The Kid Detective (as I like to define) is Nancy Drew, but with a male detective. Adam Brody is Abe Applebaum, and he has got a brilliant mind, a quiet personality, and is a detective that can put puzzles together to help him solve many cases. The Kid Detective I found relatively entertaining. Spy and detective films appeal to me, but this one was different from many of the spy thrillers I love. Many spy and detective films make the main detective look like they live the lavish lifestyle. Not in The Kid Detective.

Abe Applebaum is a detective in a small town. He is one who has become a detective at a young age. That is because he has helped his community throughout the years to solve cases and conflicts. He becomes one who the town knows as the lead detective of the community. He starts with a treehouse for his investigation appointments, and then the town gives him his own office space for his business and his detective consulting. He is one that solves cases like small crimes, fraud, or suspicious activity. He has solved a few murders, but not many. Abe’s life starts to face a challenge for him as a detective when a girl Caroline (played by Sophie Nelisse) seeks Abe’s detective help to solve the murder of her boyfriend. Abe is up for the challenge, but with mainly doing trivial mysteries, this one overwhelms him.

When I mentioned that The Kid Detective is not one’s typical setup where most detectives or spy workers have a lavish lifestyle, Abe truly does not. He shares a house with a roommate, is not popular, does his work, but outside he has no social life. What appealed to me was how Brody’s performance is a detective who has never had serious cases. And has made his entertaining life solving small cases and making his income out of that for ages. Abe is just an introverted detective who likes to solve cases, get his pay, and call it a day. I found the film had me to be curious when Abe takes on the job to solve a murder. I wondered if his mellow mood could handle the tension of a murder case. The film has unexpected surprises that are both funny, dark, and clever, and they come around at the unexpected times.

The Kid Detective is a spy film that is done different in the right way. It uses its small-town setting to make the cases seem predictable (but is the opposite). I found myself wondering how much anxiety is there for Abe take on a small-town with a dangerous murder scenario, when he has only solved minor crimes and few murder cases. Brody’s performance is witty, and his reactions are just funny and ambiguous. The Kid Detective is a fun mystery with some dark elements. But it keeps the laughing moments. Three stars.