Mystery Team (2008)
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53% of critics liked it
(17 reviews) -
59% of users liked it
(4,854 ratings)
Three would-be Encyclopedia Browns step into the world of grown-up crime in this independent comedy. When they were seven years old, "the Mystery Team" were three kids living in the same neighborhood in Oakdale who played at being precocious preteen detectives. With Jason (Donald Glover)… More Three would-be Encyclopedia Browns step into the world of grown-up crime in this independent comedy. When they were seven years old, "the Mystery Team" were three kids living in the same neighborhood in Oakdale who played at being precocious preteen detectives. With Jason (Donald Glover) as "the Master of Disguise," Duncan (D.C. Pierson) as "the Boy Genius," and Charlie (Dominic Dierkes) as "the Strongest Kid in Town," they would spend their afternoons getting to the bottom of such crimes as missing tricycles and stolen pies, charging ten cents (or some fruit roll-ups) for their services. However, while their peers have moved on to more mature pastimes now that they're 18 years old, Jason, Duncan, and Charlie are hopeless nerds stuck in preadolescence as they prepare to graduate from high school. Convinced that all they need to do is prove their crime-busting talents to regain the respect of their peers, the Mystery Team step into a new class of detective work when a little girl asks them to find out who killed her parents. The guys are up for the challenge, but it isn't long before dealing with real (and truly dangerous) criminals gets them in hot water. Created by members of the comedy troupe DERRICK, Mystery Team received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Dan Eckman
- Written By
- Donald Glover, D.C. Pierson, Dominic Dierkes
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Aug 28, 2009 Wide
- Studio
- Roadside Attractions
Critic Reviews
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Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
A pleasant, charming knockabout with a playfully imaginative sense of wit and a pleasingly assured visual style.
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Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Smutty, silly, groan-worthy in many places, inexplicably hilarious in others, Mystery Team is a guilty pleasure -- a deeply dumb movie made by pretty smart people.
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Daniel M. Gold, New York Times
Not surprisingly, especially for a movie heavy on college humor, the results are hit-and-miss. Some bits fall thuddingly flat, and the characters are rarely more than stick figures.
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David Fear, Time Out New York
Does the thought of watching grown men act like socially awkward boy wonders, while everyone tries not to look confused at their golly-gee shenanigans, crack you up?
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Peter Debruge, Variety
Genuinely funny but amateurishly constructed.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Donald Glover
as Jason
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D.C. Pierson
as Duncan
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Dominic Dierkes
as Charlie
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Aubrey Plaza
as Kelly
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Bobby Moynihan
as Jordy
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Matt Walsh
as Jim
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Robbie Sublett
as Ricky Appleman





