UNDERCOVER BROTHER

Oh my God, I laughed my ass off!
The first time I saw the trailer to Undercover Brother I knew I had to see it. As I write this now, I know I have to see it again! This movie, a parody of 70's "Blaxploitation" flicks, is absolutely hilarious.

Eddie Griffin stars as the title character, a sort of retro, urban Robin Hood who gets recruited to work for The B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. (I don't think they ever say what that stands for?), an organization that fights the good fight for African Americans everywhere that are being held down by "The Man". The B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. consists of many people, but we meet The Chief, as played by Chi McBride, Smart Brother, played by Gary Anthony Williams, Conspiracy Brother, played by Dave Chappelle, and Neil Patrick Harris. Yeah, he's white.
Go figure.

Chris Kattan plays Mr. Feather, "The Man's" right hand man.
And there's also Aunjanue Ellis as Sistah Girl and Denise Richards as White She Devil.
The entire cast is great. Griffin, last seen in the disappointing THE NEW GUY is a lot of fun as Undercover Brother. He's starting to grow on me. I remember seeing him on a TV show, Malcom & Eddie and not liking him at all. But now he seems kinda cool. I even rented Double Take the other day. He and Orlando Jones are very good in it.
Here he's got the super-fly 70's stereotype persona down perfectly. I can see Eddie Griffin becoming pretty big. Maybe not to the heights that Eddie Murphy once reached, but pretty close.

Really, all the cast is great. Kattan is very funny, I just wish he wasn't always so spastic. He'll just end up being typecast, but he shouldn't. I saw the 1999 version of House On Haunted Hill, and he was good, with nary a spastic moment to be seen.
I don't remember ever seeing Gary Anthony Williams before, but he was very funny, as was Neil Patrick Harris. Surprisingly so. It's like, Doogie Howser who? I think he'll get noticed from this movie…and from his upcoming gig in the new animated version of Spider-Man. And it was great to see Chi McBride. Wow, a second consecutive week of seeing a Boston Public cast member on the big screen (Nicky Katt was in INSOMNIA).

OK, now let's get down to the important thing… Aunjanue Ellis and Denise Richards are really, really hot. It's funny, but I never really liked Denise Richards before, but I dunno, I know I'm hard up an all, but she looked absolutely amazing on screen. Charlie Sheen, you is one lucky mutha! And Aunjanue Ellis…I dunno where she came from, but she is beautiful. I'd go as far as to say that she could give Halle Berry a run for her money.
Yeah, I said it…what about it?

So director Malcolm D. Lee, a cousin of Spike's, did a good job here.
Do I have complaints? Duh, consider the source. Of course I do!
It's not perfect, and some of the jokes do fall kinda flat, and of course by now you know how I feel about PG-13 movies…they're just frustrated and repressed Rated R movies, and this one is no exception…even though there is plenty of sexual innuendo.
But this movie is a lot of fun, and I laughed a lot.
Who knows, maybe this is a new Austin Powers in the making.
One can only hope…

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