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Undercover Brother is a fat satire
of black and white race representation in American film that
greedily nibbles from genres from Blaxploitation to kung-fu
to action/crime films. Inspired by John Ridley’s Internet
comic, this retro-chic flick, reminiscent of Austin Powers,
is the story of an urban hero, a Robin Hood figure, who takes
it upon himself to seek social justice through vigilantism
while sporting a monolithic afro, pork chop sideburns, and
butterfly-collared polyester shirts.
Like in most action films, the audience endures a classic
good versus evil job whose focus is the adversarial relationship
between The Man and The Brotherhood, organizations in which
our trusty hero becomes involved. The first African American
presidential candidate is threatened by The Man, intent on
keeping social, cultural, and political control in the hands
of the white, elite power structure. The B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D.,
protectors of racial diversity in jeopardy, hires Undercover
Brother to infiltrate and destroy The Man in order to rescue
the Colin Powell-esque candidate, played by Billy
Dee Williams. Outfitted in dangerous (literally) bell
bottoms and platform boots among other ’70s inspired spy accoutrements,
UB fights the good fight in his souped-up convertible Cadillac,
compliments of The B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. team, played by
Chappelle, Ellis, Harris, McBride, and Williams.
Undercover Brother employs racial stereotyping, particularly
in dialogue, as its main comedic strategy. It’s effective
for at least the first half of the film. The audience and
I laughed for most of the film, but eventually the constant
dependence on superfly blacks (most of the cast) and stiff
but jolly whiteys (anyone not cast as superfly) became overwhelming
and a little boring. Thankfully, playful action sequences
balanced this deficiency in the script. Had it not been for
their deft insertion, Undercover Brother’s dialogue
might’ve been too heavy handed to be palatable.
Besides its demerits, Undercover Brother has guilty
pleasure appeal like what can be derived from cruel childhood
pranks or gossipy inside jokes. The chemistry among members
of The B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. and Griffin’s performance
as the inimitable UB are certainly the film’s most redeemable
qualities. Eddie Griffin gives a very natural (ahem, “solid”)
and might I add flawless performance as the über-funky hero.
However, he upstages every other character in the movie, except
for maybe James Brown (in a cameo appearance).
All in all this film serves its purpose. It’s funny, action-packed,
and a textbook example of the typical Hollywood action film
formula. For a mindless good time, you can’t go wrong. What
it lacks in originality, it makes up for in its lightheartedness
and humor, making it worth at least a trip to the rental store
if not to a matinee.
—Maria G. Rios
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out
of 5
While we would never encourage anyone to destroy a video... 
