A Mystery That Balances Darkness and Comedy in THE KID DETECTIVE

"I've solved more than two hundred cases."
"How many of them are murder cases?"

Everyone who questions whether he can solve this case, Abraham Applebaum (Adam Brody) always tries to convince them that he is an experienced detective who has solved more than 200 cases, but when asked how many of them are murder cases , he couldn't say anything. Actually, when he said that he had solved 200 cases, he not only wanted to convince others, but he also tried to convince himself that he could solve the case he was working on.

About 20 years ago, Abraham or commonly called "Abe" was a little boy who was very good at solving mysteries that occurred in every city. His intelligence even allowed him to guess who the villain was in a mystery film that hadn't even reached the end of the story, which of course made his parents lose their excitement while watching. All city residents always approached him to ask for his help to solve problems, even to create an office for him in the city center. Every case he solved that got into the newspaper he always had a frame and put it on the wall of his office. He was also labeled a "kid detective" by the residents.

But since the disappearance of Abe's friend and secretary, Grace (Kaitlyn Chalmers-Rizzato), Abe has lost his way. His inability to solve the Grace disappearance case makes him increasingly lost his way in his work, until finally now where Abe, who is 32 years old, becomes someone who is no longer known in his city. He has fallen into alcohol and drugs, and his only clients are children or mothers who ask him to help find the lost cat. But he has a second chance, when a woman named Caroline (Sophie Nélisse) wants to hire his services to solve the murder case of his girlfriend. Now, Abe is back with the first major case in a long time.

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It didn't take me long to remember  The Nice Guys - the 2016 detective film directed by Shane Black and starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe - while watching The Kid Detective . Both have two very interesting characters to follow on their journey to solve the case, both of them have a mystery story that is not boring and it always makes me wonder what happened and who is the mastermind behind this case, but the most important thing is that these two films perfectly balance the elements. dark in the story with its comedy elements, resulting in a film that is very exciting and fun to follow.

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I never get tired of the mystery-comedy genre. Apart from  The Nice Guys , another perfect example is  Knives Out , which is one of the best films of 2019. To follow a narrative that is trying to unravel a mystery that has befallen him while humorous, whether in the form of dark humor or in outright comedy, keep making some of these movies never feels boring. And it is not something that is easy to achieve, and it also shows the cleverness of The Kid Detective director and writer   Evan Morgan that this film is his first time as a director for a film.

One of the reasons mystery-comedy works so well here is how Evan can nimbly balance the dark and comedic elements of his story. The mystery Abe is trying to solve is not a light case, because since when was the murder case a joke? But The Kid Detective  is not trying to get too serious about its mystery, and prefers to approach the case in a lighter way to make the film less dark. And it worked. We can feel the horror of the case and we also get every joke humor in it.

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Aside from how Evan cleverly composes an excellent narrative,  The Kid Detective works because of its two main characters. Adam Brody, who is an outdated detective who is no longer trusted to handle big cases, perfectly plays the character Abe and shows someone's pessimistic side, and it perfectly shows the dark side of this story as well as showing the joke. Like when constantly pressed by one of his friends Caroline whether he could solve a murder case, Abe irritably said, “Well, your dad is  gay., "Because he had investigated his father's case before. His pessimistic side is put to good use for this film, resulting in a character who is very entertaining even though he has a chaotic personality.

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Likewise with Sophie Nélisse, who plays the role of Caroline who always follows Abe around. She is like a bright side to both of them, who can balance Abe's pessimism with his optimistic side. Sophie Nélisse, just like Brody, also perfectly plays the character Caroline in an effective and attractive way. Here, Caroline isn't just a side character. He has a prominent personality and also an important position in the narrative, so that his presence always has an impact on how the story of this film will unfold.

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With its very tantalizing narrative and very interesting characters to follow along its journey to uncover the case, The Kid Detective  is a fun addition to the mystery film genre. A film that is light at the same time can still hold the dark side of the narrative to produce a very compelling story, this is a very good film and also a film that promises to director Evan Morgan and his stars.