Underclassman

The movie starts when a rookie young detective (Nick Cannon) is assigned by his chief (Cheech Marin) for a dangerous mission . With help of local officers (Kelli Hu , Ian Gomez) begins the assignment , as he goes undercover at an elite high school where a murder erupts and a student is mysteriously found dead ; besides , cars smuggling and a drug ring are also happening at private college . He investigates suspects , especially another student is considered prime suspect . Meanwhile , he meets a beautiful teacher (Roselyn Sanchez).

It's an OK entertainment juvenile with noisy action , thriller , humor , tongue-in-check and results to be quite amusing .It's predictable but with lots of fun and the production values is nice , being produced by famed producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein . Originally set for a US theatrical release in 2004 , then two massive waves of layoffs were sustained at Miramax and Dimension , and the infamous Disney and Miramax split reached it's height . This film thus remained in the Miramax vaults unreleased during this time of uncertainty ; when the divorce was finally completed, numerous films under the Miramax and Dimension label were finally released theatrically . The foul-mouthed Nick Cannon (also producer) imitates to detective Axel Foley , formerly played by Eddie Murphy . Similar plot about undercover cop at high school was previously adapted in films such as ¨Undercover¨(1987 , John Stockwell) and ¨Plain clothes¨ (with Arliss Howard and Seymour Cassel) and taking parts from ¨Beverly Hills cop¨ and other pictures . It's a Nick Cannon (Drumline , Love don't cost a thing) humorous recital , he runs , hits , jumps and plays as an action hero . In addition , a gorgeous Roselyn Sánchez (Basic, Rush hour 2) , an explosive Latin beauty , and known secondaries as veteran Cheech Marin (Grindhouse ,Spy kids) , Kelli Hu (X2 , The Scorpion king) and Ian Gomez (Lost and Chasing Papi) , among others . The motion picture was regularly directed but at least you'll get some laughs . The picture isn't great , but for some , there may be reason to watch it but contains giggles and amusement . Rating : Mediocre but entertaining.

The only audience that may find this pulp palatable would be perhaps 8th graders. All whites are: sloppy, fat, rude, vulgar, crooks, and stupid. People of color are going to: 1) save the world, 2) run the world, 3) help white people not be so lame, 4) help white people be better people, and 5) help white people play basketball. The script must have been written by the same author of the "Midnight Basketball" federal program.

This movie is so horrible that an Ed Wood movie is wonderful by comparison. The continual racist play is topped with additional comments, such as: "chocolate has more flavor than vanilla" - even though the recipe called for vanilla.

Besides the weakness of the script, directing, editing, and acting there is ... oh, there is nothing else. This movie is insulting on all levels and could only appeal to the black ku klux klan - move over "Birth of a Nation" you have a new contender for top racist movie ever made. 1/10 (Because IMDb.com doesn't allow negative scores.)

-Zafoid

Nick Cannon is not exactly the kind of person I'd send undercover to an exclusive prep school if I wanted to solve a murder and bust up some illegal activities going on there, still he does get the job done in Underclassman.

Sad to say that this film could not make up its mind whether it was a serious drama or a satire of such things as Mod Squad and 21 Jump Street. There was potential here for this to be a really funny comedy, but it just isn't realized.

Nick Cannon, Cheech Marin who plays his captain and the rest of the cast really give this one a try, but the aimless script and direction defeats them. When we find the identity of the perpetrator behind all the bad stuff it should have been a lot funnier than it was.

For fans of Nick Cannon only.

Nick "Drumline" Cannon does his best to resurrect the Eddie Murphy of "Beverly Hills Cop," albeit with little success, in UNDERCLASSMAN. Cannon plays a cop who goes undercover as a student to probe a car theft ring and the related murder of a student. Unfortunately, Cannon is too lightweight and the plot is completely recycled from the aforementioned BEVERLY HILLS COP. A couple of car chases momentarily enliven things, and Cheech Marin is semi-funny as Cannon's long-suffering boss. But the film, which was held back from release for some time during the infamous Disney-Miramax war, finally arrived in 2005 DOA. For those who liked Cannon in "Drumline," you would be well advised to stay away from this.

Police detective Tre Stokes (Nick Cannon) goes undercover at an upper class private school to infiltrate a car-thieving ring and find out who murdered one of the students, but he soon finds that this sort of school environment is very different from the streets of L.A.

The premise is very thin and unoriginal so the strength of the film is entirely up to Nick Cannon. Unfortunately, Nick Cannon doesn't deliver. He tries way too hard to be funny and he only manages to make a couple of jokes work. I think he has some potential but he needs to pick better scripts. Also, he should start off as a supporting actor since he doesn't really have what it takes to be a leading man, in my opinion. The main problem with the film is the script since it's very lame and offensive. Most of the jokes are racist and derivative so there's another problem. Screenwriters David Wagner and Brent Goldberg come up with a bunch of annoying clichés that don't work out. They don't seem to be trying at all which isn't surprising since they are responsible for My Baby's Daddy.

After Nick Cannon, the supporting actors aren't any better and this is clearly a paycheck movie for everyone involved. Shawn Ashmore is okay as Iceman but his performance isn't very good here. Cheech Marin doesn't really do anything special and he ends up being bland. Kelly Hu and Ian Gomez both play detectives and they just look bored throughout the entire film. Roselyn Sanchez is sadly underused in her role.

Director Marcos Siega does an okay job behind the camera. He at least tries to keep things interesting with a few car sequences that should wake up the viewer. Besides for that and a few jokes, the film is a dud. The romance between Cannon and Sanchez is unbelievable and forced. Most of the supporting characters are one dimensional and they are props for Cannon's insults. The film is also pretty offensive with its racial stereotyping and outdated jokes. Underclassman could have been an enjoyable, harmless film even if it isn't original. However, the offensive script kills that opportunity and the movie ends up being below average. In the end, unless you're a big fan of Nick Cannon, skip this film. Rating 4/10