 Smart comedy uses '70s blaxploitation as springboard... |
| Review Date: June 4, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Mark Savary, Seattle, WA |
| If you're a fan of those '70s blaxploitation movies like "Shaft", "Black Caesar", or "Foxy Brown", then this send-up movie will be drop-dead hilarious. But, even if you don't like those kind of films, this is still one smart comedy worth a look. The movie uses the blaxsploitation style as a springboard to discuss racial stereotyping. And guess what? It WORKS! Right from the opening credits with the '70s styling and retro alphabet they used, right through to the the few comedy snippets in the closing credits (stay and watch how Undercover Brother parks his car!), the movie will have you hooked and keep you hooked. A cross between those '70s movies, James Bond, and even a touch of "Naked Gun", "Undercover Brother" really delivers the laughs, as the pure 1970's retro and funky Undercover Brother joins up with the BROTHERHOOD to stop the evil plans of "The Man" and his henchmen. Billy Dee Williams plays a Colin Powell-like war hero who is in line to become the first black President before The Man steps in to stop him, and James Brown cameos. What makes the movie work so well is that, instead of getting all PC and shying away from racial stereotypes, the film throws them right in your face to show just how stupid they are. Another thing I like is that the film does not just center on the stereotypes that white people have; stereotypes that black people have about whites get -- er, equal treatment, so to speak. This gives the film an even-handed approach, where most filmmakers would have just tried to get mileage out of '70s jokes, or jokes aimed at white people. I noted that the audience was equally mixed at the showing I went to see, and the African Americans laughed just as hard as me, if not harder. Even as a white guy, I got a real kick out of Undercover Brother and the BROTHERHOOD as they were "takin' it to The Man", and you will, too. Smart comedies are pretty rare these days, so either get thee to the theater, or wait and get the DVD! You'll want to keep this one! |
Undercover Brother
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| Review Date: October 2, 2002 |
| Reviewer: , |
| This is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. I laughed from the opening credits until the end. It is not your typical comedy, where you have a few good laughs here and there; this was funny from start to finish. A really good laugh for the true comedy connoisseur. |
Admit It, You Liked It
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| Review Date: January 16, 2003 |
| Reviewer: , |
| This movie was one of the funniest I've seen in a long time. I'm ashamed to say it, but I really liked this movie, and I think almost everyone else did, too. You have to give this movie some credit for simply not being terrible, but it's a great movie in its own right. Eddie Griffin is awesome as the soul power superhero and Chris Kattan is hilarious as a bad guy with the secret ambition to be a brotha. Denise Richards is very funny and all the characters are very good and play off each other well. I really liked this movie and chances are, you will too. |
The Brother Has Landed! Great Film, Great DVD!
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| Review Date: January 29, 2003 |
| Reviewer: , Santa Barbara, CA, USA |
| Fans of the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., rejoice! The Brother Has Landed, with all the funky style you could ask for, and then some. I've been a huge fan of Undercover Brother (UB) since the day it came out in theaters, and I've been waiting, with quite literally bated breath, for it to come out on DVD. I'm happy to report that the DVD is very well done, with attractive, appropriately-designed menus (read: funky colors and fonts throughout), a great selection of deleted scenes and outtakes, voice-over feature commentaries by Eddie Griffin (UB) and director Malcolm Lee, a "The Making Of UB" feature, and even includes shorts from the original Internet-based cartoon series put out by UrbanEntertainment.com, which launched the film--a very nice touch! This is definitely not one of those skimpy, so-called "collector's editions" that sometimes get pushed out for niche films like these--this DVD is large, powerful, and packed with long-lasting pleasure that will satisfy you over and over again! I'm also quite pleased that it's available in widescreen format--it would've been a shame to have to watch a brother's style get cramped by pan & scan formatting (surely another one of The Man's evil conspiracies!) So drop your guava-mango-broccoli smoothie and get your patootie on down to that "Add To Shopping Cart" button--this DVD doesn't need any hot sauce to be palatable. And remember--don't eat the mayo. |
Better than Austin Powers, and there's a good reason
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| Review Date: January 11, 2005 |
| Reviewer: James A. Ritzman, Portland, OR USA |
| The first Austin Powers is great-- but after that, it's just dragged down by seeing how many guest stars (Britney Spears? hello? She has the shelf-life of stale bread) Mike Myers could fit into it. It just got lame. At least this movie has some legitimate social satire, and doesn't resort to the excessively crude excrement jokes of Myers' comedies. Some of the reviews on this really trash it as being racist-- and any other movie, ultimately, isn't? Had the respectable actors (Eddie Griffin, Dave Chapelle, et. al) felt that it was a racist movie, they wouldn't have starred in it-- it's not like they're strapping for cash and this was the only thing they could get stuck into. I laughed my head off the first time I saw the movie, and enjoyed how well-timed it is-- the punchlines are delivered at a fast pace (something Austin Powers has failed to do since the first) and it's a heckuva lot cleaner. |
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