'Undercover Brother' packed with laughs

Think hard now. When was the last time you went to a movie and laughed, I mean giggled until it hurt, from the opening scene to the end credits? Been a long time, hasn't it?

There's been a real dearth of outstanding spoofs. With the arrival of "Undercover Brother," consider the drought ended. "Undercover Brother" smartly mixes everything bad and beautiful about '70s black culture — Jim Kelly and orange soda, Cadillacs and "Soul Train" — into a colorful, cool and completely hilarious ride that'll have you rolling through the outtakes.

Forget Mr. Powers' faux Bond for a minute and groove with Undercover Brother (Eddie Griffin), a super-stylin' Shaft of a hood hero. He wears his leather leisure suits, black-power medallion and perfectly picked afro orb with pride.

The Brother is an independent agent until he's tapped by an underground organization called the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. to aid them in their mission of protecting the Afro-American way against the incursion of The Man and his culturally conflicted right-hand guy Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan).

It seems that through mind control, The Man has taken General Boutwell (Billy Dee Williams), the first black government official with a viable run at the presidency, and brainwashed him to toss away his political career to instead open a chain of fried-chicken shacks.

In response, the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. operatives, consisting of Conspiracy Brother (Dave Chappelle), Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams), Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis) and their white affirmative-action hire Lance (Neil Patrick Harris), train UB to infiltrate the establishment by instilling in him a tolerance for Michael Bolton and mayonnaise.

Tempting as it may be to dismiss "Undercover Brother" as an "Austin Powers" rip-off, don't sell it short.

OK, it is something of a lift, in the same way Puff Daddy's reimaginings of Sting and Christopher Cross are lifts. But Puffy never funkified white entertainment's pattern this well. The moment you see Kattan trying to suppress his booty shaking and slang, or B-queen Denise Richards playing White She Devil (Feather calls her "black man's kryptonite") to the Barbarella hilt, you'll realize how much further the shagadelic spy needs to go to remain cool.

"Undercover Brother" is one of those films that may sneak by people waiting for "Goldmember," but I hope audiences will prove me wrong.

In comparison to most comedies, this one rates as solid, baby, solid. As for a sequel, well, we can dig it.

Melanie McFarland: mmcfarland@seattletimes.com.