As a film actor, television and stand-up comedy star, Eddie Griffin has carved out a niche for himself as a poor man’s Chris Tucker. In low-rent comedies like Foolish, Double Take and The New Guy, he essentially mimics Tucker’s fast‑talking shtick, complete with the rolling eyeballs and penchant for shouting, rather than speaking, his punchlines. This past summer, though, Griffin returned to the big screen in a performance that hinted there might just be more to this guy than meets the eye. That film was the riotously funny Undercover Brother, which owed a lot of its success to Griffin’s surprisingly restrained turn in the title role. For once, he seemed interested in building an actual comic character instead of simply recycling his tired Tucker-like mannerisms.



After increasing his profile with the modest box-office success of Brother, it makes sense that Griffin would want to return to his stand-up roots, if only to introduce new fans to the routines that got him started in the business. The result is Dysfunktional Family, which combines his stand-up act (performed in front of a hometown crowd in Kansas City) with offstage footage of Griffin visiting relatives and dropping by his old school. Sound self-congratulatory? It is. If this film were following a comedy legend like, say, Richard Pryor or Bill Cosby, testimonials from family and friends would be touching and appropriate. At only 34, however, Griffin is still very much a work in progress; more importantly, he hasn’t blazed any comic trails that might warrant such hosannas.



And based on the comedy on display here, he won’t be doing so anytime soon. Unlike Pryor, whom he frequently cites as an idol, Griffin isn’t a particularly creative comedian. He doesn’t craft jokes or stories as much as simply state the obvious in an aggressive manner; it’s as if he’s threatening the audience not to laugh. Furthermore, his material (sex, pets, and sex again) is as old as the hills. Even when discussing his turbulent childhood, he’s unable to spin these personal experiences into comedy, something Pryor was always able to do with astonishing ease. While there are some good lines scattered throughout the film’s 85-minute running time, based on this performance alone one would be hard-pressed to say what exactly sets Griffin apart from other young, angry comics.



Much more interesting are the scenes featuring his family, particularly Griffin’s uncle, a former crack addict who helped raise the young Eddie when his father walked out. In fact, this material would actually make for a compelling film in its own right. Sadly, it’s more or less treated as filler here, footage to cut away to when the editor decides that the audience needs a break from the 'comedy.' Undercover Brother proved that Griffin isn’t a completely untalented performer. Perhaps he just needs a strong writer (like Brother scribe John Ridley) to come up with material for him from now on.