Comedy Wednesday: Mystery Team (2010)

Title: Mystery Team (2010)

 There is a big difference between a stupid movie, and a movie whose characters are stupid. "Mystery Team" is certainly a member of the latter. The brainchild of YouTube sensations "Derrick Comedy", the film reveals in its love of manchildren (in a platonic, from afar way) and mines whatever comedy can be brought from any situation. ANY. Of course there are some faults laying around, thankfully though, most of them are minor.
           The films conceit is simple. The titular Mystery Team were a big deal when they were about 7 years old, much to the delight of the whole town. The problem is, QQ years later, the boys, now High School seniors, still act, and dress, as if they were still "Boy" Detectives. They spend their time solving crimes for 10 cents, which at worst involve, "who put their fingers in the boysenberry pie?" The opportunity to truely prove themselves, comes in the plea of an 8 year old girl, who wants the team to find out her mother's killers. Of course, things get out of hand and the boys find themselves breaking into houses, lumber mills, and "gentleman's clubs". An air of innocence, lost and found hangs over the proceedings, and if it weren't for some strong performances, and clever writing, the film would feel flat and trite.
        For a film like this to work, not only does the audience have to find themselves invested, but the actors as well. Thankfully the comedy team have a great chemistry, with Donald Glover the obvious standout. For those uninitiated, I highly suggest checking out season 1 of "Community" for Glover's portrayal of Troy. The film is also litered with cameo apperances from numerous NBC comedys, including "SNL", "30 Rock" and "Parks &  Recreation", and Matt Walsh, king of doing any part in any comedy, since his glory days with "UCB".
     Lots of comedies these days tend to be episodic in nature, with a sagging middle, so to say that Mystery Team avoids that, is astonishing. True this isn't a film for everyone's taste. I for one would rather see something this purely fun, than another Kevin James, or Rob Schneider piece of drivel. Outlandish? Yes. Ridiculous? Rightfully so. In comedy forevery low-brow fart-a-thon, and every high concept witty talk piece, that has to be a middle ground.  a film to have its cake, eat it too, then laugh at their friend who has frosting on their nose. Sometimes, like the gang in the move themselves, it's a good idea to step outside our comfort zone, and allow ourselves to be surprised.
*** 1/2 out of *****

(Apologizes for any spelling or grammatical errors, my internet went down, so i wrote this all on my droid 2's browser, so wednesday would be covered)