Undercover Brother (2002)

When "The Man" tries to derail a black candidate's presidential campaign, Undercover Brother and his fellow secret agents come to the rescue.

Director:

Malcolm D. Lee

Writers:

John Ridley (internet series), John Ridley (story)

Stars:

Eddie Griffin, Denise Richards, Aunjanue Ellis

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

undercover | secret agent | african american | disguise | cadillac | 

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Taglines:

He's All Action

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual humor, drug content and campy violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 May 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brat na tajnom zadatku

Filming Locations:

Showline Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,037,685, 2 June 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,230,435, 14 July 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Urban Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Denise Richards (White She-Devil) and Neil Patrick Harris (Lance) previously starred together in Starship Troopers (1997).

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Goofs

The helmet of White She Devil changes during the motorcycle chase: in close-ups it is a more open model so you can see her face, in wide shots the helmet covers her face (presumably to obscure the use of a stunt double).

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Quotes

[as black cultural leaders begin to fall prey to The Man's plan]
The Chief: Jay-Z to cover Lawrence Welk's greatest hits? John Singleton to remake "Driving Miss Daisy"? Terry McMillan - "How Stella got her White Man Back"? Double damn it! Black people all over the world are losin' their damn minds!

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Crazy Credits

Early in the credits, Undercover Brother gets his convertible washed at the car wash with the top down.

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Alternate Versions

For the UK DVD release Universal chose to cut 14 sec. from the outtakes (two uses of very strong language) to keep the "12" rating. An uncut "15" was available.

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Connections

References Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

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Soundtracks

Love Train
Written by Kenny Gamble (as Kenneth Gamble) and Leon Huff
Performed by The O'Jays
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

"Mess with the Fro...you got to go!"

I first saw "Undercover Brother" on cable a few years ago and since then it's become one of my favorite comedies of recent years. Though it's basically a "blaxploited" version of the "Austin Powers" concept, "Undercover Brother" is funny enough to be enjoyable on its own merits.

As the film opens, we are filled in on the ongoing battle between the black community and a super secret organization known as "The Man," who works tirelessly to negate African-American influence on the world at large. Fortunately, the black community has its own underground group, known as "The B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D." created to undermine The Man's plans to "Whitewash" the world.

Eddie Griffin stars as Undercover Brother, a funky '70s throwback hero with a huge Afro and platform shoes, who drives around in a pimped-out Caddy performing acts of Kung-Fu derring-do to aid the African American cause. Normally a lone wolf, he is drafted into the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. when a black war hero (Billy Dee Williams)'s plans to run for President are derailed by a mind control drug designed by The Man. Now rather than run for the White House, he runs a nationwide Fried Chicken chain instead. Ably assisted by fellow B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. agents Sistah Girl, Conspiracy Brother, Smart Brother, and "Lance" (Neil Patrick Harris in a hilarious turn as the lone white member of the group -- he got his internship through -- what else? -- affirmative action), Undercover Brother infiltrates The Man's organization to destroy the plot, though he nearly becomes a victim of their most potent weapon, the gorgeous Denise Richards, aka "White She-Devil" (whom "The Man" calls "Black Man's Kryptonite.") along the way.

I have seen a lot of discussion on IMDb about this film being "racist" towards whites, but to be honest, I found "Undercover Brother" to be an equal opportunity offender, with no stereotype about blacks OR whites going un-skewered. The cast is excellent, especially Dave Chapelle as the eternally paranoid agent "Conspiracy Brother," and the always welcome Chi McBride as the long-suffering "Chief" of The B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. Denise Richards looks amazing in a white leather catsuit (her catfight scene with "Sistah Girl" is worth the price of the DVD all by itself), and oddly enough, even though I usually find Eddie Griffin and Chris Kattan (who plays The Man's flunky, "Mr. Feather") quite irritating in other films, their shtick totally works in "Undercover Brother." Fast, funny, and an utterly silly good time, "Undercover Brother" is -- in the words of its hero -- "Solid."