The Mystery Team is the first feature film from comedy troupe Derrick Comedy, who have many members in US TV comedy shows, mostly on NBC. This is about a team of Hardy Boy-esque young detectives in a small town, who are still solving similar mysteries now that they are 18, and about to finish High School. They are then given the task of solving a murder of two parents by their younger daughter, and then the movie turns from there, with a balance of these immature buffoons solving the case, and some heavier dramatic stuff about who they are, and why they behave like small children still.
The main mystery team member is Jason (the hilarious Donald Glover from "Community"), who really wants to be a detective, while his dumber side-kick Charlie ( Dominic Dierkes), and "boy genius" Duncan (D.C. Pierson) follow along with him. These three do have very good chemistry together and, as they wrote the film, deliver the lines brilliantly. The love interest of Jason, Kelly (Aubrey Plaza), who is the older daughter who had her parents murdered, also has her moments comedically, but serves more to bring out some of the more dramatic moments.
Donald Glover though, is far and away the best of the main actors. He seems to be innately aware of what he looks and sounds like with the camera pointing at him. His every gesture comes across brilliantly and unforced, while he creates a character which is both hilarious and poignant. The only shame about his performance was that he wasn't able to be delivering lines with his "Community" co-star Danny Pudi, who would have fitted in well to the movie.
The cinematography was also surprisingly good for a comedic first feature. Using almost all non-handheld shots, with some great lighting and dolly use. The cinematography would have only appeared competent in a serious feature by an experienced director, but in a movie like this it truly stands out as being a cut above normal.
The film does have some pretty serious flaws unfortunately. The pacing is one thing that really does not work. The opening couple of scenes set the mood very well, but the solving of the murder does drag a bit, and the dramatic scenes between the mystery team don't always fit smoothly with the comedy. The ending scene is also very effective, showing that for all the change they have gone through they are still just as immature as ever.
The music is also not as good as other elements of the movie, with some musical cues that are re-used far too much. The comedy is a bit hit-and-miss, for example a scene where they fetch a ring out of a toilet is comic gold, whereas a scene with a kid that seems just a bit too mature for his age is quite unfunny as he keeps on coming back. The comedy seems just a bit too much to be based around the child-like mental state of the mystery team, and as a result is inconsistent. When it does hit though, it is often hilarious.
In the end, it is a pretty ambitious first attempt from these guys, and it is often hilarious, but in the end it just didn't quite connect well enough for me to be a brilliant comedy. I will definitely be looking forward to their future work though, whether it be on TV, or another feature like this.
3/5, good in parts but inconsistent overall.
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