whites." IT ISN'T.
One of the other themes the film makers missed is the coupling that
that occurs between Denise Richard's character and Eddie Griffin's
character. One of the primary drives of racism is the abhorrence of
interracial couples. This plot point, even though it's high comedy,
seemed implausible for a racially motivated antagonist. Then again,
that may've been part of the film makers' strategy to show how
ludicrous racial prejudice is, and can be.
The final mistake, and this is more of a minor quibble, but a profound
one from a fan of this film, was the downplay of Jim Kelley's role in
this film.
Where I grew up Jim Kelley was a hero, and this was amongst a circle of
friends who were all white. I think the marketing decision to ace Jim
Kelley's role in this film was a mistake. Not a huge one, but a mistake
nonetheless.
If you're still of the opinion that this film is racist (assuming
you've read this far and haven't burst a blood vessel), then I would
suggest you're taking the film too personally, because the film isn't
ridiculing so-called "white-people," but prejudice that, in this case,
is assumed by a large chunk of white America. If you think otherwise,
then you're not viewing this film with a clear mind.
Beyond that, it's one of the funniest films I've ever seen. View it
with a relaxed and open mind, and enjoy some of the biggest laughs to
ever hit the big screen.
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