Undercover Brother (2002)

Director:

Malcolm D. Lee

Writers (WGA):

John Ridley (internet series)
John Ridley (story)

Release Date:

31 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

He's All Action

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Undercover | Secret Agent | Disguise | Cadillac | African American

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

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 B. Taylor	...	Roscoe the Barber (as William Taylor)
Shauna MacDonald	...	Wendy Marshall - TV Anchor
Ron Pardo	...	Chuck

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

86 min | Argentina:88 min | UK:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Germany:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | South Korea:15 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In addition to Lance's "fatalities," other seeming references to Mortal Kombat video games include Undercover Brother's flying kick pose reminiscent of a Liu Kang move and Mr. Feather's wrist-blades during the final fight mirroring those of Baraka from Mortal Kombat II.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the golf course, right after the security guards' golf cart comes into contact with the propane pipelines, it is clearly seen before the explosion that the passengers are actually dummies.

Quotes:

[after witnessing the General's speech]
The Chief: Smart Brother, you're so damn smart. Can you tell us what the Hell just happened?
Smart Brother: Well, uh, I, uh, um...
The Chief: [mocking him] Well, um, I, uh... Shut up! If I wanted to hear something stupid, I'd ask his skinny Black Ass!
Conspiracy Brother: Ha, ha! In your face! Ha! Skinny black... HEY!

Movie Connections:

References "Today" (1952)

Soundtrack:

Too Much Man

imperfect but fun

Uneven but entertaining comedy which puts an effective comic spin on popular blaxploitation films. Griffin, a stylish, super cool secret agent who always gets his man, is recruited by an ambitious black brotherhood to investigate the ambiguous actions of a prominent black general who's given up his love of politics for fried chicken. In addition, he also matches wits with an evil, megalomaniacal white man. An undeniably goofy setup is made worthwhile by a lot of hip, amusing dialogue and clever, innovative sight gags. Suffers from occasional lapses, as most films of this genre do, but the cast is clearly having fun and make it worth the viewing experience. **½