The Kid Detective

Name: The Kid Detective
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Comedy
Released: 2020-10-16
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 4
Cast: Wendy Crewson, Amanda Westington, Kaleb Horn, Griffin Wardle, Kira Gelineau

No longer a kid. Not much of a detective.

Rating

4.0 (1)

Release Date

10/16/2020

Runtime

99 mins

Genres

Drama Mystery Comedy

Overview

A once-celebrated kid detective, now 31, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.

Status

Released

Original Language

English

Budget

Revenue

$367,908

Homepage

How It Feels

Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.

A jaded former child prodigy stumbles into a real murder case that threatens to expose the gap between who he once was and who he's become. It's a noir draped in indie comedy, where every clue and drink only deepens the darkness.

Mood

BleakWistfulUnsettling

Themes

Coming apartRedemptionIdentityObsession

Tone

Ironic

Pacing

Steady

Look

NaturalisticDesaturated

Structure

Linear

Heads up

Graphic violenceAddiction

Adam Brody

Abe Applebaum

Sophie Nélisse

Caroline

Tzi Ma

Mr. Chang

Peter MacNeill

Principal Erwin

Maurice Dean Wint

Constable Cleary

Jonathan Whittaker

Mr. Applebaum

Wendy Crewson

Mrs. Applebaum

Sarah Sutherland

Lucy

Kaitlyn Chalmers-Rizzato

Gracie Gulliver

Kaleb Horn

Corey

Brent Skagford

Barkeep

Steve Gagne

Rory Beans

Reviews

stormaciousd

Nov 30, 2025

I was a huge fan of the Encyclopedia Brown books as a kid, and obviously love Adam Brody, so I was biased in favor of this even before pressing play.
It does get dark. The case is a murder, but then it gets darker. I didn't expect it, but I do think it works and that it was the right direction for the film. It finds a very solid balance between dark comedy and noir/mystery.

The Kid Detective2020

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Recommendations

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