I'm pretty sure the point of this film was to make a spoof of the 70's blaxploitation flicks, like Keenan Ivory Wayans did in "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." Good intention, but the result is all over the map. I've read a lot of comparisons to "Austin Powers," and it is in the same format as the "Austin Powers" movies--just spoofing different genres--with the weird camera angles, zoom-ins and asides to the camera, but the end result of "Undercover Brother" is much less successful. It's not a bad film, I found it watchable, but it could've been a lot funnier and more often than not took very cheap shots.
Now, I'm getting a little bit tired of these gross-out comedies that pollute modern cinema by the second, but I'm not gonna regard any movie that doesn't contain a penis or fart joke in every scene as refreshingly enjoyable. This movie doesn't contain that many crude jokes, but it uses other cheap methods to get laughs. For example, heavy-handed racial stereotypes.
Unless you're extremely sensitive to racial humor, you shouldn't be offended by any of the gags in the film. That's not the problem I had--I didn't find the jokes offensive. It's the way the jokes are handled--they're extremely forced! When Neil Patrick Harris struts into a room full of black people and says, "It looks a Source Award in here," you can just imagine a black man scribbling that line down on a cocktail napkin and giggling to himself. That's my point--most of the dialogue seems more written than said. The average sitcom seems to have the same problem. When you hear a line of dialogue that you can just picture on the script, it's either a bad joke or a mediocre joke. That's why in my Screenwriting class, we learn that if you write a piece of dialogue that you adore so much and simply leaps from the page...delete it! And I hang around with a lot of black people, so some of the stereotypes were just too broad for their own good. Like mayonaisse--Who the hell coined the stereotype that black people don't eat mayonaisse? Every joke must be based on an element of truth. However, it is a common stereotype that blacks love to eat fried chicken and drink malt liquor. So that mock commercial where Billy Dee Williams was advertising his new fried chicken shack, where you get a free 40 oz. with every meal made me chuckle. Besides, some of the racial humor has been done to death, but apparently the writers and director lost touch of that. When Richard Pryor did stand-up acts, comparing white people and black people, that was funny! It's not funny anymore! Another flaw in the humor is its ignorance of time. I forgot which character said it, but when whoever commented on Undercover Brother as "Macy Gray with pork chops" that may be funny now, but who's gonna laugh at that 2 or 3 years from now? That's why pop culture is not a great target for humor. And of course, there are some jokes that are just plain stupid. There's one scene where Neil Patrick gets furious and, for no apparent reason, starts ripping out people's hearts and intestines.
Now, I went to see this movie with a group of friends who were laughing their heads off throughout. And I think if I weren't with them, I would only receive a few chuckles. But the laughter was contagious, and I laughed too. But there were some jokes that made them laugh hysterically that simply made me roll my eyes at them. For example, in one scene Eddie Griffin is beating the crap out of a guy, and they shoot him from the waist up as cheesy sound f/x make him sound like he's snapping the guy's neck with his foot. We then find out that he's crushing a bag of Lay's potato chips. How did they get a kick out of that? Who the hell knows?
Eddie Griffin is a decent comic, and is decent in the lead role, but seeing Dave Chapelle steal the spotlight in the supporting role, I wish Dave could've been the lead. His manic energy would've fared better with audiences. Denise Richards is incredibly hot and has an incredibly hot catfight/shower scene, where she's wearing tight clothing and gets soaking wet. Need I say more? It's nifty how they used her for the marketing campaign--if you see any of the posters, Eddie Griffin is in the background while Denise is in the foreground, flaunting her voluptuous curves. Chris Kattan has yet again proved that he's better off sticking to supporting roles, his first time being "Monkeybone." He has some of the funniest scenes in the movie, and I was so much more glad to see him ham it up in a small role than in a lead role like in "Corky Romano."
I also liked the hip 70's soundtrack. Basically, this film is worthy of a few cheap laughs, but it needs a maximum dose of wit.
My score: 5 (out of 10)
Now, I'm getting a little bit tired of these gross-out comedies that pollute modern cinema by the second, but I'm not gonna regard any movie that doesn't contain a penis or fart joke in every scene as refreshingly enjoyable. This movie doesn't contain that many crude jokes, but it uses other cheap methods to get laughs. For example, heavy-handed racial stereotypes.
Unless you're extremely sensitive to racial humor, you shouldn't be offended by any of the gags in the film. That's not the problem I had--I didn't find the jokes offensive. It's the way the jokes are handled--they're extremely forced! When Neil Patrick Harris struts into a room full of black people and says, "It looks a Source Award in here," you can just imagine a black man scribbling that line down on a cocktail napkin and giggling to himself. That's my point--most of the dialogue seems more written than said. The average sitcom seems to have the same problem. When you hear a line of dialogue that you can just picture on the script, it's either a bad joke or a mediocre joke. That's why in my Screenwriting class, we learn that if you write a piece of dialogue that you adore so much and simply leaps from the page...delete it! And I hang around with a lot of black people, so some of the stereotypes were just too broad for their own good. Like mayonaisse--Who the hell coined the stereotype that black people don't eat mayonaisse? Every joke must be based on an element of truth. However, it is a common stereotype that blacks love to eat fried chicken and drink malt liquor. So that mock commercial where Billy Dee Williams was advertising his new fried chicken shack, where you get a free 40 oz. with every meal made me chuckle. Besides, some of the racial humor has been done to death, but apparently the writers and director lost touch of that. When Richard Pryor did stand-up acts, comparing white people and black people, that was funny! It's not funny anymore! Another flaw in the humor is its ignorance of time. I forgot which character said it, but when whoever commented on Undercover Brother as "Macy Gray with pork chops" that may be funny now, but who's gonna laugh at that 2 or 3 years from now? That's why pop culture is not a great target for humor. And of course, there are some jokes that are just plain stupid. There's one scene where Neil Patrick gets furious and, for no apparent reason, starts ripping out people's hearts and intestines.
Now, I went to see this movie with a group of friends who were laughing their heads off throughout. And I think if I weren't with them, I would only receive a few chuckles. But the laughter was contagious, and I laughed too. But there were some jokes that made them laugh hysterically that simply made me roll my eyes at them. For example, in one scene Eddie Griffin is beating the crap out of a guy, and they shoot him from the waist up as cheesy sound f/x make him sound like he's snapping the guy's neck with his foot. We then find out that he's crushing a bag of Lay's potato chips. How did they get a kick out of that? Who the hell knows?
Eddie Griffin is a decent comic, and is decent in the lead role, but seeing Dave Chapelle steal the spotlight in the supporting role, I wish Dave could've been the lead. His manic energy would've fared better with audiences. Denise Richards is incredibly hot and has an incredibly hot catfight/shower scene, where she's wearing tight clothing and gets soaking wet. Need I say more? It's nifty how they used her for the marketing campaign--if you see any of the posters, Eddie Griffin is in the background while Denise is in the foreground, flaunting her voluptuous curves. Chris Kattan has yet again proved that he's better off sticking to supporting roles, his first time being "Monkeybone." He has some of the funniest scenes in the movie, and I was so much more glad to see him ham it up in a small role than in a lead role like in "Corky Romano."
I also liked the hip 70's soundtrack. Basically, this film is worthy of a few cheap laughs, but it needs a maximum dose of wit.
My score: 5 (out of 10)