Forgotten Film Fridays: Undercover Brother

A review by Azzam Abdur-Rahman Blaxploitation films are a strange pop culture artifact. In the 1970’s it was the only representation many African Americans had to look to and the only starring roles for upstarts. Without these films we would have never been graced with incredible music, the talents of Richard Roundtree and Pam Grier, or the stories of Superfly and Shaft but they are kind of silly in retrospect. Being B-Movies they were rife with cliches, bad writing, and shotty production. A few people keyed in on this as time passed but in 2002 what I would argue is the best film of faux blaxploitation came to be. That film is Undercover Brother! To talk about Undercover Brother is to talk the three things that make it so incredible, its cast it’s writers and its director. Movies where the stars all really aline and talent that would later be incredibly expensive is all cheap and available rarely happen in Hollywood. I put the sheer volume of talent in this film at the same level of Anchorman. When you think about Anchorman you start to think how wild it is that all of those comedic actors were in the same film. Undercover Brother is just as wildly talented. First, Dave Chappelle is playing his most manic character. Now he may be a very zen comedian who has seen the otherside of fame but here he is just as fun as ever whipping through frenzing word play and spastic response. Chappelle's character Conspiracy Brother is a cliche but in the best way. In the same way that I said Black Panther was reflective of something about the African American experience that many know all to well, Conspiracy Brother fits that same mold. On the flip side you have Smart Brother played by Gary Anthony Williams, who is walking a fine line between an Al Roker impression and something completely unique. Also for a moment can we talk about how absolutely amazing Gary Anthony Williams is. This man has been doing thankless but absolutely incredible comedic work for years from insanely talented voice acting in the Boondocks to touching but small roles in shows like Love. This man is so talented it hurts and it is so incredibly angering that of this whole cast he is the least name dropped. Gary Anthony Williams is the kind of actor who just needs someone to shout his name from the goddamn rooftops for him to get a role shoots him to an Oscar nomination. Back to the cast, Chi McBride is chewing scenery left and right in this film. The Chief could have been goofy or easy to over do but Chi is so damn good. He is another actor who needs more work. Aunjanue Ellis brings a level of class and charisma to role that could have easily boiled down to angry black woman who warms up to immature black man. I am so happy that she is getting more work as of late because she is insanely good in this movie. Denise Richards is even good in this movie considering she is often a joke but she leans into the caustic white girl vibes but the star of the show is someone else. It not Eddie Griffin either, who is great and really has the charm to carry a movie like this. No, its Neil Patrick Harris. Yes, he is in this movie. Before america fell back in love with him on How I Met your Mother (show that ruined itself) NPH was doing broadway and showing up here at there in cult classics but I have to imagine this was the film that got him HIMYM. NPH is amazing in this movie. Guy is having the time of his life in a movie he has no business being in. It’s insane! But a cast is nothing without a script! Want proof of that go look at All The King’s Men with Sean Penn, I digress this film kind of has a wild writing duo behind it’s scripting. First, you have Michael McCullers. His name shouldn’t stand out to you on first glance but guy co-wrote the best comedy sequel in film history, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. I am sure there are people who will disagree with me but the movie slaps. Guy really knows how to add slapstick comedy and gag comedy into a script well. His later works include Baby Mama (which he also directed), The Boss Baby, and will soon be writing whatever the next Shrek film is. McCullers knows how to make a good story work but he is a strange choice to write a film so emmerised in black culture. That’s where his co-writer comes in. John Ridley is a prolific writer who I would argue maybe the most slept on working writer in Hollywood. He should be in the same breathe as Steven Zailian and Eric Roth. Ridley is diverse in skill and scope working on sitcoms like Martin and The Fresh Price to writing scripts like U-Turn and 12 Years a Slave. Where McCullers knows how to bring a hollywood crowd pleaser to the table Ridley is the jack of all trade being able to add his experiences as a black man to the table. This script is rife with things to say while still being funny. A script Malcolm D. Lee brings together in a swinging symphony of sound and scene. At the time of his hiring Lee had only one film under his belt. That was his writing and directorial debut The Best Man, produced by his cousin Spike Lee. A crowd pleasing film that is probably one of the best romantic comedies ever made. Where Spike was filled with anger at the cruelties of being black in America, Malcolm’s filmography seems to be embracing the cultural creations, joys and humanities of being black in america. I feel like Undercover Brother is the beginning of Malcolm D. Lee finding his voice as a director. Undercover Brother could have been a mess. Even with a good script and a good cast bad direction falls apart but the film really is a celebration of the Black communities ability to turn lemons into lemonade. The film proudly talks about embracing who you are, being proud of your hair, of your music, of your films, of where you came from. Does it live in a weirdly post racial world, yeah but did an 11 year old Azzam need to see this movie at this time, yes he did. This is the most oddly personal movie I will do for this because this movie reminded me to black and proud. I hated my hair at the time. I hated being black I felt like it was this albatross I was being forced to carry without my consent. I had just moved from New York to Florida and found black culture here was so much different and I just felt left out. Undercover Brother found me when I needed it. It really breaks my heart that this film isn’t discussed. Malcolm D. Lee’s career is off doing more solid work showing joyful people being happy. Ridley is still working hard and so is McCullers. The cast has moved on to other incredible things except for Griffin whose career could never recover from his awful business decisions but for me Undercover is more than just the some of those parts but a reminder that even in the darkest time we must find joy in the darkness.