Mystery Team

Mystery Team

Film poster
Directed by Dan Eckman
Produced by Meggie McFadden
Screenplay by Donald Glover
DC Pierson
Dominic Dierkes
Dan Eckman
Story by Donald Glover
DC Pierson
Dominic Dierkes
Dan Eckman
Meggie McFadden
Starring Donald Glover
DC Pierson
Dominic Dierkes
Aubrey Plaza
Music by Donald Glover
Cinematography Austin F. Schmidt
Edited by Dan Eckman
Production
company
Distributed by Roadside Attractions
Release dates
  • January 17, 2009 (2009-01-17) (Sundance)
  • August 28, 2009 (2009-08-28) (United States)
Running time
 94 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $89,442

Mystery Team is a 2009 film created by the comedy group Derrick Comedy. The story was written by Donald Glover, DC Pierson, Dominic Dierkes, Dan Eckman, and Meggie McFadden. It stars Donald Glover, DC Pierson, and Dominic Dierkes. It was directed by Eckman and produced by McFadden.

Plot

The Mystery Team (Donald Glover, DC Pierson, and Dominic Dierkes) began with three children who styled themselves as detectives, solving mostly kid-related mysteries such as missing cats or a lost baseball, but also gaining some local fame. Somehow, the trio have remained as naïve as ever, although they are about to graduate from high school. They have continued the same mindset and antics even though they are teenagers, focusing on children's infractions, although adults (such as their parents) wonder when the teens will grow out of this attitude.

To prove to themselves and the town at large that they can be "real detectives", the Mystery Team take it upon themselves to solve a double homicide when they are hired by a young girl named Brianna (Daphne Ciccarelle) to discover why her parents were killed.

Cast

Production

In January 2008, Derrick Comedy took a hiatus from filming short online sketch videos to produce Mystery Team, which is the group's first feature-length production.[1] The film was independently produced and shot over seven weeks in the Spring of 2008. It was shot on the Red camera.[2] Mystery Team was filmed primarily in Manchester, New Hampshire, Eckman and McFadden's hometown.[3] Mark's Showplace, a real-life strip club in Bedford, New Hampshire, was used as Ponytail's Gentlemen's Club in the movie. The Lumber Yard scenes were filmed on location at Reeds Ferry Lumber Corp. Merrimack, NH.

The movie was shot on a tight budget. Dominic Dierkes mentioned on the DVD commentary and on tour stops that lighting problems forced a wardrobe change for his character. Dierkes said his initially white shirt reflected light that appeared to glow when viewed on screen. With several early "white shirt" scenes already shot, and not having the budget to reshoot them, the members of Derrick opted to write in a gag in which Dierkes spilled chocolate milk and used the shirt as a rag, forcing him to switch to a red shirt for the remainder of the movie.

Release

Mystery Team premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival as part of the Park City at Midnight series and was then released by Roadside Attractions in select cinemas on September 11 and 18, 2009. After a high frequency of demands on eventful.com, the film received additional theater engagements throughout the fall, including one starting in New York City on December 4.[4] A private screening was also arranged for employees at Pixar. The film grossed $89,442 in the United States.[5]

The film had its UK premiere in February 2012 at the Teenage Wasteland festival organised by Ultra Culture.[6]

To promote the film, the group released a new online digital short starring the central characters, entitled Mystery Team Adventures: The Case of the Haunted Hotel.

The Mystery Team DVD was released on May 25, 2010.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes reported that 53% of 17 sampled critics gave the film positive reviews and that it got a rating average of 5.2 out of 10.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Announcement". Derrick Comedy official website. January 15, 2008. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  2. ↑ Frucci, Adam (October 1, 2008). "A Viral-Video Making Comedy Group Takes Aim at Hollywood with Help from the RED Camera". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  3. ↑ Mase, Heidi (July 17, 2008). "Back lot G". The Hippo. Hippo Press. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  4. ↑ "'Mystery Team' in theaters now!". Derrick Comedy official website. August 9, 2009. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Mystery Team (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Ultra Culture Cinema presents ... Teenage Wasteland". Ultra Culture. 27 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Mystery Team (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
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