Sundance Mini-Review: Mystery Team
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By George 'El Guapo' Roush on
January 21, 2009
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Horribly unproductive day for me today in regards to seeing movies, but the festival is starting to wind down when it comes to days that are booked with solid films. I was supposed to see Manure starring Billy Bob Thorton but they turned me away when I arrived right as it was going to start saying they overbooked the theater. Jerks. But I did catch a couple of films today and was able to catch up on my other reviews which was a relief because I've still got two more days of movie watching madness.
The first movie I saw this morning was the brilliant and hilarious Mystery Team about three high school friends who still operate the Mystery Team detective agency they started as kids. Jason (Donald Glover) is the leader of the team, ready at any time to solve mysteries like lost kittens, bikes, and in the opening case of the movie, find out what hooligan stuck their finger in a neighbor's pie. Jason is the master of disguise and is accompanied by Duncan the boy genius (D.C. Pierson) and Charlie (Dominic Dierkes), the muscle of the team.
But everything in this movie is so outlandishly retarded that it's just hilarious. I wasn't sure what the film was rated until the Mystery Team went to the park to shake down a local kid about the pie mystery. Soon as the kid sees them approaching he yells out, "Oh, fuck! It's the Mystery Team!" and takes off. It was at this point I knew I was in for a fun time.
And Mystery Team is a lot of fun. Jason's disguises, from a hobo to a Mexican plumber to a lumber yard worker, are so outrageously ridiculous that you can't help but laugh every time he walks on screen. And when the boys try and dress up as "gentlemen" to get into a gentleman's club, it's just so god damn funny.
I guess I should backtrack a bit - the kids are hired by a girl (for a dime, of course) to find out who killed her parents. The team takes on the case to prove to the town that they're legit. The town thinks they're a joke, even the parents. Jason is pretty stupid but motivated. Duncan isn't smart at all, relying on a useless trivia book for knowledge, and Charlie can barely lift a pencil much less muscle anyone.
There are a lot of great scenes, from the strip club scene to the lumberyard, and a scene where a woman flies out of a van had me laughing so hard I thought I was gonna piss my pants. There are a lot of small jokes too, from the kids only drinking chocolate milk to using old walkie talkies for emergency use. Jason even has a car his parents bought him, but he wanted a new bicycle instead for X-Mas and doesn't even drive the car. Whenever they whip out their enormous magnifying glasses to search for clues, all they do is just trash the place.
Ok, it can get slow in parts and some might get sick of the jokes but Mystery Team is a fantastic first effort by our three main protagonists and I'm really looking forward to their future projects. One of the funniest and most original comedies I've seen in years.
Rating:
A
Don't believe me? Red Band trailer time!!
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Tags: News |
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Wait....
Commented By: Daniel C. on 2009-01-21 03:32:37
Hey, are'nt they the guys from youtube??!! I really like Opposite day....
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on 2009-01-21 03:37:56
That looks genius.
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derrick comedy
Commented By: navas on 2009-01-21 07:41:38
these guys are great!
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no
Commented By: JohnZDelorean on 2009-01-21 09:36:28
Looks pretty crappy but I'll go off the review and try to catch it.
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no
Commented By: JohnZDelorean on 2009-01-21 09:36:28
Looks pretty crappy but I'll go off the review and try to catch it.
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Derrick Comedy
Commented By: A Fellow Frijol on 2009-01-21 12:56:57
These guys make up the bulk of Derrick Comedy, one of the rare internet-based sketch groups that are consistently funny. Check them out on collegehumor.com. "Bro Rape" is a classic.
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Little gem
Commented By: 420band on 2009-01-21 13:02:57
looks like anyways, I put my trust in you Guapo
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