Alright kids, I promised a double post, so here we go!
I mentioned in my write up on Donald Glover and his musical endeavors that, in addition to his writing for 30 Rock and acting on Community, he also starred in the debut film from his comedy troupe Derrick Comedy. That movie, 2009's Mystery Team, is actually pretty darn funny and totally worth taking a look at if you're at all interested in the premise.
Directed by Dan Eckman and collaboratively written by Eckman, Glover, Derrick members D.C. Pierson and Dominic Dierks as well as Meggie McFadden, the movie is a hysterical take on the idea of Encyclopedia Brown/Nancy Drew type kid detectives and what happens as they grow up. In the movie Glover, Pierson and Dierks share top billing as the titular team, childhood detective heroes in their town who have since grown up yet haven't given up their business. While parents and the pressures of reality (graduating high school, attending college) bat at their subconscious, the team still spends their time solving mysteries for a dime apiece, like who stuck their finger in the pie on the window sill while still accepting payments in ice cream sandwiches. When a young girl in the neighborhood hires them to solve the mystery of who killed her parents the three detectives are forced to begin accepting their impending adulthood while investigating an actual crime. I have to confess, I think the concept is absolutely absurd and wonderful, and while the resulting film can be at times an uneven affair, it still is very funny and a great first outing for the comedy group.
The concept allows for a trio of incredibly naïve yet well-meaning characters, and the actors are all charmingly harmless as cases of arrested development. The team has their resident boy genius (Pierson), a master of disguises (Glover) and the strongest kid in town (Dierks, whose scrawny arms make it all the more absurd). The gang's reputation always precedes them, with even schoolyard hoods recognizing them before fleeing (the kid who ruined the pie: "Oh f#$%, it's the Mystery Team!" and he bolts from the swingset). SNL cast member Bobby Moynihan makes an appearance as a childhood friend/fan of the team, reminiscing about the adventures he missed out on while paying them in advance with the previously mentioned ice cream sandwiches. It's goofy stuff like this that I love - the premise for the movie allows for a very simple world view of better times in the past, which conflicts so well against the often unpleasant world around the main characters. There are other hey-it's-that-guy! moments with other NBC faces as well, like Parks & Rec's Aubrey Plaza, 30 Rock's John Lutz and Kevin Brown and The Office's Ellie Kemper. It's a wonder NBC didn't want to get involved in marketing the movie, considering how many of their actors are involved, but then again there's a fair amount of risque content to throw cold water on the idea. Oh well, their loss.
Mystery Team is a funny if at times unbalanced movie. The mystery does genuinely unfold but the humor starts to evaporate when the plot gets too serious about dolling out clues. Despite this, I found it to be genuinely entertaining and worth the look. It's available everywhere now, it seems - Netflix, On Demand, Dishnetwork. I would definitely encourage you to take a look if you've got a Friday night and you're into goofy comedies.
I mentioned in my write up on Donald Glover and his musical endeavors that, in addition to his writing for 30 Rock and acting on Community, he also starred in the debut film from his comedy troupe Derrick Comedy. That movie, 2009's Mystery Team, is actually pretty darn funny and totally worth taking a look at if you're at all interested in the premise.
The concept allows for a trio of incredibly naïve yet well-meaning characters, and the actors are all charmingly harmless as cases of arrested development. The team has their resident boy genius (Pierson), a master of disguises (Glover) and the strongest kid in town (Dierks, whose scrawny arms make it all the more absurd). The gang's reputation always precedes them, with even schoolyard hoods recognizing them before fleeing (the kid who ruined the pie: "Oh f#$%, it's the Mystery Team!" and he bolts from the swingset). SNL cast member Bobby Moynihan makes an appearance as a childhood friend/fan of the team, reminiscing about the adventures he missed out on while paying them in advance with the previously mentioned ice cream sandwiches. It's goofy stuff like this that I love - the premise for the movie allows for a very simple world view of better times in the past, which conflicts so well against the often unpleasant world around the main characters. There are other hey-it's-that-guy! moments with other NBC faces as well, like Parks & Rec's Aubrey Plaza, 30 Rock's John Lutz and Kevin Brown and The Office's Ellie Kemper. It's a wonder NBC didn't want to get involved in marketing the movie, considering how many of their actors are involved, but then again there's a fair amount of risque content to throw cold water on the idea. Oh well, their loss.
