Denise Richards: Undercover Sister Part One

The actress talks about bugs, Bond and Brothers

By ARNOLD T. BLUMBERG     June 05, 2002

She's blasted alien bugs and bandied about with Bond, but now actress Denise Richards is about to meet up with a brother - an Undercover Brother to be exact. In the new comedy lampooning everything from spy flicks to blaxploitation movies of the '70s, Richards shows us that she's not just another pretty face.

"I was excited to work with comedians, with Eddie [Griffin] and Dave [Chappelle] and Chris [Kattan], and to do something so broad and
ridiculous and silly," says Richards. "Every character is exaggerated with a crazy name, a crazy wardrobe, and it doesn't take itself seriously. It's fun to do."



Hopefully, audiences will agree, but Richards and company have already had their fun on the set of UNDERCOVER BROTHER.

"We couldn't even keep a straight face with them and with each other," says Richards. "I mean, the movie is so out there and crazy, and you know, we'd be wet and wearing clothes and then, running out the door, perfect hair dried in a different wardrobe. The poor script supervisor who keeps track of the continuity was going insane, but it was fun. It was fun to adlib."

Part of the fun was working with director Malcolm Lee, who kept the set loose and open for innovation.

"It's so nice to have a director that will let us be free and take this as far as we want to take it and adlib," says Richards. "Even if it doesn't work, he was so good at letting us try things out and be open."

While Richards did admit that working with comedic talents like her co-stars was a bit challenging - "It's intimidating working with them" - she's certainly been through some tough times before. After all, she once helped James Bond save the world.

"You know, [THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH] did a lot for me," says Richards. "It was the biggest 'Bond' ever, internationally as well. So, it opened up a lot of doors."



This time around, however, Richards is playing it for laughs, and she's enjoying the change of mood.

"That's what was fun about this," says Richards. "It's so tongue-in-cheek, and in this movie, I get the joke [laughs]. You know, the character does, and it was fun to be ridiculous and silly, and to make fun of it."

She had help too. Neil Patrick Harris, one of her co-stars in UNDERCOVER BROTHER, is an old friend who worked with Richards on STARSHIP TROOPERS and also on her very first acting gig in an episode of Harris' series, DOOGIE HOWSER M.D..

"It was my first job," says Richards. "There's not much to tell. I had one line [laughs]. I was a blind date. I think that I was flirting with the waiter."

He may not be the super-genius doctor he was in that show, but Harris hasn't changed otherwise, Richards assures us.

"He's the exact same, he's a sweetheart," says Richards. "He and I have become really good friends. I was so excited when we did STARSHIP TROOPERS together, and also to get this while we were on location in Toronto, it's so fun to have a friend and be there for three months and work and hang out together."



While Richards remembers the good times on the set, moviegoers will doubtless recall the soon-to-be-infamous 'shower fight' scene. For Richards, it wasn't nearly as much fun as it will be for her rabid male fan base.

"Well, first of all, [we were] doing a fight scene where our clothes had to rip in a perfect place [laughs]," says Richards. "[It] was difficult because it wouldn't rip when it was supposed to, or it would fall off before we would start fighting. Shooting that scene is very technical, we were in a shower where we're dealing with water, wearing high heels and we didn't want to fall and hit each other. So, I just hoped that it wouldn't be exploited and that it would be a fun, silly, fantasy thing that they were doing."

Oddly enough, this scene wasn't even part of the original plan.

"It wasn't there originally," says Richards. "They came up with this brilliant idea that Eddie would pull up a chair and watch us fight, and that's what it was. Actually, I don't even think that Eddie was there the day that we shot the close-ups of it. It was late, we were on nights, but if you're going to do a broad comedy, you have to just go for it. Otherwise, you look silly."

Check back tomorrow for part two of our talk with Denise Richards.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at feedback@cinescape.com.