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Undercover Brother
MCA / Universal Pictures


6.9

based on 30 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 21 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for language, sexual humor, drug content and campy violence

Starring Eddie Griffin, James Brown, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, David Chappelle, Aunjanue Ellis, Neil Patrick Harris, and Billy Dee Williams

A live-action comedy based on Urban Media's popular website series.

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	John Ridley (also story) Michael McCullers
DIRECTED BY:	Malcolm D. Lee
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: January 14, 2003 Video: January 14, 2003 Theatrical: May 31, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	91 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Film Threat Marcus D. Russell

See this film and laugh your ass off, and in between your tears of joy learn the true cause of racial and ethnic division.

Newsweek Devin Gordon

Hilarious, affectionate spoof.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The movie isn't just hilarious: It's witty and inventive, too, and in hindsight, it isn't even all that dumb.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's a goofball of a movie and a throwaway, but it's also completely free of self-import and the slightest hint of sentiment -- a perfect light entertainment that's guaranteed to launch itself as a franchise.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

A joyful mix of high and low humor, pulled off with style and an eye for glamour (Danielle Hollowell deserves special praise for her costumes; she's the high priestess of fitted snakeskin).

Los Angeles Times Jan Stuart

A funkadelic fun ride that shrewdly reinvigorates the eye-popping styles and pulpy veneer of '70s blaxploitation flicks.

New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf

Not only is Undercover Brother the funniest spy-thriller since "The Nude Bomb" (oh, behave), it feels like the proper sequel to "The Blues Brothers," crossing all kinds of lines between cartoonish buffoonery and genuine compassion for its characters.

LA Weekly Mark Olsen

The film works no matter which side of the racial divide you're on, because nothing unites an audience quite like making fun of everyone.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

The rare popcorn movie that delivers. High-spirited and kinetic, it's the most endearingly goofy low comedy since "How High."

Variety Joe Leydon

A frequently inspired hit-and-miss burlesque that definitely hits more than it misses.

Chicago Reader Cheryl Ross

This send-up of 70s blaxploitation flicks mixes parody and social commentary to make larger points about the current state of American culture and race relations. The audience I saw the film with was almost choking with laughter.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

May well wind up being the smartest bonehead comedy of the summer.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Malcolm Lee's brilliant documentary about American race relations.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The soundtrack (which includes James Brown, Michael Jackson and The Commodores) is better than a K-Tel "Best of the '70s" compilation, and the broad physical comedy is as reliable as a brick house.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

This is a smart, spirited spoof that will leave you with a smile on your face - and an appetite for some serious '70s funk to play on the eight-track in your solid gold Cadillac convertible.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

It has a premise that never stops percolating.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Seems breezier and less self-conscious than the Mike Myers franchise.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Satires like this tend to throw a lot of stuff at the wall, and in Undercover Brother, a surprising amount sticks.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The picture is crammed with shameless satire, engaging moments of pure silliness and jokes that border on the outrageous. It combines relentless energy with an aura of good nature for a formula that works.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

Has such a cheerfully zingy energy that you keep rooting for it even when its jokes turn flatter than a jump shot at a YMCA pickup game.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Griffin & Co. manage to be spectacularly outrageous, several of the gag sequences are hilariously imaginative and there's something almost deliciously liberating in the film's determination to make good-natured fun of what previously has been a very sacred movie cow.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It's far from perfect -- as many jokes fall flat as succeed -- but like Undercover Brother himself, it's smarter than most, and twice as solid.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Boisterously amusing.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason Anderson

Undercover Brother is very much a hero of our time. After all, the character began not in the 1970s, but three years ago as a cartoon on a Web site.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

The one-liners are clever enough and the physical comedy and pop-culture goofing sufficiently dumb and broad to make Undercover Brother, a reasonably pleasant experience.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Lee's images of black and white stereotypes are agreeably silly yet altogether too thin and vanilla safe.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Much of Undercover Brother plays as a funnier, if similarly addled, "Bamboozled."

TV Guide Steve Simels

Saturday Night Live veteran Chris Kattan more or less steals the film as the racially confused Mr. Feather, a white supremacist bad guy whose speech patterns tend to get down and funky against his will.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Some of it is funny in a Zucker brothers slapstick way. And as the Man's geeky lieutenant, Chris Kattan has some amusingly kooky business. But there's not enough to sustain the comedy. Ultimately, the movie's short running time becomes its finest quality.

Boston Globe Renee Graham

Tries to wring laughs from just about every dusty stereotype about blacks and whites imaginable. But it's all cheap, lazy, and unoriginal.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.9 (out of 10) based on 21 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

L-dog Stah gave it a10:
Undercover Brother is da bomb. Get it on DVD. On first viewing, you'll probably miss some of the jokes, as they are very subtle, but multiple screenings will reveal even more laughs! Eddie Griffin does a fantastic job leading a briliiant cast including Dave Chapelle, Chris Kattan and even a chameo from James Brown. If you are the type that enjoys light-hearted comedies, such as Deuce Bigalow and Wedding Crashers, you'll fall in love with Undercover Brother.

Becca P. gave it a 0:
Um, excuse me but HOW THE HELL did this movie get a 70? Its plain stupid...NO LAUGHS AND NO MEANING!

Jeff S. gave it a 0:
Almost unwatchable, I think I laughed two or three times.

P gave it a 0:
WORTHLESS!!!

Louis P. gave it a 10:
This movie really surprised me. It was hillarious and original. One of last year's best films. This movie puts to shame the Austin Powers franchise. Any movie with a good performance from Mrs. Charlie Sheen is a must.

Sam B. gave it a 4:
This lame sex farce can hardly be considered entertainment and it delivers very few laughs. i guess maybe if your bored and youre up for a rude crude lewd comic extravaganza then you could watch it. otherwise steer clear.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
Funniest movie ever. Period. End of discussion. It's not even stupid! Praise GOD!

Undercover Brother MCA / Universal Pictures

Undercover Brother
MCA / Universal Pictures