WHITE CHICKS

"Hello white chocolate"

After their last case went disastrously wrong, FBI agents Kevin Copeland (Shawn Wayans) and Marcus Copeland (Marlon Wayans) are assigned babysitting duties for possible kidnap victim's hotel heiresses the Wilson sisters. But when the girls refuse to go to the Hampton's, the disgraced agents see this as their chance to get back in the FBI's good graces and call in the agency's top undercover makeup artists. Now Kevin and Marcus are Brittany and Tiffany and all they have to do is fit in with the rest of the rich and famous.

If you think that two black comedic actors dressing up as two high society, white girls will be a recipe for hilarity then you are going to be extremely disappointed.

When the poster for the movie actually says "From the makers of Scary Movie" alarm bells should instantly start ringing in your head warning you that this is going to be an appalling film. Trying to move away from parody and vulgarity, White Chicks is a concerted effort by the Wayans clan to make inroads in the mainstream market. The movie tries to mix a grandiose plot device with an underlying message of understanding women but just becomes irritating and clichéd.

By trying to bring down their approach from their usual over the top, rude level, the Wayans' fails dramatically in trying to reach the audience that they are aiming for. You can't figure out who they are trying to capture, as they are alienating the fans they already have and missing completely the people they are trying to gain. White Chicks is comedy at its most basic and the Wayans just don't know how to raise it any higher than that. A one gag premise is dragged kicking and screaming through the film's 97 minutes and none of it is original or at all interesting.

Shawn and Marlon Wayans are not bad comedic actors. Anyone who has seen Marlon in 'The Lady Killers' will know that given the right script he can actually provide a good quality performance but with this very basic script, he only gets the chance to produce a character that is one-dimensional and clichéd. Shawn doesn't fair much better either. When the pair are playing the Wilson sisters, they try their best to caricature certain, very famous, hotel heiresses but a combination of appalling makeup effects and awful dialogue make the characters extremely repugnant. They might be trying to create a pair of unlikeable, toffee-nosed socialites but even the 'black man in a white man's world' plot can't save this from disaster.

The only plus side is some of the supporting cast. Jaime King, Brittany Daniel, Busy Philipps, Jessica Cauffiel, Maitland Ward and Anne Dudek all play the infighting, bitchy socialites extremely well. King and Daniel are especially good as the Wilson's main rivals, the Vandergeld sisters.

White Chicks is a truly appalling attempt by the Wayans to become more mainstream. Full of clichés and no originality the film becomes almost painful to watch as it cements the opinion that the Brothers should go their separate ways and start with other more creative filmmakers.