CP Time and Out of Place Digressions:Neither have anything to do with Undercover Brother

So about a million years ago, in the month of March, there was a Black History Month Write-Off. I, tjolims was supposed to write a review or essay for this commemorative event. As a matter of fact, I ,did write an Black History Month epinion. My computer, however, is apparently a bit of an anti-multiculturalist at heart and promptly blew up while I was attempting to upload my info onto epinions.com.
So now, I'm posting the review that should have been my entry in that write-off nearly a month late.

Just chalk it up to CP time.

Speaking of which, if you don't know what CP time is, or are offended by its very mention, you probably won't enjoy the subject of this review, the movie Undercover Brother.

In General...
Anyone here old enough to remember the late sixties and early-to-midseventies? Afro-Sheen, the Black Panther Party, black Michael Jackson with a big nose...those were the days, huh?

Undercover Brother takes its cues from the silly, but empowering blaxploitation films of that era and features a badder-than-bad black super secret agent--Undercover Brother(Eddie Griffin)--fighting against the Man. Responsible for Dennis Rodman, T.H.U.G. hair products, Erykah Badu's underarm hair, and every other embarassment to the black community, the Man's latest endeavor involves brainwashing General Boutwell(Billy Dee Williams), a black presidential hopeful, into removing his bid for the presidency in order to open a chain of fried chicken restaurants.

Initially this diabolical plot of the Man is fought by the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., the official organization for the advancement of black people. The agents there would make Cleopatra Jones proud; portly Smart Brother(Gary Anthony Williams), paranoid Conspiracy Brother(Dave Chapelle, in his funniest movie role ever), unifying Sistah Girl(Aunjanue Ellis)and the gruff Chief(Chi McBride). Thanks to the miracle of affirmative action, there's also the token white intern, Lance(Neil Patrick Harris).

The defenses of the Man become too much for the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. agents to handle, however, and so they recruit Undercover Brother, discovered playing Robin Hood to the 'hood. Armed with telescoping platform shoes, ninja hair picks, and a constantly running tape of Black Belt Jones, Undercover Brother is one bad mother...well, you know. He's just what the world needs to stop the Man. In a series of very funny gags, UB is recruited, trained, and taught to assimilate into white culture. The Man's assistant, Mr. Feather(played by SNL spasmoid Chris Kattan) sends everything he can at UB, from mayonnaise sandwiches to the mysteriously named Black Man's Kryptonite.

So what happens? Does Undercover beat the Man? Does the General sell any chicken? Does Mr. Feather ever get jiggy with it? These questions and more are answered by the end of movie, if you can stop laughing long enough to care.

The Good...
I laughed nearly nonstop for the whole eighty-six minutes that this movie was on. In a word, Undercover Brother is hilarious. It's got telescoping platform shoes, a car with an orange soda dispenser, and what has got to be the best comedy villain death scene ever. Tons of sight and verbal gags, both one-shot and running, keep the movie flowing so that as soon as you finish laughing hysterically at one thing, something else comes along to replace it. While most of the jokes toss a subtle nod and wink to African-American culture and require some understanding of that, there are still plenty of jabs at less culture specific things that are hilarious.

I could critique the acting here, but frankly, this isn't an acting movie. It's a writing movie. Besides, aside from Billy Dee Williams, the offensively hilarious Dave Chapelle and Eddie "Double Take" Griffin, I'm not very familiar with the movie work of any of the other actors in the film. Chris Kattan also makes an appearance as Mr. Feather, assistant to The Man, and while he comes across as being the same spastic, jerky annoyance that he was on SNL, somehow it works here. He's still massively annoying, but he manages to make it funny this time..

The technical merits of this movie as a whole are overshadowed by very clever writing. I could talk about the retro-color look of some of the film, the inventive use of music(by the way...I've decided that this film has one of the top soundtracks of all time...), the non-existent yet still imaginable plot and all of that jazz. But I will guarantee you that once you begin watching this movie, none of that will matter. The writing is not only the glue that holds the film together, it's also the base and the walls that keep the whole thing from spilling apart into a big silly mess.

On a personal note, since I now live in a small town where there are maybe twenty black people, tops, this is a great movie for me to watch whenever I start feeling homesick. Anything to see someone else with a afro...

The Bad...
Refer to my comment concerning "CP Time" above. Most of Undercover Brother plays like a massive inside joke. On my first viewing of this movie, I watched it with four white guys and a Mexican woman. (Sounds like the tagline for a CBS sitcom, doesn't it?) Wonder of wonders, I was the only one laughing constantly. There are plenty of gags that will fly right by someone who isn't at least passing familiar with African-American culture. For all of that, the movie is still funny, but its appeal is maximized for...well...black people. There are also some situations that might be construed as very offensive. For example, the Man's secret weapon, "Black Man's Kryptonite" is in fact a white woman(Denise Richards, who so cannot act, but like Kattan, it so doesn't matter.) As somebody who has been locally dubbed "Queen Swirl" for my interracial dating habits, I could see how that would seriously offend some people. However, I don't think that any of this movie should be taken seriously--it's all silly light-hearted fun, and if you take it to enough extremes, the whole movie is offensive in a variety of ways. I didn't let it bother me, I just took it for what it was.

The Whole Black History Month Tie-In thing...
So why was this going to be my entry review in the Black History Month write-off? I don't know, really. I just think that it's interesting to see how far black people have come. Fifty years ago, we weren't making intentionally silly, light-hearted pop films that poked fun at our own culture and even more fun at others. Fifty years ago, my elders were worrying about which water fountain to use. You get the idea, I hope.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I am just as proud of Undercover Brother as I am of, say Roots, even though one is a silly film meant to elicit a few giggles and one is a historical event meant to educate. The fact that black people are doing anything is amazing to me, given that we come from a history of being kept down. Say it loud...Undercover Brother may not be art, but it's quality in it's own genre. And black people did it.

In any case, the better question might be why didn't I just delete this section of the review now that I know I'm two freakin' months late to the party.

In Conclusion...
No deep pithy understandings here, folks. Watch Undercover Brother if you want a good laugh.