Mystery Team
Directed by: Dan Eckman Cast: Donald Glover, D. C. Pierson, Dominic Dierkes Running Time: 1 hr 40 mins Rating: R Release Date: January 15, 2010
PLOT: Three teenagers are still fighting neighborhood crime as the "Mystery Team," 11 years after their crime solving heyday has ended. But when a new client brings them their first big case, a murder, it looks like they may have an opportunity to get back on top.
WHO'S IT FOR? Fans of slightly dirty, low budget comedies, think Strangers with Candy or The Foot-Fist Way.
EXPECTATIONS: I really hadn't heard much about this film, for some reason I thought it would be a pastiche of 3 2 1 Contact's "The Bloodhound Gang." However, it's closer to Encyclopedia Brown growing up without ever going through puberty.
SCORECARD (0-10)
ACTORS:
Donald Glover as Jason: I really like Glover on Community where he plays a high school athlete hoping to coast his way through college. Glover, like all the actors on that show, really makes the part his own and is incredibly likable. That likability came in handy in this film, where he plays an emotionally arrested 18 year old trying to solve the kind of mysteries favored by child detectives like The Bobsey Twins and Encyclopedia Brown. Unfortunately, the rest of the world isn't as stunted and thinks that the Mystery Team are weirdos. Glover makes the most of an odd part and really goes all out. He didn't make up for the things in the film that didn't work, but he did go a long way toward making the film more enjoyable than it could have been. He's a really promising comedian and I hope he gets some better parts soon. Score: 7
D.C. Pierson as Duncan: As the "whiz kid" of the group, Pierson channels Jon Heder in Napoleon Dynamite a little too hard. The hair's different, but I just felt it was a poor imitation of a much better performance. He's outclassed by Glover, too, who's go-for-it attitude is more winning. Score: 5
Dominic Dierkes as Charlie: Charlie's a weird character. He's the muscle of the group, and also either very ignorant or has some sort of memory loss disease because he never knows what's going on. He seems so out of it that I wanted to tell him to go sit in a corner and wait it out. That said, though I think the character's badly written, Dierkes makes the best of a weird part. I get the feeling this is something that sounded absolutely hilarious in the writer's room, but didn't translate well into the overall film. Chalk that one up to experience, boys. Score: 6
TALKING: The three leads also wrote the script, which might not have been a great idea. Maybe if they weren't so tied to it they could have come up with more jokes. The plot's alright but there aren't enough laugh out loud jokes. I think I laughed maybe twice in the whole film, for me that's not good, I laugh at everything. I even laughed during Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and I hated that movie. For a movie that really went for the quick laugh, they didn't get there often enough. Score: 6
SIGHTS: For a cheap film, it looks great. Actually, I found the look very reminiscent of the show and film, Strangers with Candy. Specifically in the way suburbia and the characters were shot. Score: 6
SOUNDS: The film had original music and I didn't notice it which is supposed to be a good sign, right? Score: 4
PLOT SPOILERS
BEST SCENE: When Jason gets drunk with Jim (played by Matt Walsh from Upright Citizens Brigade and pretty much every funny movie of the last five years). They're great together. Glover really upped his game. This film needed more Matt Walsh!
ENDING: Everyone magically grows up, which felt a little disingenuous. Well, they didn't grow up all the way but certainly more than I was led to expect, judging by how the last 11 years had gone.
QUESTIONS: Were they gay? I don't mean to judge, but three male teenagers without any curiosity about the female anatomy?
REWATCHABILITY: I actually think the film may improve on another viewing, like another low budget comedy, The Foot-Fist Way. I'll have to give it a shot in a few months.
OVERALL
Though not a great film, Mystery Team is really promising. There were a lot of kinks and they really needed someone with experience to come in and iron out the plot and punch up the jokes a little, but for a first film, which it was for almost the entire creative team, this went really well. I also really enjoyed Bobby Moynihan from "Saturday Night Live" playing Jordy, a convenience store clerk who's also reliving his glory days. He's been really growing on me on SNL and his performance in this was pretty good. These guys are kind of green, but give them a few years and they may be the next Will Ferrel or Seth Rogen.
FINAL SCORE: 6/10