Movie Review - The Kid Detective

Director: Evan Morgan
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Adam Brody, Kaitlyn Chalmers-Rizzato, Sophie Nélisse, Kaleb Horn, Wendy Crewson, Jonathan Whittaker, Brent Skagford, Steve Cagne, Giovanna Moore, Jesse Noah Gruman, Olivia Williams

Description: A once-celebrated kid detective (Adam Brody), now 32, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naïve client (Sophie Nélisse) brings him his first ‘adult’ case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.

Review: As a kid, Abe Applebaum was a widely loved child detective. He solved little mysteries for the residents of the town of Willowbrook, where he was considered a local hero. However, his success abruptly ended when his close friend Gracie Gulliver disappeared. Despite his investigation, Gracie remained without a trace, which quickly killed Abe’s reputation.
Years pass, but the now 32-year-old Abe is still a detective. However, no one seems to trust him as a serious investigator. Abe therefore prefers to spend his days drinking and playing videogames, irritating everyone around him. When high-school student Caroline approaches him, everything changes. She wants to hire Abe to investigate the murder on her boyfriend. Despite the fact that Caroline can’t pay him, Abe takes the case.  
“The Kid Detective” is an ironic, yet cheerful crime comedy. The script is filled with witty dialogue and it tells a solid detective story. Evan Morgan’s directorial debut functions not only as a blend between comedy and crime, but at the same time as an homage to film-noir. Although the atmosphere of this film us largely upbeat, Morgan also manages to bring serious subjects to the fore. In doing so, he succeeds amazingly well.  
The biggest asset of “The Kid Detective” is Adam Brody, who plays Abe. He is your typical anti-hero. Brody gets a chance to prove himself as a serious actor here. His character is well-developed, humorous, but also deeply tragic at times. Abe is someone trapped in his younger self, someone who has never taken the step to move on. You hope he achieves his dream, but you also hope he finally takes responsibility.
“The Kid Detective” is one of those hidden gems that can be seen on Netflix right now.

Rating: 4/ 5