The feature directorial debut from screenwriter Evan Morgan (The Dirties) begins as a genial oddball comedy, about a 32-year-old man clinging stubbornly to his glory days as a celebrated tween gumshoe who solved all the town’s petty misdemeanors. Stuck in a holding pattern since he failed to solve his one serious case, Abe Applebaum (Adam Brody) suppresses his own fearsome angst while ignoring the frustration of locals (including the proprietor of an ice cream parlour where he collects daily on a decades-old promise of free ice cream for life). When he finally finds an actual mystery, Abe senses redemption — if he can keep it together long enough to solve it. Boasting a great ensemble cast (Sophie Nélisse, Wendy Crewson, Peter MacNeill, and Sarah Sutherland as Abe’s sardonic, long-suffering secretary), Kid Detective plays like a mashup of the Hardy Boys, SCTV, early Jonathan Demme, and a twisted Afterschool Special about Peter Pan complex and PTSD.
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