We haven't seen a good kid detective since "Harriet the Spy." No, the "Spy Kids" franchise doesn't count — I'm talking old school. Donald Glover, D.C. Pierson and Dominic Dierkes put their own grown-up spin on the genre best exemplified by "Encyclopedia Brown" with their comedy "Mystery Team," a coming-of-age story infused with mystery and plenty of slapstick.
Jason (Glover), Duncan (Pierson) and Charlie (Dierkes) are three high school seniors who never grew out of being kid detectives, thus spending time tracking down first graders for schoolyard bullying or neighborhood high jinks instead of chasing after girls. They don't swear, they're oblivious to sexual references and their street smarts are non-existent. When a young girl comes to their booth and pays them a dime to find out who killed her parents, they suddenly realize they have an opportunity to prove that they're still relevant to the community that used to adore them.
After ruling out all possible sixth grade suspects, the Mystery Team eventually finds itself a promising lead thanks to the town hobo. Soon, of course, they find themselves in way over their heads. Pushed to the limit, the case not only tests their courage, but also their friendship.
From a humor perspective, there's a lot going on. Between each character's idiosyncrasies, the team's collective childish ignorance and some R-rated slapstick, "Mystery Team" has its own comedic style distilled from these various styles. Some of its wickedly funny while other jokes (such as Charlie's bone-headed nature) become redundant.
From a talent perspective, Glover leads the way. Jason is supposed to be a master of disguise. All of his disguises are completely ridiculous and horribly misconstrued. For example, when the team's suspects head to a "gentleman's club," they attempt to get in wearing top hats, sporting monocles and speaking with accents. Glover not only has fun going over the top with his disguises, but he works in some awkward humor and some sarcasm as well. He should evolve into a mainstream comedic force in the not-too-distant future.
At times, "Mystery Team" is hard to take seriously. The child-like ignorance brings about some funny moments, but to presume that these guys are completely oblivious to this point in their lives seems odd. There comes a point where the humor of the main characters should not trump how believable and relatable they are as people. Except for a couple scenes involving Jason's folks, their parents aren't involved. Considering real parents would not have condoned such childish behavior at their age, it would've been nice for them to be a bit more involved. However, the script does handle the more dramatic coming-of-age elements rather well and you'll like the characters regardless.
"Mystery Team" has a good time playing with its clever concept and as such it's a joy to watch. Despite being rather light-hearted and silly, it's easy enough to enjoy, not unlike a good razor-thin kid detective book.
~Steven C
Visit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com
Jason (Glover), Duncan (Pierson) and Charlie (Dierkes) are three high school seniors who never grew out of being kid detectives, thus spending time tracking down first graders for schoolyard bullying or neighborhood high jinks instead of chasing after girls. They don't swear, they're oblivious to sexual references and their street smarts are non-existent. When a young girl comes to their booth and pays them a dime to find out who killed her parents, they suddenly realize they have an opportunity to prove that they're still relevant to the community that used to adore them.
After ruling out all possible sixth grade suspects, the Mystery Team eventually finds itself a promising lead thanks to the town hobo. Soon, of course, they find themselves in way over their heads. Pushed to the limit, the case not only tests their courage, but also their friendship.
From a humor perspective, there's a lot going on. Between each character's idiosyncrasies, the team's collective childish ignorance and some R-rated slapstick, "Mystery Team" has its own comedic style distilled from these various styles. Some of its wickedly funny while other jokes (such as Charlie's bone-headed nature) become redundant.
From a talent perspective, Glover leads the way. Jason is supposed to be a master of disguise. All of his disguises are completely ridiculous and horribly misconstrued. For example, when the team's suspects head to a "gentleman's club," they attempt to get in wearing top hats, sporting monocles and speaking with accents. Glover not only has fun going over the top with his disguises, but he works in some awkward humor and some sarcasm as well. He should evolve into a mainstream comedic force in the not-too-distant future.
At times, "Mystery Team" is hard to take seriously. The child-like ignorance brings about some funny moments, but to presume that these guys are completely oblivious to this point in their lives seems odd. There comes a point where the humor of the main characters should not trump how believable and relatable they are as people. Except for a couple scenes involving Jason's folks, their parents aren't involved. Considering real parents would not have condoned such childish behavior at their age, it would've been nice for them to be a bit more involved. However, the script does handle the more dramatic coming-of-age elements rather well and you'll like the characters regardless.
"Mystery Team" has a good time playing with its clever concept and as such it's a joy to watch. Despite being rather light-hearted and silly, it's easy enough to enjoy, not unlike a good razor-thin kid detective book.
~Steven C
Visit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com