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UNDERCOVER BROTHER Can you dig it? In the words of Forrest Gump, stupid is as stupid does in this highly amusing dum-dum comedy that not only takes a swipe at that Tom Hanks blockbuster but also manages to include jabs at everything from "Ebony and Ivory" to Dennis Rodman to the continual Oscar shafting of Spike Lee (director Malcolm D. Lee is Spike's cousin, so the dig is expected -- and earned). Beating the Austin Powers films at their own game, this blaxploitation spoof downplays the raunch in favor of gags that rely on the strength of their own cleverness as opposed to the extent of their outrageousness. Granted, this hit-and-miss mode results in a lot of groaners, but when you have something as doltish as Bad Company in theaters pretending to be a comedy, this film's cheeky attitude is even more appreciated. Eddie Griffin plays the title character, described as "a Soul Train reject with a Robin Hood complex." He joins up with the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. to take on The Man, the secretive white male who's always conspiring to keep African-Americans down. At first, UB is successful in his efforts to thwart the villains, but eventually he finds himself succumbing to "the black man's Kryptonite": a Caucasian beauty known as White She Devil (Denise Richards). Even at a mere 88 minutes, this slight film tempts fate, but the big laughs are tumultuous enough to barrel right over the slow patches (usually, the scenes involving Chris Kattan as a Man servant). 
UNFAITHFUL For much of his career, director Adrian Lyne has clearly had sex on the brain, turning out huff'n'puff features both good (Fatal Attraction, Lolita) and bad (9-1/2 Weeks and Indecent Proposal, the latter firmly cemented as one of the very worst films of its decade). Happily, Unfaithful rests more toward the upper end of the spectrum; based on a 1969 French film by Claude Chabrol (La Femme Infidele), the movie sports a Continental demeanor that seems wholly appropriate. Diane Lane's standout performance is what elevates the first half, which could easily be dismissed as a straight-to-cable soaper: A well-to-do housewife, seemingly content with her husband (Richard Gere, doing some of his best work here), her son (Erik Per Sullivan), and her home in a quaint New York suburb, unexpectedly enters into a torrid affair with a French book dealer (Olivier Martinez). Lane's complex portrayal of a woman caught between the borders of reason and risk is simply smashing, yet eventually she's not required to carry the picture by herself, as the second half heads off in some interesting (and not always expected) directions that ultimately lead to a wonderfully ambiguous final shot. Unfaithful is the type of movie that only works for viewers willing to put some thought into it -- patrons seeking cheap thrills will probably be disappointed, but those willing to accept this as a cautionary tale about the illusion of eternal bliss will find it eerily satisfying.
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