Grade: C-

Verdict: Lacks only good acting and a good script. Oh yeah: jokes, too.

Details: Starring Eddie Griffin, Denise Richards, Dave Chappelle, Billy Dee Williams. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee Rated PG-13 for language, sexual humor, drug content, and campy violence. One hour, 26 minutes.

See it: Theaters and showtimes for Undercover Brother

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Review:

The worst you can say about ``Undercover Brother,'' a generally harmless piece of idiocy, is that its roots are showing.

The comedy about an Afro-wearing, Cadillac-convertible-driving, '70s-fixated black secret agent working to foil the machinations of ``The Man'' originated in a series of animated shorts on the Internet.

Every moment of the movie starring Eddie Griffin and directed by Malcolm D. Lee (``The Best Man'') bears the imprint of that origin, the story told in bursts of episodic sketch comedy.

But ``Undercover Brother'' is a feature-length film with only enough raw material to fill a handful of three-minute shorts. In such bite-size pieces, viewed in a jerky stream on a computer screen, the sight gags and incessant spoofing of black and white stereotypes might seem edgy and amusing.

Stretched to fit the big screen, it's tissue-paper thin and rarely, barely funny. The movie occasionally connects with a clever one-liner, but it mostly feels like empty Web hang time while waiting for a page to load.

Mercifully, ``Undercover Brother'' runs a short 80 minutes if you skip the end credits, which include two bonus vignettes of the title character in hipster mode. (Trust us, you're not missing anything by skipping the credits.)

As Undercover Brother, Griffin is a funk-loving soul who's a free-lance fighter for the inner-city's downtrodden. He's got big wheels, a big medallion, big lapels, really big hair and a Big Gulp he never, ever spills, even when his Caddie spins uncontrollably for a block and a half.

Recruited by the clandestine B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., Undercover Brother joins a team of agents fighting the anti-black plot of a super-villain known as ``The Man'' and his goofy lieutenant, Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan, in typically irritating mode).

With help from Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis), The Chief (Chi McBride), Conspiracy Brother (David Chappelle), Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams) and token white Lance (Neil Patrick Harris), Undercover Brother tries to foil ``The Man's'' attempt to ``whitewash'' the minds of blacks through drugged-up fried chicken.

Along the way, Undercover Brother must rescue a key black leader (Billy Dee Williams) from ``The Man's'' mind-control scheme and face the temptations of the villain's secret weapon, White She Devil (Denise Richards).

``Undercover Brother'' is an equal-opportunity spoof that cracks wise as often about whites as blacks, its far-too-numerous fried-chicken jokes balanced by way-too-plentiful mayonnaise gags.

John Ridley, who created the Internet series, shares screenwriting and executive producer credit.

Griffin mugs his way through amiably enough, copping undercover alter-egos that include a corporate nerd, a Rastafarian golf caddy and an ancient janitor. The rest of the cast tends toward shrillness, though a walk-on by James Brown livens things up briefly.

In spots, Lee cuts the movie to mimic the cheesy editing of '70s blaxploitation films, where continuity gave way to cost-cutting.

But the cheap edits aren't funny, and they stand out uncomfortably against those low-budget films, considering ``Undercover Brother'' is as slick and packaged as they come.

On the soundtrack alone, ``Undercover Brother'' spares no expense in landing what seems like every major black anthem of the past 30 years, from ``Brick House'' to ``Car Wash'' to Michael Jackson's ``Beat It.''

— David Germain, The Associated Press