UB is a movie refreshingly free of irony, which has been a crutch for movies over the past decade or so, and even though UB does look at the camera to smirk now and again it is not a 'this is so lame, but i'm in on the joke' sort of smirk, but the kind that says 'check out this cool shit.' And it is cool, and so you nod and laugh and bond with this crazy motha with the fro who is looking at you and smirking as he pulls off whatever cool shit he's doing. There's quite a lot of it actually, but he only smirks once in awhile because he'd be smirking all the time otherwise, and that wouldn't be good for anyone.
The main targets of UB's satire is blaxsplotation films of the 70's and racial stereotypes that still persist today. It would be hard to have one without the other actually, well you could have the latter without the former but not the former without the latter, but that is beside the point, what I mean to say is that race relations play a big part in this movie. Which is why it's surprising that this movie is able to be so upbeat and good natured. Poking fun at the stereotypes of both blacks and whites can be a tricky business but the movie pulls it off with ease, never getting uncomfortable and always letting you know that it's all in good fun. Of course to do that it has to steer clear of anything that would be really controversial, that even though they have a black man and a white woman in a relationship, they are seen holding hands but never kissing let alone getting it on.
The actors were having a good time making this film and it shows. Eddie Griffin, who plays UB, seems to be having the most fun of all with his big hair and funky threads. Doogie Howser and Denise Richards both do their best work since Starship Troopers as the token white guy and White She Devil respectivly. Chris Katan is surprisingly bearable, although I found that most of his scenes fell flatter then a week old ginger ale. The B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. agents stole the show however, especially David Chapelle and Gary Anthony Williams, who even though they had only supporting rolls stole all the scenes they were in and provided some of the biggist laughs of the film.
Newspapers and sci-fi geeks have been asking and debating about which movie own the summer, Star Wars or Spider-man, and although those movies made far more money then UB ever dreamt of making, I am of the opinion that UB will be the best of the summer films this year, the other two not even approching it.