Underclass Man (2005)

Directed by: Marcos Siega | 95 minutes | action, drama, comedy, crime, thriller | Actors: Nick Cannon, Cheech Marin, Shawn Ashmore, Roselyn Sanchez, Kelly Hu, Ian Gomez, Hugh Bonneville, Angelo Spizzirri, Johnny Lewis, Peter Bryant, Adrian Young

Actor Nick Cannon made his impressive debut in the film ‘Drumline’ (2002). This was followed by the rom-bowl ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’ (2003) with Christina Milian and a supporting role in ‘Shall We Dance’ (2004). The actor is also known for the MTV improv comedy show ‘Nick Cannon Presents: Wild N Out’, in which he takes part in the comedy, directing, and production. For the film ‘Underclassman’, the actor/rapper/comedian also wrote and co-produced in addition to playing the lead role. Just like behind the scenes, Nick Cannon as Tre Stokes is quite present. We’ve seen this type before, the screaming, no-nonsense, street-smart cop who gets the job done while joking. Eddie Murphy in the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ movies, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the ‘Bad Boys’ movies.

Unfortunately, the young cop Tre is not yet put on the big business and he has to fight crime with …. the bicycle. The opening scene is therefore a spectacular chase with bicycle, quad and truck. However, Tre and the crooks leave havoc behind. This is much to the dismay of captain and father figure Victor Delgado, played by Cheech Marin from ‘Desperado’ (1995) and ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’ (2003). Tre is reprimanded and has to stick to his job description from now on. Until a cop is needed to infiltrate a high school, Tre, with his youthful looks, is sometimes the right man for the job. His job is to befriend rich man’s son Rob Donovan, played by Shawn Ashmore aka Iceman from the ‘X-Men’ movies, and his friends. Tre must find information about the murder of a school newspaper reporter and a couple of car thieves. With some difficulty Tre manages to join Rob and his mates, although they have to get used to the strong ‘loud mouth’ that Tre is. In the meantime, he also wins over the charms of his handsome Spanish teacher, a role of Roselyn Sanchez in ‘Rush Hour 2’ (2001), and befriends wannabe Alexander (Johnny Lewis). Tre is well on his way to solving the case, he uses Captain Delgado’s car as bait, but the backup in the form of Detectives Brooks (Kelly Hu of ‘X2’ (2003)) and Gallecki (Ian Gomez) let it go. fail at the crucial moment. You have to see for yourself what exactly happens, “crap” is indeed the right word for it. Tre is taken off the case as a result. However, he tells the captain that he would like to get his diploma and he can finish his school. Meanwhile, Tre remains secretly involved in the case and eventually manages to catch the bad guy.

The film has become a mixed bag because it has too many genres represented in it, action, comedy, thriller, romance and drama. The makers here have been just as over-enthusiastic as Tre Stokes with a large part of all these elements in one film. The plot is also not really believable, the strongest point of the film is the action and that may well be there. Bumping cars, (paint-ball) guns, the basketball, the rugby, the smashing jet-ski race and the fast one-liners that Tre spews out. The action accompanied by cool music makes up for a lot, but not everything. Entertainment for in between, nothing more.