The Kid Detective (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Kid Detective (2020) – E. Morgan

As a big fan of the private detective genre, I love a film that knowingly tweaks genre conventions.  There are a lot of misfires out there but fortunately The Kid Detective is a winner. Even if, in the story, he’s actually a bit of a loser.  Adam Brody (who I did not know because I did not watch the O. C.) is all grown up, early 30s, but still living with the repercussions of his successful childhood role as a self-styled “kid detective” who solved crimes for the principal and other local adults, not to mention other kids.  However, he couldn’t solve the mystery of the abducted girl from his class – and this is where the movie proves to be a dark comedy.  Abe Applebaum (Brody) is giving it a go as a private detective, but in reality, he’s not very good and his life is sort of falling apart.  He’s haunted by the signs of his earlier and current failure.  So, when a teen girl shows up asking him to solve the murder of her boyfriend, an actual murder, he takes the case and is forced to go back to his high school (and his high school memories) to try to crack the case.  His methods prove unfortunate (including an arrest) but it is all played for comedy, but unsettling comedy (not for kids) even if you guffaw.  Remarkably, writer-director Evan Morgan (who hasn’t done anything since), manages to keep the story going and even drops hints that would allow you to solve the case (or not, but in retrospect, these are cool).  And there’s a pay-off at the end and some emotional release.  Not a masterpiece but a fun genre film (by someone who loves the form) with something extra for the fans.