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Undercover Brother
Studio: Universal
Year: 2002
Rated: PG-13
Film Length: 87 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.85:1)
Subtitles: English and Spanish
He's All Action
Holy Motown!
The success of Austin Powers has paved the
way for a multitude of similar copycat retro super
agent send ups. Usually one can immediately sense
a bad copycat, and I went into Undercover
Brother expecting the very worst. But something
happened from the very moment the opening credits
began rolling -- I found myself laughing hysterically
at a movie that has enough funk and soul to hold
itself up as an originally funny and likeable secret
agent comedy. In fact, I am here to proclaim that
Undercover Brother has become my newest hero,
joining the ranks of Austin Powers and Ace Ventura.
Based on a web-based animated series created by
screenwriter John Ridley, Undercover Brother
is directed by Malcolm D. Lee (cousin of Spike)
and it stars Eddie Griffin as the afro bearing,
polyester wearing, Cadillac steering enforcer of
justice. Called upon by a secret African American
organization called the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D.,
Undercover goes after "The Man", who is angered
by the rising influx of hipness in American culture.
"The Man" takes control of a politically rising
black General (Billy Dee Williams) in an effort to
whitewash America.
Undercover Brother simply doesn't honor nor
imitate all those cool blaxploitation pictures, it
goes one step further by throwing in enough pop
culture references to keep the film fresh and funny
from becoming to end. Credit must be given to
Eddie Griffin and Chris Kattan (Mr. Feather) whose
facial exchanges alone are enough to make you bust
out laughing. You'll wet yourself as you watch this
undercover hero become a Rastafarian or, a milquetoast
white wannabe. The rest of underground group of
freedom fighter cast seem to be having just as much
fun: Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis), Smart Brother
(Gary Anthony Williams), Conspiracy Brother (Dave
Chapelle), and the Chief (Chi McBride). All of
these people make up a nice supporting set of
characters from which jokes are often made.
How is the transfer?
Holy funkadelic! This is a nearly perfect transfer
from the folks at Universal. Picture is pristine,
clean and highly detailed. This is what I call one
of those "in-your-face" transfers where everything
is bold and sharp. Black levels are nice and deep.
Colors are extremely vivid here, but I fear that
perhaps they run a little too hot as all the facial
tones take on a bit of an orange color as if
everything was being overexaggerated. Perhaps this
was the look the filmmakers were going after. Some
of the most beautiful scenes take place in a golf
course, and it is here amongst the green grass
and foliage that you will see how well this transfer
shines. I expect everyone will be highly satisfied
by this excellent transfer.
While I am always excited by any DVD that contains
a DTS mix, I was disappointed that the soundtrack
doesn't take advantage of all DTS has to offer.
Though sound is clean and crisp, it doesn't sound
full-bodied nor does it fully take advantage of
it's 5.1 capabilities. There's not a lot of bass
here as sound stays mostly in the higher end of the
dynamic range. The LFE channel doesn't come into
play at all. This is a real shame, because the film
boasts some great 70s music from the likes of
Average White Band, Parliament, Kool & The Gang
and The O'Jays. The music has no real punch
across the front channels, and the rears only provide
an echo effect. Stanley Clarke's score is the only
music that envelopes the entire listening area from
time to time. Still, the rears are active throughout,
doing a superb job of delivering the film's effect
noises.
Special Features
This DVD comes packed with more substance than a
bottle of Afro-Sheen. Though the film itself is
wort the price of this DVD, it's a real bonus to
find material here that is mostly fun to browse
through.
There are two Feature Commentaries on this
DVD. The first is with actor Eddie Griffin. The
second is with director Malcolm D. Lee. I opted
to listen to the Eddie Griffin's commentary which
was a bit of a disappointment mainly for the fact
that the comic actor is obviously not used to doing
this sort of feature. Eddie mostly sits back with
long periods of silence, mostly laughing at his own
antics. Sure he points out little things going on
in the background or when other actors are ad-libbing
their scenes -- but none of it is really interesting.
I couldn't take much more and I quickly switched over
to Malcom Lee's track. Much, much better. Malcolm
begins talking about the complications of designing
the film's opening sequence. Malcolm is a great fan
of action and black exploitation films. It was this
knowledge of film that enabled him to have as much
fun as he could parodying them. He also understands
the need to pace his comedy films well, providing
enough reaction shots and not making sequences run
flat. His motto seemed to be, "keep the story
moving." One of the big scenes he had to compromise
was the golf course sequence that had to be greatly
shortened. Malcolm also touches upon the film's
funkadelic soundtrack, comparing it those used in
blaxploitation films. No matter how bad those film
were, the music was always good. Though Malcolm
is proud of this film, he doesn't hesitate to point
out the many jokes that he felt went flat. All in
all, I found this commentary to be pretty decent.
The making of Undercover Brother is a really
fun featurette mainly thanks to the behind-the-camera
antics and interviews of Eddie Griffin. Who else
could pull off a Negro with a huge afro and pork
chop sideburns?! This fast-paced featurette takes
us through the entire roster of actors, with each of
them talking about their characters as well as what
it was like to work with the other cast members.
Yeah, there's a lot of ass-kissing going on here,
but you just gotta love the delivery! We also learn
how the film's solid-gold '70s soundtrack was put
together, as well as a song that was revised by
Snoop Dogg. Though this featurette gets a little
too scene dependant, it still stays lively and fun.
(length: approx. 22 minutes)
The film's alternate ending is somewhat amusing.
It reintroduces She-Devil (Denise Richards) to Sistah
Girl during a very compromised situation. Fortunately,
Conspiracy Brother's brownies save the day! You can
opt to watch this ending with Director's commentary.
(length: approx. 2.5 minutes)
So what does one do when actors flub their lines or
tumbleweeds refuse to tumble on cue? Why you put it
all together in the film's outtakes reel. This
nearly 4-minute compilation of goofs and flubs is
quite funny. You'll love watching Dave Chapelle
(Conspiracy Brother) trying out different versions
of his "black man" speech or Aunjanue Ellis (Sistah
Girl) unsuccessfully trying to rip the clothes off
Denise Richards.
There are a dozen deleted scenes for you
to amuse yourself with. Some of the scenes include...
* A deleted introduction that gives us an alternate
introduction to the film's characters via a monologue
by David Chapelle.
* In a scene that may be considered overly racist,
we revisit the old joke of how a black man can't
catch a NYC cab.
* A pretty funny scene where two white golfers
approach the Jamaican brother hoping to score some
weed. Insulted by all this, Undercover fixes them
by mixing his own special concoction of smoke.
* Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan) practicing some
martial arts moves. It is here that we first
discover his secret weapon.
* Mr. Feather directing the General's Chicken
commercial. Notice his group of white henchman
walking through the backdrop.
All of these scenes are in fairly good condition.
You can opt to play them with director Malcom D.
Lee's commentary.
So where did the concept of Undercover Brother
come from? You'll have the opportunity to watch
the original internet shorts that inspired
the film. Created by Undercover Brother co-
writer John Ridley, these are the hilarious 3-5
minute flash animation shorts that were first seen
on UrbanEntertainment.com
(length: approx. 21 minutes)
In addition to the film's 4-minute Music Video,
Undercover Funk by Snoop Dogg (combined with
a short promo spot for the soundtrack), there's a
Music Highlights area that lists the 25 songs
in the film, enabling you to click on each to take
you directly to the scene they appear in.
Rounding out the extras is the film's original
theatrical trailer as well as an extensive
cast and crew filmography and production
notes that takes us through John Ridley's
creation of animated shorts that led to Producer
Brian Grazer's making of the film.
Beat The Man Trivia Game is sort of lame
and a real cinch to play once you have seen the
film. Answer a bunch of questions related to the
film and receive a payoff worth missing.
Finally, you won't miss the inclusion of the upcoming
trailer for Johnny English that plays at the
start of the DVD -- but don't miss the trailer for
Empire that is hidden under the Universal
Showcase header.
Special DVD-ROM interactive games on the
DVD include "Cadillac Drive and Jive" and
"Afro Attack."
Final Thoughts
After this year's disappointing third installment
of Austin Powers: Goldmember, one can't help
but see Undercover Brother as the year's most
hilarious (and under appreciated) comedy. Fans of
Austin Powers and films like Inspector
Gadget and The Ladies Man will no doubt
love this film. I loved it so much that I intend
to watch it a second time this week.
Step aside Austin Powers -- when you've had
Undercover Brother there's just no other.
Make an effort to rent this film and watch it with
a group of friends who love to laugh!
Release Date: January 14, 2003
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality
