The Kid Detective

Sneaky compelling. Adam Brody's style... deadpan delivery of lines keeps you hooked. You get vested and want to know what happened. Canadian film too which surprised me more... a movie I expected would be the usual 4 or something I just didn't finish. But it's good and it's a bit different... and you kinda want to see it to the end.

The Kid Detective, not really a title that is very appealing, but the truth is that this movie is certainly entertaining. The humor is most of the time subtle. To me the mystery level is what makes this movie stand out. I don't know if the humor was really necessary to make this a good movie. But it's there, subtle and dark at times, it made me giggle a couple times, not rolling over from laughing but good enough to make me grin. The plot is well written, definitely the best thing about The Kid Detective. Nice twists, and an ending that will surprise more than one. The acting was good and that from the whole cast. Better than I expected to be honest.

Abe Applebaum (Adam Brody) is a world-weary 32 year old private detective working his small cases. He is pitied. Twenty years earlier, he solved a big case at school and became adorably known as The Kid Detective. He solved all kinds of fun kiddie cases. It all came crashing down when his kiddie secretary Gracie Gulliver gets kidnapped and he failed to find her. Her disappearance haunts him to this day. Caroline (Sophie Nélisse) walks in with a big case. Her boyfriend was brutally murdered.

This is a lot better than I expected. Mostly, I found the mystery to be very compelling and the shocking reveal only tops it. The issue is the movie's lighter tone and comedic touches. It works but it does clash with the story's dark material. It's a brutal depressing story. I do wonder if the movie should try for a dark neo-noir tone instead. Nevertheless, this is a very good indie.

The Kid Detective starts out as a fairly run of the mill amateur sleuth movie, something not too distant from 'Murder She Wrote'. Luckily I didn't quit the film because it then turns very surprisingly dark. Well acted and directed with an ingenious plot , this movie will leave you thinking long after the credits have rolled.

A once famous child detective who solved hundreds of cases around town and in school grows up to be something of a failure as an adult (Brody), haunted by the disappearance years ago of a girl who helped him. One day a girl turns up (Nelisse) asking him to solve the murder of her boyfriend.

Well executed comedy thriller with some genuinely funny scenes throughout as Brody does his best to investigate with little or no information and no support from family and friends. His somber, half drunken / stoned approach makes for an amusing character to be with. Interestingly about 30 minutes from the end it all gets very dark indeed as the fog clears for Brody. A really good effort.