Bullet Points: The Kid Detective

With 2020 being 2020, we didn’t have a normal year at the box office. However, we are still getting new releases to buy and rent each Tuesday. Yes, the choices are not what we are used to, but if you know where to look, you can still find enjoyable movies to watch. I heard chatter amongst fellow critics about Evan Morgan’s The Kid Detective starring Adam Brody. It sounded like a winner to me, and fortunately, my friends at Sony Pictures sent me a DVD to review. The Kid Detective is now available on DigitaI, DVD and Blu-ray. It was released on January 19th. Let’s see if you should spend your hard earned money on it.

• The Plot: Imagine if Shane Black wrote Encyclopedia Brown. Adam Brody is Abe Applebaum. At one time, he was the talk of his small town in Canada. He solved minor crimes as a kid detective when he was 12-years-old. Unfortunately, his best friend’s kidnapping, changed him forever. Flash forward almost twenty years later. Abe is on the edge. He is barely getting by. He is one month away from living in his parents’ basement. He technically is still a detective, but his biggest case is finding a missing kitty cat. As luck would have it, a teenage girl, Caroline (Sophie Neilsse) hires Abe to find out who brutally murdered her mild-mannered boyfriend. Is this the redemption Abe needs or will it be his final nail in his downward spiral?

• The Kid: The Kid Detective is written and directed by Evan Morgan. And, like I said earlier, it has a Shane Black vibe. There’s a lot of dialogue which screams Mr. Black! It also reminds me of Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye and Arthur Penn’s Night Moves. It has a pulpy (is that a word) noir feel. I only wish it was set it the days before the Internet. A ‘70s, ‘80s or ‘90s setting would’ve made the film even better. The highlight of the movie is Adam Brody’s performance. He kills it! Adam’s acting is some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. You can tell The Kid Detective is a passion project for both Adam Brody and Evan Morgan, real life friends who made a movie together. It doesn’t get much better than that! 

• The Action: The Kid Detective isn’t going to win any crazy action awards. It isn’t loaded with big guns, big bazookas or hot babes. However, it is so watchable. Just when you think the film might start to get a bit dull, it immediately pulls you back in. By the time you’re finished watching, you should have a big smile on your face. I’m not saying The Kid Detective is a happy comedy, but it sure does have the potential to be a cult film now that it is out on all forms of physical media. If I was you, I would check the trailer out, and if you like what you see, don’t hesitate to buy on your preferred format. I have a feeling I will be revisiting The Kid Detective very soon.

Bonus Bullet Points…

• Free Ice Cream: If you ever wanted to get free ice cream for life, then maybe The Kid Detective is a movie for you.
• Best of the Year: If I had a best of 2020 list, The Kid Detective would be very high on it. 
• My Personal Quote: Adam Brody gives it his all in The Kid Detective. Do me a favor and check it out.