MYSTERY TEAM MOVIE REVIEW
Mystery Team
Normally, most sketch comedy troupes don’t have the best luck when it comes to film. “Run Ronnie Run” (Mr. Show) was quite bad, Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show) hasn’t had the greatest luck as a movie director (”lets go to prison” and “the bothers solomon”) and the majority of the SNL movies aren’t that funny. What’s even worse is that when a lot of sketch comedy “greats” arent acting in their own films, they end up in really bad ones. For example, Amy Sedaris (exit 57 & Strangers With Candy) and Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall) both made appearances in the UN-funny; ”my baby daddy”. Rob Cordry (ucb & daily show) and The Kids In The Hall were in “un-accompanied minors” and just about any movie David Cross (Mr. Show) is cast in aint that great either. In fact, the few great sketch comedy-based films out there are either misunderstood upon release (”Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy” & “Neighbors”) or they’re not that known by general public (”Martin and Orloff” and “Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story”). Luckily the Derrick Comedy troupe (Donald Glover, DC Pierson & Dominic Dierkes) didn’t follow the same doomed path as so many sketch comedy-based films before them. In “Mystery Team”, 3 delusional high school seniors with a love for crime solving and chocolate milk get in over their heads when they end up investigating a murder (which is something WAY out of their normal league of missing kittens and pie-stealing capers). Imagine a warped/dark comedic version of a Hardy Boys episode. The acting in the movie is damn funny. Right out the gate Donald Glover steals the show. Along with Glover, Bobby Moynihan (famous for his role in the popular internet sketch; ”Bro-Rape”) gives one of the funniest performances as the strange, unstable, ice cream sandwich throwing convenience store clerk, who doubles as an informant for the Mystery Team. There are also a lot of cameos from Upright Citizens Brigade Alums, most notably original UCB member Matt Walsh in a great cameo. I honestly can’t remember that many quiet moments in the theater, because everyone there was laughing their ass off through most of the movie. As a testament to how funny this movie was, I’m going to see it again tomorrow. Definitely check this out if it’s playing in a theater near you. It’s a great movie to see with a group of friends, and would also make an excellent midnight movie.
-Marcus