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Undercover Brother (Full Screen Collector's Edition)

Undercover Brother (Full Screen Collector's Edition)

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sam's Version
Review: The first time i saw this movie it made me laugh so hard i almost wet my pants. It is about how an organization named The Brother Hood tries to capture "The Man" from spreading an antidote that makes colored people act like uptight white people. It delivers a sense of humor with a respectable plot that makes alot of sense. Eddie Griffen plays "Undercover Brother" in this hilarious movie. Eddie Griffen is part of the "Brother Hood" along with "Smart Brother", "Sister Girl", "Conspiracy Brother", and "The Cheif." The first time you watch this movie you will not forget how much you laughed. All ages will enjoy htis hilarious movie. This is one of the best and most popular movies of our time. Don't miss out on this awesome, funny, and interesting. This is my new favorite movie and if you like funny movies and things then this is the right movie for you!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Right on! Enjoyable Blaxploitaion Parody ala "Austin Powers"
Review: Eddie Griffin is the hero of this delightful send-up of 70s blaxploitaion films with Austin Powers taste. Though "Undercover Brother" occassionally treads on a dangerous zone, making fun of some present-day topics, it still remains very amuzing comedy, which knows what it is doing.

Remember Jim Kelly (the black karate guy in "Enter the Dragon"), and give him a big afro and flashy, glittering costume, and then you see the hero of the film. (If you can't, don't worry, for Eddie Griffin is funny enough without them.) He is recruited by a secret organization BROTHERHOOD fighting against The Man, the villain you saw in the old 007 films (this time, no white cat). Now you see the gist of the film.

You see many amusing references to the pop culture in the 70s, plus some of the most incredibly audacious gags (one of which is Billy Dee Willaims's character, who looks like one eminent and respected person in the US government). Many of them are quite effective, but if you have seen such films as "Foxy Brown" or "Shaft," the laugh will double.

But most memorable is the actors. Eddie Griffin is likable enough to carry on the whole show, and so is Aunjanue Ellis as 'Sista Girl,' and and funny Chris Kattan, whose accent changes according to the situation, is never better (forget about his "Corky Romano"). And Denise Richards is in top form in white leather jacket and 'the cat fight' (yes, that's one of the blaxploitation's rules). She is natural, and cute, and more convincing than Heather Graham in the sequel to "Austen."

Don't try to seek for any statement or profund message; it's a joke, and it works. This is not the first case in which blaxploitaion was parodied on screen (remember Keenen Ivory William's "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!"?), but "Undercover Brother" is better than that, more accessible and equally delightful. And here in "UB" you also get a cameo of a big star JB as himself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Funniest Movies EVER!
Review: This has to be one of the funniest movies ever. Even though it seemed predictable in spots the jokes far surpassed it. Almost every scene had me laughing out loud. Dave Chapple (conspiracy Brother) had some of the funniest lines ever. The plot of the movie is really stupid but that is what makes the movie funny. The spoofs on black and white culture are hilarious. This is definatly a must see movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: BROTHER BE FUNNY!
Review: In Brief

With his Bruce Lee moves, Cadillac, and an attitude straight out of the Seventies that supports his arsenal of outrageous disguises and gadgets, Undercover Brother is not to be messed with. Yet even he could not have concocted a scheme as brazen as the one that now threatens life as we know it. Up against his arch-nemesis, The Man, Undercover Brother and his dedicated colleagues at the B.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. are braced for a showdown of extreme proportions and one heavy mission! Yes only one man is cool enough to be able to infiltrate the enemy on the streets or even between the sheets: he is Undercover Brother.

Review

Drawing from obvious influences such as Shaft and the blax-sploitation movies of the Seventies like Cleopatra Jones, Undercover Brother provides not only the antidote to the comic strip seriousness of Daredevil but also an alternative to Meyer's Austin Powers. Indeed it this second of these two films that most will draw comparisons to, yet while they both tread a similar path it will be a question of time or rather taste that determines which prevails as the greater comic-foil or even hero! Handling slapstick well is a difficult task and the physical acting of Eddie Griffin is spot on, yet it is the concept as a whole where the belly laughs really stem from.

Bridging the difficult comedy abyss of 'race' has been tried recently with Chris Rock's Down to Earth, and while that film had its heart in the right place, even raising some poignancy within itself, it had a tendency to forget its purpose: to make the audience laugh. UB doesn't suffer the same fate and while taking pop shots at both of the main racial backgrounds featured it works far better by making fun at the popular culture shared by everyone no matter who they are; allowing it to be enjoyed by all and desensitising the tender areas that can inadvertently cause the wrong effect.

The comedy comes thick and fast and there was barely a moment that I wasn't laughing out loud. Eddie Griffin has placed himself on the map and is supported keenly by all of the cast. Even Denise Richards managed to make me giggle as she finally seems to be ironing out some of the starch in her stiff approaches to acting. Besides, any comedy that stars Neil Patrick Harris of Doogie Howser MD fame has got to be worth 90 minutes of your time for the sheer heck of it!

The Verdict

A film that has characters with names such as Sista Girl, White She Devil, Mr Feather, Conspiracy Brother and indeed, Lance has got to be able to create a laugh or two. Luckily you'll find yourself laughing with, rather that at, Undercover Brother as it provides some sweetest comic moments funkiest themes of any film this year.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Undercover...
Review: When the Brotherhood, an organization that works on keeping the world equal, realizes that something shady is taking place in the world they send in the Undercover Brother, Eddie Griffin. The Undercover Brother has to create a cover, which will transform his attitude and life style to an aloof white man in a polo shirt and loafers. Disguised, the Undercover Brother begins to penetrate the evil source of oppression and he realizes that there are many enemies to face before justice can be served. Undercover Brother is a comedy that flirts with the reality of racial oppression and bigotry that sometimes surfaces in our society. Lee creates a comedy with moments where the comedy reaches the audience with an educational value; however, there are also moments where the hilarious amplification creates an absurdity where the lessons fade away. In the end, the audience is left with a decent cinematic experience.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: classically funny
Review: i loved this movie and i laughed for hours and just had a really awesomely funky time watching it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Gets Better Each Time
Review: This movie is really entertaining. I enjoy it more each time I see it because I always pick up on new jokes that I missed the first time.

Some previous reviews slam this movie as a rip-off of Austin Powers, which is completely ridiculous. Each film is unique in its own way and both are equally enjoyable. The key in both movies is that they are both perfectly cast. Dave Chappelle is a riot and Neil Patrick Harris is a pleasant surprise - he makes the most of this role.

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to see a lighthearted, enjoyable movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: MR FEATHER IS THE BEST AND HE SHOULD OF LIVED
Review: I only rented this movie cause I like Chris Kattan-he is hilarious!

But Mr. Feather only had a few seconds of screen time and the black people took too long in their scenes-actually the scenes with the black people took forever!

All the black people in this movie do is make fun of white people-Im glad Im white-white people rock!

I wish that Mr.Feather would of at least lived-he was too cool to die!

It seems that they are trying to compare this movie to the great Austin Powers-Powers is way more funnier-and at least Austin Powers doesnt kill people-like Undercover Brother did when he killed my Feather!

Watch the Austin Powers movies instead-or a Chris Kattan movie where he actually lives!

My favorite parts were the scenes with Mr.Feather-like when he is dancing-I just had to dance with him!

In memory of Mr.Feather-who should of lived!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Funniest Movie in YEARS
Review: I don't understand the few one-star reviews here - those people must be allergic to fun or something. This movie is consitantly funny from start to finish. I passed on it in theaters thinking it would be too dumb for it's own good. Then a friend rented it and we laughed for hours. Six months later I rented and watched it twice in one weekend, then I ordered it from Amazon. Give it a try...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: An occasionally hysterical, maddeningly inconsistent movie
Review: I'm always a sucker for a good spoof, and the blaxploitation genre is incredibly fertile ground for lampooning. For those who enjoyed the unintentional comedy of "Dolemite" and its ilk, "Undercover Brother" is an often delightful sendup. Unfortunately, it ends up being somewhat of a mixed bag. Starring the often-shrill Eddie Griffin as an uber-funky black radical, the movie balances its occasional moments of un-P.C. brilliance with long stretches of over-the-top laughlessness. Anyone with a functioning sense of humor should get a few laughs out of the movie's portrayal of the battle between black hipness and white squareness. However, you may also find yourself groaning during some interminable dry spells.

To its credit, "Undercover Brother" is based on a deliciously twisted premise. "The Man," a powerful white businessman, has grown tired of black people making inroads into American culture. Sensing the danger of a Colin Powell-like ex-general being elected president, The Man decides to brainwash the candidate into entering a line of work less threatening to the white dominated status quo: establishing a chain of fried-chicken joints. When Billy Dee Williams's candidate announces his new career plan, it's a moment of genuine out-of-left-field hilarity. And when he advertises a new combo meal including a 32-ounce malt liquor, it just may be the highlight of the movie.

As could be expected, most of the jokes (funny and otherwise) in the movie play off traditional black/white stereotypes and America's spotty record of race relations. There are a few great gags, including an uproarious throwaway line about O.J. and the casting of the decidedly Anglo Denise Richards as "Black Man's Kryptonite." By far the high point of the movie is a prolonged stretch when Griffin's character goes undercover impersonating an Uncle Tom and then actually turns into one. I'm not a Griffin fan, but there's something about him and Richards doing a karaoke performance of "Ebony And Ivory" that I can't help but laugh at. The movie also deserves respect for digging up Doogie Howser himself, aka Neil Patrick Harris, as a token white guy working with Griffin and his dissident black colleagues.

On the downside, the movie occasionally, well, overdoes things just a bit. Sometimes they just don't have a joke, and having Griffin and Dave Chapelle shriek like harpies just doesn't cut it. Not to mention, Chris Kattan is not funny, and abut 90% of the screen time involving him absolutely sucks. It's because of the likes of him that I stopped watching "Saturday Night Live" in the first place.

Ultimately, "Undercover Brother" doesn't quite live up to the lofty standard established fifteen years ago by "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka," which is easily one of the best spoofs of anything ever released. It's funny, sometimes even laugh-out loud funny, but I have my worries about those who would watch it more than once. That said, it still deserves ninety or so minutes of your time. After that, well, you might want to think twice.


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