Mystery Team Blu Ray Review (Vestron Video Collector’s Series)

Mystery Team is a 2009 comedy film edited, story, executive produced, and directed by Dan Eckman (Worst. Prom. Ever., Song Voyage, Community, Derrick Comedy, and UCB Comedy Originals). It was written/executive produced by D.C. Pierson (MTV Video Music Awards, MTV Movie Awards, Derrick Comedy, and Dropout), Donald Glover (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Swarm, Guava Island, 30 Rock, Derrick Comedy, and UCB Comedy Originals), and Dominic Dierkes (Ash vs Evil Dead, Solar Opposites, The Mick, Workaholics, Derrick Comedy, and The Onion). It was produced by Meggie McFadden (Worst. Prom. Ever., Song Voyage, Derrick Comedy, and Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade). It grossed $89,442 worldwide at the box office. They all started out as kid detectives. Now they’re eighteen and they are still solving child crimes after all this time in the game. This leads them to help out Kelly (played by: Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation, Life After Beth, Funny People, Safety Not Guaranteed, Agatha All Along, Child’s Play, and Legion). When the Mystery Team which includes Jason (played by: Donald Glover from Community, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Atlanta, The Lion King, and Solo: A Star Wars Story), Duncan (played by: D.C. Pierson from Community, Cherry, Balls Out, and Grassroots), and Charlie (played by: Dominic Dierkes from Community, Weeds, Awful Nice, and Mad Men) are challenged to solve a complicated murder, they’re pulled into a dangerous world of sex, drugs, and swear words that push their talents to the edge!!!! Mystery Team is the full length feature from Derrick Comedy. They made all kinds of videos that went viral as influencers. This is the same type of humor as their popular online skits. It’s from the same director, writers, and main actors from that familiar project that helped launch Donald “Childish Gambino” Glover into something much bigger. The script is aimed for a younger audience for the most part. It does get a little crazier as it goes on so that’s why it’s Rated R but it’s overall tone is kinda immature. It’s an odd mix because it feels like G Rated for a good portion then there’s cussing, sexual references, and violence. The leads always keep it clean despite their wild surroundings. So it’s suitable for teenagers but I wouldn’t exactly show children Mystery Team. Donald Glover, D.C. Pierson, and Dominic Dierkes are all so awkward in these adult situations that it’s hilarious. It kinda feels like people from The Office dealing with a crazy The Hangover scenario where it gets completely out of control. They have some dorky and obvious disguises that are hysterical because they are so damn bad but I guess that’s the point so it works for this. Glover is the clear standout when it comes this teenage crime solving group so it’s no surprise that he’s the one that really blew up after this. My favorite character was In Kelly and I personally thought Aubrey Plaza had the best performance in this in her smaller role but it’s very important to the concept and plot for this. The rest of the supporting cast includes Matt Walsh (The Hangover), Ellie Kemper (The Office), Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog franchise), Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live), John Lutz (Saturday Night Live), Glenn Kalison (Law and Order franchise), Kay Cannon (The Shaft), Robbie Sublett (Speed Racer: The Next Generation), Tom Shillue (Gutfeld!), Kevin Dotcom Brown (30 Rock), Jon Daly (Zoolander 2), Will Hines (Arrested Development), Cheryl Freeman (Dead Presidents), Anthony King (UCB Comedy Originals), Kristopher Kling (Banshee), and Ron Simons (Daredevil). Lots of familiar faces from the comedy world show up in Mystery Team. It keeps with it’s getting too old for childish cases theme no matter what these guys run into while trying to solve various mysteries until shit gets real. They are like a live action Scooby Doo without the dog and much more nerdier. It’s not afraid to be cheesy or campy with it’s jokes. I didn’t expect to laugh as much but it’s extremely funny in it’s own awkward approach. They know exactly what they are making here and they embrace every single bit of it. Mystery Team is an extended sketch turned into a full length feature but it doesn’t drag at all. It’s something Saturday Night Live could have took notes on for some of their past movies that were done in the same way. I really enjoyed it’s independent atmosphere, it helped come off more natural. It’s a breath of fresh air, there’s not many like this one. It’s cool that Vestron Video gave this a brand new life after all these years, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Lionsgate under their Vestron Video Collector’s Series line. This 1080 (1.78:1) transfer is definitely a more recent restoration compared to it’s original 2010 DVD home video release but I don’t have any information on it. I will say that it’s a solid improvement over the previous version. The style of this comedy kinda reminds me of a TV movie but in a good way. It has an English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that’s a huge upgrade compared it’s original options. Mystery Team isn’t really action packed or anything like that so the audio mainly stands out when it comes to it’s score from Donald Glover. All of the dialogue is very clean, the humor is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Derrick Comedy that includes Dan Eckman, D.C. Pierson, Dominic Dierkes, Donald Glover, and Meggie McFadden. It has the archive little over 6 minute “Making Mystery Team”. It has interviews with the main crew and cast. It features all kinds of behind the scenes footage. They chat about Mystery Team and putting it together. They show respect to each other and they point out their favorite stuff from it. They went back to a location to shoot more material and they changed it so it caused some issues during the shoot. They get very detailed with their information about their process and overall work on this teen comedy. It has a little over 4 minutes of “Deleted Material”. It has the little over 2 minute “Pre-Production Test Scene”. It has the almost 6 minute “Who is Wally Cummings?”. It’s a hilarious interview with Donald Glover in disguise and he stays in character here. It has additional comments from other cast and crew members. This is a spoof conversation. It has the “Theatrical Trailer”. It has the exclusive little over 33 minute “Not on Our Watch! Investigating Mystery Team”. It’s a retrospective for the teen comedy. It has all kinds of interviews and behind the scenes footage. It has a variety of clips from some of the bigger moments in the film. Most of the main cast and crew is here. They go over how it got developed. They chat about working on it and their background history before doing it. Glover was writing 30 Rock at the time so he was really inspired while working on the script. People quit their good paying jobs to do this independent. It shows appreciation for the concept, humor, and it’s overall vibe. Everyone shares their experiences and what they did on it. It has the exclusive little over 25 minute “The 16 1/2 Anniversary Screening / Q and A”. It features Dan Eckman, D.C. Pierson, Dominic Dierkes, and Meggie McFadden plus it’s moderated by Andy Young. They all respond to the audience after showing the movie. They joke about exploiting everyone they knew and locations used from people involved with this. They did commercials to help raise funds for Mystery Team. They go their writing process for it. They go over the characters and how some of the actors were cast. Lots of personal stories are shared in this. They have so fun revisiting their work with a live crowd. It comes with a slipcover with artwork from Louie De Martinis, reversible artwork, and a digital copy. It’s Vestron Video #36 from the popular home video line. I have to admit it really threw me off when this was announced as a Vestron Video release because it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the catalog. It’s available exclusively at LionsgateLimited.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!