Sun 21 Nov 2021
A PI Mystery Movie Review: NO CLUE (2013).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[4] Comments
NO CLUE. Alliance, Canada, 2013. Brent Butt, Amy Smart, David Koechner, David Cubitt, Dan Payne, Kirsten Prout. Screenplay: Brent Butt. Director: Carl Bessai. Currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
I wonder which mystery writer it was who was the first to open one of his books with a beautiful blonde babe walking into a PI’s office wanting him to do a job for her.
As I say, I don’t know who it was, but the guy ought to have copyright the whole bit. If he had (were it possible), he’d have made a fortune by now.
The problem in this case, for such an opening is the case, is that Leo Falloon is not a PI. His is the office down the hall, and the girl has made a mistake. He’s really a novelty pen salesman, the kind of pen that companies put their logos and slogans on, but when he hears the girl out – and she really is a beautiful blonde babe, so wouldn’t you? – and when she offers him real money – hell, yes, he takes the case.
Her brother is missing, she says. He’s created a video game that’s brought in tons of money, and she thinks something is seriously wrong. Which of course it is, and equally of course is that Leo Falloon, a slightly overweight schlub of a man, discovers that he’s seriously in over his head, but in most comedic fashion.
Luckily his best buddy Ernie (David Koechner, a long time regular on Saturday Night Live) is a devout aficionado of video games and is thus able to give Leo some pointers in the right direction. Of course all is not what it seems, and thus the heart of the tale that follows
Brent Butt is a well-known standup Canadian comedian and the star of Corner Gas, a Canadian TV comedy about a small gas station slash convenience store in Dog River, smack dab in the middle of nowhere (Saskatchewan), if you have never seen, I recommend to you most heartily.
On the other hand, as I’ve often said, humor is a funny thing. Most of the people who have written online reviews don’t get Butt’s kind of semi-sarcastic self-deprecating take on the world. Well, so be it. You can’t make people laugh if they their minds don’t work the way Brett Butts’ does, and mine, too, for that matter.
What’s strange, though, is that many of the very same people thought the mystery was terrific – at least those of them who made it through to the end. The mystery’s OK, with all kinds of clues and things, but are they all tied up at the end? Not to me, they weren’t, but then again I didn’t mind. I had lots of everything else to keep me happy all the way through.
November 21st, 2021 at 11:50 pm
I very much liked the trailer.
I’ll take a look at the film.
November 21st, 2021 at 11:51 pm
Sounds like my kind of movie. Accidental, bumbling PI sounds like a role made for Brent Butt, whose sarcastic shtick I enjoyed in Corner Gas. Thanks for the recommendation.
November 22nd, 2021 at 11:15 am
On the other hand, here’s an example of one of the many negative reviews the movie has gotten:
“One’s efforts at rooting for the central character’s success are, as a result, thwarted on an ongoing basis, which ensures that it grows more and more difficult to work up an ounce of enthusiasm for the mystery’s outcome – thus confirming No Clue’s place as a distressingly worthless endeavor that hopefully marks the end of Butt’s big-screen career.”
https://reelfilm.com/mini142.htm#no
But on yet the other hand, here’s a fellow that saw the same movie I did:
“As a comedy the film works well, as a mystery, save the for the apparent climax it is a solid story littered with great clues, some on the nose, some deliciously subtle. But, like I said, before, at its heart, No Clue is a comedy, and it does that quite well. The awkward pacing of the final act is not enough to deter from a thoroughly enjoyable theatre going experience.”
https://renegadecinema.com/24835/no-clue-review
November 22nd, 2021 at 8:26 pm
As a big fan of CORNER GAS (currently available on AMAZON PRIME) this sounds like a delight, but as you said humor is highly subjective.
I’ll just say I am up for this one.