Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Roll Your Eyes Just Yet : ), January 2, 2008
Ok, I must admit, this definitely isn't a brain teaser and it's not even anything you remotely have to think about to get.
I bought this DVD for my son along with a few others that he wanted for his birthday and I couldn't believe I was actually cracking up laughing at this movie. It's very funny! It's one of those movies you roll your eyes at and only watch because your child wants you to watch with them and then you find yourself starting to enjoy it yourself and you look at each other and laugh.
This movie is a lot of fun and has great comedic value. You might even catch yourself sayin' Wazzzup...after it's over. lol I'm glad it was a movie my family could share and one we all could enjoy.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Clever Idea With Some Truly Funny Moments, April 19, 2003
Jamie Kennedy has shed his identity as Brad Gluckman, son of wealthy Malibu residents Bill (Ryan O'Neal) and Bess Gluckman (Bo Derek) to become LA pseudo gansta-rapper B-Rad. When his father runs for governor of California, B-Rad's unscripted appearances at his campaign rallies (supposedly to help his father appeal to the less priviledged voters to whom B-Rad claims that he relates) cause great embarrassment to his parents and consternation among the members of Bill's campaign staff. Blair Underwood, Bill's chief aide, then hires two black actors who appeared in a campaign commercial to "scare B-Rad white" by kidnapping him and holding him hostage while posing as gangstas from south central LA. They accomplish this by enlisting the help of the beautiful Shondra (Regina Hall). While there are some clever rap parodies and occasionally funny dialog in the first half of the movie, it drags a little while setting the scene for the hilarious second half.The kidnappers, Sean (Taye Diggs) and P.J. (Anthony Anderson), are clueless about the gangsta culture they supposedly represent and thus have to prepare for the assignment by rehearsing their lines just like any other acting job. Then, things get complicated when B-Rad catches on to the scheme but doesn't realize that the script has changed and that he is in actual danger when Shondra's jealous ex-boyfriend Tec (Damien Dante Wayans) attempts to kidnap him. Snoop Dog even gets into the act as a gangsta rap version of Stuart Little. Some of the rap parodies are very funny, even to viewers such as myself whose musical taste doesn't include hip hop. And the satire is at times right on, such as B-Rad rapping about "Living in the Bu", the varied members of his group, and the unsuccessful efforts of Sean and P.J. to mimic the attitudes of boys from the 'hood. In the words of one reviewer, some of the scenes are downright looney and incredibly funny. Quite surprisingly (undoubtedly to earn a PG-13 rating), the profanity is very limited and innocuous and there are only a couple of incidents involving sexual innuendo. The movie is the more enjoyable as a result because to keep the viewer's interest it has to rely on real humor and parody rather than shock value. There are a few very violent sequences in the latter half of the film, but they are completely stylized and involve substantial mayhem and destruction rather than sustained tension; there is no real gore and or death. As the New York Times suggested, in some ways this is a subversive film by suggesting that B-Rad is no more phony than the black gangsta rappers who he mimics. I enjoyed its feel good ending; although it was obviously a cop out the outcome was in keeping with the lighthearted nature of the story. So, if you want to see a combination romantic comedy, musical, and political satire, you will probably enjoy this film. However, to feel that it deserves more than three stars you probably have to be younger than I am and also a hip hop fan. As a final aside, it was very interesting to have a movie starring older white actors (O'Neal and the very well preserved Bo Derek) in stereotypical roles, a white Kennedy playing against racial type, while the black actors Underwood, Diggs, Anderson, Wayans and Hall variously played with and against stereotypical roles implicit in the story. This was very effective and hopefully will help attract a racially diverse audience and cause people to think about the movie's message as they laugh at the antics on the screen.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Comedic Look At An Annoying Subculture, March 4, 2005
Jamie Kennedy nailed this one on the head. "Malibu's Most Wanted" exposes a part of our society that has become increasingly annoying over the years: White kids with wealthy parents who think that just because they wear "urban" clothes and listen to hip-hop, they are somehow "street." Others have picked on Eminem for doing this, but that guy actually lived in a rough neighborhood in tough confines. He has "street" cred. Most of these other punks wouldn't know what it's like to be poor, untrusted, even hated, because of their social status or skin color. It's these same kids whose parents bail them out every time they wreck their Navigator or Escalade they mommy bought for them.
In this social comedy, Kennedy plays B-Rad, a wealthy Jewish kid whose father is running for governor. B-Rad "drops rhymes" and "represents" the best of Malibu. He thinks he's "street," all the while driving around in a vehicle with vanity plates, a fancy sound system, etc. He hangs out with his "crew" at the Malibrew coffee house. B-Rad's father entrusts his son's unusual behavior to his campaign manager, who promptly hires two professionally trained actors to "scare" B-Rad white again. Unfortunately, the dynamic duo he chose are perhaps "whiter" than B-Rad. They are played with great comic timing by Anthony Anderson and Taye Diggs. Some of the best parts of the film are when these two play out the stereotypical "white" side of hip-hop by asking the DJ at a hardcore rap club if he has any Will Smith to get "jiggy" with. Another hilarious scene involves a Korean family protecting their shop in Compton.
The obvious intention of this film is to expose racial stereotypes and make them comedic in the process. For instance, when B-Rad's crew decides to go save him, they each go home and get their parents' biggest gat. It's funny when the Arab character comes out with a bazooka given to him by an uncle back in the homeland.
Perhaps unintentionally, this film shows that just because a person is black or just because they are poor, doesn't mean that they aren't aware of the world around them. When a gang, the "I-9's," abduct B-Rad, they mention that they are voting for his father in the election.
In all, this film makes some very valid points about stereotypes. It also shows the viewer that just because someone is a certain color or race or religion, never underestimate what they are capable of. It is also very funny. It utilizes stereotypes in a comedic fashion just as much as in a social way. Lastly, it shows people just how silly they look when the pretend to be something that they aren't.
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