"When I say 'Mali', you say 'bu'! MALI!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
A 2003 comedy directed by John Whitesell, co-written by and starring Jamie Kennedy.
Bill Gluckman (Ryan O'Neal) is running for governor of California. He seems a shoo-in, but there is one issue: his son Bradley, or as he prefers to be called, B-Rad G (Kennedy). A white hip-hop gangsta wannabe, B-Rad threatens to derail the campaign. So on the advice of his aides, Gluckman hires actors Sean (Taye Diggs) and PJ (Anthony Anderson) to impersonate thugs and scare the black out of his son. Hilarity Ensues.
This film provides examples of:
- Amusing Injuries: B-Rad gets shot in the foot and ends up with a harpoon in his butt.
- An Aesop: Oddly enough, even though it's a comedy/parody, the film does point out that you shouldn't neglect your own kids for your career to the point that they develop an extreme attention-seeking personality. It also points out that while B-Rad's cultural appropriation is inappropriate, it is still okay to be who you are and like things that make you happy, but just be smart about it and don't go ruining your life and other people's lives by hiding from yourself.
- And You Thought It Was a Game: B-Rad is kidnapped by real thugs part way through the movie, but having recently discovered the sham he thinks it is all part of the plot. He begins to act the part, and manages to become a member of the gang and drive off an armed attack.
- Armor-Piercing Question:
- In an argument between B-Rad's father and his campaign manager.
Bill Gluckman: Are you trying to get votes out of this?Tom Gibbons: I'm trying to win and you don't seem to care!Bill Gluckman: I'm his father!Tom Gibbons: Since when?- However, this is subverted, as Gluckman retorts:Gluckman: Since right now. And you're fired.
- Badass Unintentional: After B-Rad is kidnapped by real gangsters he continues to think that it is all part of the act, so he begins to act the part and repels an armed assault without realizing he is firing real guns.
- Bland-Name Product: Tec owns a "Gamecast". Even B-Rad finds it odd.
- Blatant Lies: When B-Rad "robs" the liquor store, the clerk puts the receipt in the bag. He then tries to lie to Sean and P.J that he pulled off the robbery, only for P.J to find the receipt and confront him about it. To which he replies, "...I stole that too."
- Borrowed Catch Phrase: B-Rad lifts "King Kong ain't got nothin' on me" from Denzel Washington's character in Training Day during the scene where he chases off the rival gang with gunfire.
- Brick Joke: Throughout the film, Tom is heard saying to his subordinates, "brainstorm how to" and then he describes a problem that B-Rad has presented and they try to come up with solutions on how to fix the problem. At the end after Bill fires him, he then turns to his (presumably also fired) subordinates and says, "Brainstorm on how to get my job back."
- Cassandra Truth: Shondra comes completely clean with B-Rad after Tec has basically added him to his crew for driving off the rival thugs, but he doesn't believe her, so B-Rad chooses to "prove" she's not telling the truth...by taking a real gun and shooting himself in the foot.B-Rad: See that? I just shot my foot. (Beat) (in a completely panicked voice) AND IT'S REAAAAAAAL!
- Catchphrase: B-Rad's is "don't be hatin'" and it's also on the movie poster.
- Classically-Trained Extra: Within the movie, Sean and P.J. went to the Juliard School of the Fine Arts and have impeccable diction, but have nonetheless failed to get anything better than commercials and background roles as gangsters and thugs (See also Typecasting below). Sean even laments at one point that he would love to play a character who speaks in proper grammar.
- Close on Title: The title doesn't appear till the end of the film.
- Dynamic Entry: Both B-Rad's crew, and his dad come to rescue him by smashing a car through Tec's house. Tec is less than pleased the second time.Tec: DOESN'T ANYBODY KNOW WHERE THE GODDAMN DRIVEWAY IS!?
- I Know Mortal Kombat: There's the following exchange after B-Rad shoots at a bunch of gang members:Tec: Hey, yo, that was ill. Hey, where'd you learn that from?B-Rad: Grand Theft Auto 3.
- Exact Words: B-Rad probably should have thought better of his attempt to hype up the crowd at the rap battle:B-Rad: When I say "Mali", you say "Bu"! Mali!
Crowd: Booooooooooo! - Give Geeks a Chance: Shondra is naturally annoyed and put off by B-Rad at first, but she actually does get to know him over the course of the movie and starts to like him when she realizes he's actually a fairly sweet guy; he's just extremely awkward and a little delusional. B-Rad is hurt when he finds out the truth, but she does come clean that she likes him and they end up together in the end.
- Honey Trap: What Sean and P.J. enlist Shondra to do. She pretends to bump into B-Rad and mentions she knows Dr. Dre and is willing to introduce him, since B-Rad's number one goal is to get a rap album made. He's far too naive to know any better, so she leads him elsewhere and then Sean and P.J. spring the trap to fake-kidnap him and scare him back to being a regular white guy. The relationship, though, while started on false pretenses, does eventually turn into general affection between Shondra and B-Rad.
- Imagine Spot: B-Rad is prone to these:
- When he first sees Shondra he fantasizes about her coming up to him and opening her shirt to him in the middle of the coffee shop.
- B-Rad has a brief fantasy spot about actually robbing a liquor store. He decides against it, when he gets knocked on his ass in the fantasy. Good thing too...
- Injured Limb Episode: When B-Rad is finally convinced that the gang is real.B-Rad: See that, I shot my foot. *Beat* AND IT'S REAL!!!!!
- Legacy Character: B-Rad originates from Jamie Kennedy's sketch comedy show, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.
- Liar Revealed: B-Rad overhears Sean and P.J. through the vent and finds out the entire thing is a ruse. He's naturally pissed off, but right after he finds out, that's when Tec and his gang get ahold of him and his would-be kidnappers. The only problem is B-Rad still thinks they're part of the ruse.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": When B-Rad is seen in a shootout on TV by the main cast.
- N-Word Privileges: The club is just having fun ripping on B-Rad's terrible rapping until he drops the N-word. Then things get ugly. Cue him ending up in a dumpster for his trouble. (And frankly, it could've gone a lot worse for him.)B-Rad: ...I'm sorry...
- Not What It Looks Like: Tec used to say it all the time, and it was always what it looked like.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed:
Word of God states that B-Rad is based off of Eminem. Not that you needed them to tell you, as it's rather obvious. - Outrun the Fireball: At the end of the house party when B-Rad's crew accidentally discharges their "gats" and the rocket launcher ends up in the oven.
- Papa Wolf: Bill, upon learning that his son has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom by a real gangster, quickly leaps to B-Rad's rescue, going so far as to ram a car into said gangster's house. He also fires Tom on the spot for both allowing B-Rad to be put into harm's way and for refusing to pay said ransom in the hopes the B-Rad would be murdered and garner sympathy votes for Bill.
- Parody: The film takes the piss out of Eminem and 8 Mile, but also is just making fun of what's often referred to as "wiggers," which are white men who culturally appropriate black culture and adopt everything they can from it without realizing it's insensitive as hell and makes them look as foolish as B-Rad does in the film. That being said, while there is stereotypical humor involved, it's still 100% clear the movie is spoofing white wannabe rappers, not black culture. It's also not particularly mean to Eminem directly even though it's spoofing 8 Mile since there is no doubt he's talented, whereas B-Rad just thinks he can rap because no one in his life ever told him he's terrible.
- Piss-Take Rap: B-Rad thinks he's a wonderful rapper, until the guys hired to "scare the black out of him" enter him in a rap battle.
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: B-Rad and his friends are privileged kids from Malibu who think they are gangsta. The entire plot is a scheme by his father's campaign manager to "scare the black out of him" so he'll stop being a public embarrassment.
- Precision F-Strike: The movie actually does make appropriate use of its single allotted F-bomb. When B-Rad is about to steal Sean and P.J.'s car after finding out the entire thing is a ruse, they get car-jacked for real by Tec and his thugs. Unfortunately, B-Rad still thinks it's part of the ruse, and has this to say to Tec with the utmost scorn and annoyance: "Oh, you dat weak fuck from the club." (Note that in the blooper reel, he says this and forgot to unlock the door, which causes the actor playing Tec to try pulling hard on the door handle and it ends up making everyone laugh that he now can't get B-Rad out of the car.)
- Punch-Clock Villain: Sean and P.J. They're only doing this to B-Rad because they're getting paid to do it; they don't really have any malice against him separately and they even briefly look like they feel sorry for him when he gets bodily thrown out of the rap battle for unwisely saying the N word. In the end, they don't get charged with kidnapping since being scared half to death by Tec's crew is punishment enough.
- Rhymes on a Dime: B-Rad fancies himself as a "lyricologist". But his rhymes are...a little weak.B-Rad: Shrink shrink blinkety blink. Try to make me think. Make we wanna go to my sink and vomit. Clean it up with Comet. Earth is my plawnet.
- Sassy Black Woman: Shondra fits it to a T, but they do actually bother to give her a personality and aspirations so she's not a totally shallow character. She also comes around with B-Rad in the end, realizing he actually is a sweet guy in spite of his awkward personality.
- Serious Business: The rap battle is pretty comedic until B-Rad does the dumbest thing he could ever possibly do and uses the N-word in a crowd explicitly full of black people. All mocking and laughter stops and he realizes he's in big trouble.
- Shout-Out: B-Rad can't help but shout the famous phrase from Denzel Washington's character in Training Day while using automatic weapons to chase off the rival thugs: "KING KONG AIN'T GOT NOTHIN' ON ME!"
- Title Drop: During B-Rad's Badass Unintentional moment.B-Rad: I'm Malibu's most wanted ya'll!
- The Whitest Black Guy: Two examples.
- Sean and P.J. can definitely come across as black guys who "act white," but in the end, we do see that they're classically trained actors and behave that way because it's just how they are; they're not attempting to reject black culture and have no negative feelings towards it other than just being tired of being typecast as thugs in different works of fiction.
- The non-humorous example is most definitely Tom. The way he behaves and how he seems to dismiss black culture as a whole is spot on for this trope.
- Those Two Guys: Sean and P.J. are implied to be heterosexual life partners, as they act together and are friends.
- Typecasting: In-Universe example. Sean and P.J. are a couple of suburban California wimps, but always get cast as thugs or gangsters (See also Classically-Trained Extra above).
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: B-Rad definitely suffers from this trope. He really does try to be a good son, but since his father never has time for him, he develops an attention-seeking personality and identifies with rap and black culture as a result of being neglected. The incident in particular that spawns the creation of the ruse by his father's campaign team is when he's supposed to be assisting his father with a political rally, but the banner reads, "Bill Gluckman is down with the bitches and hoes" and so naturally, it pisses off the female voters. In the end, though, when Bill finds out B-Rad is in trouble for real, not faking it, then he stops being so neglectful and mends fences with his son.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: B-Rad's sister appears at the film's start, and is never seen or mentioned after that.
