Undercover Brother (2002)
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
An Afro-American organization, the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., is in permanent fight against a white organization "The Man" defending the values of the black people in North America. When the Afro-American candidate Gen. Warren Boutwell behaves strangely in his presidential campaign, Undercover Brother is hired to work undercover for "The Man" and find what happened with the potential candidate.
14 connections found
View:
14 films that influenced Undercover Brother
What critics say influenced Undercover Brother
It houses its smarts in a vehicle that borrows scenes and style from movies as diverse as Billy Dee's own Hit, Jack Hill's Coffy and Foxy Brown, Shaft (of course), Bare Knuckles, and Jim Kelly's kung fu sagas--especially Black Belt Jones and Enter the Dragon, from which a Kelly sequence appears on a television set at one point in Undercover Brother.
It houses its smarts in a vehicle that borrows scenes and style from movies as diverse as Billy Dee's own Hit, Jack Hill's Coffy and Foxy Brown, Shaft (of course), Bare Knuckles, and Jim Kelly's kung fu sagas--especially Black Belt Jones and Enter the Dragon, from which a Kelly sequence appears on a television set at one point in Undercover Brother.
It houses its smarts in a vehicle that borrows scenes and style from movies as diverse as Billy Dee's own Hit, Jack Hill's Coffy and Foxy Brown, Shaft (of course), Bare Knuckles, and Jim Kelly's kung fu sagas--especially Black Belt Jones and Enter the Dragon, from which a Kelly sequence appears on a television set at one point in Undercover Brother.
It houses its smarts in a vehicle that borrows scenes and style from movies as diverse as Billy Dee's own Hit, Jack Hill's Coffy and Foxy Brown, Shaft (of course), Bare Knuckles, and Jim Kelly's kung fu sagas--especially Black Belt Jones and Enter the Dragon, from which a Kelly sequence appears on a television set at one point in Undercover Brother.
Advertisement
Not being familiar with Ridley's original Internet work, I can't state whether the rip-off started back then, but the fact that the film's other screenwriter, Michael McCullers, also co-penned the second and third "Austin Powers" films gives one the impression that he may have had a little more than something to do with the rather obvious similarities.
Or at least, a little different from the Austin Powers films.
You can tell that writer John Ridley enlisted the help of Austin Powers scribe Michael McCullers for the screenplay of Undercover Brother.
Just as Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery spoofed '60s British spy movies, Undercover Brother riffs wildly on the heroic ghetto action films of the '70s, embodied in Jim Kelly, Fred Williamson, Pam Grier and Richard Roundtree.
"Austin Powers" meets "Shaft" might have been the pitch, but that would have been a good movie.
Lee wants “Brother” to be his “Austin Powers,” using cheap and unfunny retro jokes and pop culture satire to seed his own desire for a franchise to call his own.
A silly, amusing and occasionally rather funny spoof of "blaxploitation" films of the 1970s (such as "Shaft" and "Superfly") as mixed with James Bond, the picture will obviously draw inevitable comparisons to the Austin Powers character and movies.
June 4, 2002 -- "Undercover Brother" is an effective spoof of films of the 1970s like "Shaft," the James Bond films, kung-fu films and others.
In addition, Keenen Ivory Wayans pretty much tapped the subject in his 1988 spoof, "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka."
The jokes are hit-or-miss and Lee has a difficult time marrying the Austin Powers and Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song color palettes into one singular aesthetic, but it’s impossible to fault a film with ideas this big.
Advertisement
Using operatives with code names like Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams, End of Days), Conspiracy Brother (Dave Chappelle, Half Baked) and Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis, Men of Honor), they have managed to infiltrate the The Man's ranks.
Using an assortment of disguises and assisted by a crack team of Brotherhood operatives, including Conspiracy Guy (Dave Chappelle, "Half Baked"), Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis of "Caveman's Valentine"), and Nerdy White Dude (Neal Patrick Harris), Undercover Brother attempts to undo The Man's plot.
With the exception of the Samuel L. Jackson’s remake of Shaft and Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown , very few films in this genre have emerged in the last 30 years.