Memorable, crazy movie

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Jason Rogers (Donald Glover), Duncan Wheeler (DC Pierson), and Charlie Day (Dominic Dierkes) are the Mystery Team since they're little kids. They are high school seniors who are played by actors who are too old as characters who are too old to solve mysteries which are too silly. Then the guys are hired by young Brianna Peters to solve her parents' murders. Jason falls for Brianna's sister Kelly (Aubrey Plaza).Donald Glover is a great up-and-coming comic actor. Aubrey Plaza is wasted playing the straight character. She would be better utilized as one of the Mystery Team. DC Pierson is fine especially with his hair cut. Dominic Dierkes is a dud. Sometimes these comedy troupes need to understand their limitations. Ellie Kemper is also under-used. The story would be funnier if it's even stupider. The murder mystery does need a bit more. It could be great to have the mystery solved but the guys can't see it for some grown-up reason. Kelly could kiss Jason awakening his adult self which allows him to see the solution.

Watched this on Netflix, didn't know what I was in for. I like mystery, satire and am from the generation of "Encyclopedia Brown" so choose it never knowing how much fun this would turn out to be.This true collaboration of artists including Executive Producers, director, writers, music composers, created a send up of those 70s styled mysteries. The R-rating was well used, not abused and the direction reflected the sought-after style and tone. This is an adult version of all those Disney 70s hometown mysteries from the Secret of Pirates Inn to the Whiz Kid stories.The best part aside from the pun-laden script is the three males lead who were saddled with tough comic lines. Somehow they made it all work. Glover is very talented. And does anyone really know hard it is to play dumb? Well, Pierson knows. Great Job! The story line was intelligent and worked within the context of the piece.Again, I don't understand why something like the Change-Up gets general release just because it has NAMED talent, and a smaller, albeit more entertaining film, doesn't.I will look forward to more work from Misters Glover, Pierson and Dierkes, as well as director Eckman.

We haven't seen a good kid detective since "Harriet the Spy." No, the "Spy Kids" franchise doesn't count — I'm talking old school. Donald Glover, D.C. Pierson and Dominic Dierkes put their own grown-up spin on the genre best exemplified by "Encyclopedia Brown" with their comedy "Mystery Team," a coming-of-age story infused with mystery and plenty of slapstick.Jason (Glover), Duncan (Pierson) and Charlie (Dierkes) are three high school seniors who never grew out of being kid detectives, thus spending time tracking down first graders for schoolyard bullying or neighborhood high jinks instead of chasing after girls. They don't swear, they're oblivious to sexual references and their street smarts are non-existent. When a young girl comes to their booth and pays them a dime to find out who killed her parents, they suddenly realize they have an opportunity to prove that they're still relevant to the community that used to adore them.After ruling out all possible sixth grade suspects, the Mystery Team eventually finds itself a promising lead thanks to the town hobo. Soon, of course, they find themselves in way over their heads. Pushed to the limit, the case not only tests their courage, but also their friendship.From a humor perspective, there's a lot going on. Between each character's idiosyncrasies, the team's collective childish ignorance and some R-rated slapstick, "Mystery Team" has its own comedic style distilled from these various styles. Some of its wickedly funny while other jokes (such as Charlie's bone-headed nature) become redundant. From a talent perspective, Glover leads the way. Jason is supposed to be a master of disguise. All of his disguises are completely ridiculous and horribly misconstrued. For example, when the team's suspects head to a "gentleman's club," they attempt to get in wearing top hats, sporting monocles and speaking with accents. Glover not only has fun going over the top with his disguises, but he works in some awkward humor and some sarcasm as well. He should evolve into a mainstream comedic force in the not-too-distant future.At times, "Mystery Team" is hard to take seriously. The child-like ignorance brings about some funny moments, but to presume that these guys are completely oblivious to this point in their lives seems odd. There comes a point where the humor of the main characters should not trump how believable and relatable they are as people. Except for a couple scenes involving Jason's folks, their parents aren't involved. Considering real parents would not have condoned such childish behavior at their age, it would've been nice for them to be a bit more involved. However, the script does handle the more dramatic coming-of-age elements rather well and you'll like the characters regardless."Mystery Team" has a good time playing with its clever concept and as such it's a joy to watch. Despite being rather light-hearted and silly, it's easy enough to enjoy, not unlike a good razor-thin kid detective book.~Steven CVisit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com

Thirty seconds into Mystery Team, I was already laughing. And it stayed that good throughout the movie.This is like their sketch comedy, but in my opinion, better. The jokes are hilarious and constant, the plot pretty good although it's mostly a backdrop for the humour, and I thought every actor in this was great. The Derrick boys, your three main characters, are masters of facial expression. Donald Glover did the soundtrack too, which is a definite plus.If you want an idea what the movie's like, look up "Mystery Team Adventures: The Case of the Haunted Hotel" on youtube. It's a 5 minute short with the same characters.I cannot understand how this movie has such a low rating. I just can't. I made an IMDb account just to rate it 10 stars. Watch it!