Mystery Team

Year: 2009
Genre: Comedy
Directed: Dan Eckman
Stars: Donald Glover, D.C. Pierson, Dominic Dierkes, Aubrey Plaza, Glenn Kalison, Peter Saati, Kay Cannon, Bobby Moynihan, Matt Walsh, John Lutz, Robbie Sublett
Production: Derrick Comedy Productions

There's a mystery afoot and only one team of crack private detectives can solve it. Comprised of Jason (Glover): the master of disguise, Duncan (Pierson): the boy genius and Charlie (Dierkes): the strongest boy in the world, the "Mystery Team" are ready to solve any crime big or small. All while contending with the reality of no longer being ten.

During their childhood, Jason, Duncan and Charlie spent their summer days solving crimes around the neighborhood mostly ranging from the nabbing of a few classic baseball cards to stealing a taste of windowsill pie. Now on the verge of graduating high school, the plucky trio's antics have become stale and out of place with a world that's leaving them behind. Things change however when they are hired by a bereaved little girl to solve the murder of her parents.

All three leads; Donald Glover, D.C. Pierson and Dominic Dierkes, deserve praise for their energetic portrayals and innate sense of comic timing. D.C. Pierson makes the character Duncan an amiable mix of Mandark from Dexter's Lab (1996-2003) and Napoleon Dynamite (2004) while Dominic Dierkes's Charlie channels a young Steve Carell from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004). Donald Glover however manages to steal the show and most of its running time filling the screen with aw-schucks bravado. Though he may sometimes be a nuisance, Glover's staunch determination pulls the ensemble together and sets the movie slightly above its one joke premise. Is it any wonder that the Childish Gambino has since carved a tidy niche for himself both with his stand-up and his star turn in Community (2009-2015).

The jokes come at the screen in rapid fire procession, delivered with a breezy staccato that can go toe-to-toe with some of the best Saturday Night Live (1975) skits. It's funny that the idea of a satirical take on "Encyclopedia Brown" hasn't occurred to anyone before. Anyone who has read kiddie mystery novels knows this kind of naivety is ripe for parody, which Derrick Comedy gracefully obliges.

Director Dan Eckman, manages to balance the humor very well though theirs much to be said about his pedestrian camera-work. It's when the movie gets a little more serious as the mystery comes to it's predictable climax, the directors freshman colors start to show. One particular scene near the end the movie seems to veer off base in more than one way and goes on a tangent on maturity and friendship that quite frankly goes nowhere. It's a textbook example of character development that could have been beneficial if not treated as trite filler. Eckerman however is a first time feature director so one can hope his next project will give him the opportunity to unleash the imagination that seems a little constrained here.

Ultimately, Mystery Team may not be downright hilarious to some, but it does have a goofy tone and caustic subversiveness that I personally enjoyed very much. The jokes come fast and loose, the acting is well done and the movie works on most levels while running at a sprite 94 minutes. Check it out if you can.

Final Grade: B+