Mort Madison (Matt Rife) is a down-on-his-luck private eye who spends his days drinking and smoking without many knocks on his door asking for his assistance. Then, one day, a mysterious woman named Michelle (Clare Grant) hires Mort to follow and scare off her boyfriend, David (Elliot). During the case, Mort’s past and present collide as he navigates his strange connection to Michelle, his own identity, and how far he will go for love.
The Private Eye struggles to decide what tone to go for and what story it’s trying to tell. It varies from a noir spoof to psychological drama, never following through on either attempt. Of course, once the twist occurs, the narrative tries its best to justify the runaround that most of the movie puts its audience through to throw them off the scent. Sadly, this feels more like wasted time. This would’ve benefitted from a shorter runtime, with many scenes being unnecessarily too long. It spends way too much time watching Mort do nothing remotely related to the case instead of building his character. Due to these lengthy deviations, the characters, their actions, and what they all mean to each other fall apart. Rife does a decent job but feels miscast, never entirely pulling off the private dick persona. Rife’s looks and mannerisms seem too young and ultimately too detached from who he is revealed to be in the end. It feels similar to how Jennifer Lawrence was teased for constantly being cast in roles that were much older than her actual age. However, Erik Griffin’s cameo as a taxi driver is easily the film’s highlight and made me laugh out loud. In thinking back on The Private Eye, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet comes to mind: after an hour, you start to worry because you realize you have no clue what’s going on. Once the reveal occurs in the third act, it’s so overly complicated that it leaves you thinking one of two things. Either you just watched something brilliantly orchestrated that requires repeat viewings or just experienced a flashy concept that can’t justify its existence. I look forward to seeing what else Rife has to offer in the future, but you can pass on this one.
title: “The Private Eye Featured Reviews Film Threat” ShowToc: true date: “2024-05-10” author: “Craig Hobbs”
Throughout the story, Mort finds himself involved in a love triangle between Michelle and another man: a hippie psychologist named David. The detective falls in love with the blonde-haired goddess but doesn’t understand why. That is until he learns something weird about this strangely familiar woman! Stylistically, The Private Eye borrows loose conventions from the noir genre of Dick Tracy and Sherlock Holmes, such as the use of black-and-white narration and internal dialogue. But it’s also an odd fusion with modern cinema, as seen by the use of contemporary hip-hop music and color photography. First, the positives. The dialogue is well-written and well-acted. While the drama lacks sorely, the comedy gives the film a few good laughs. We get a nice helping of Viagra jokes, outrageous pick-up lines, male sex fantasies, and hilarious hippie-bashing.
Comedians always breathe life into any cinematic role, and Matt Rife is no exception. Handsome and well-built, the youthful comedian gives a fairly compelling performance as the detective. His performance is well-matched by Clare Grant, who plays an excellent femme fatale. The movie features great cameos, such as Hollywood actor Eric Roberts (he played Maroni from The Dark Knight). There’s also an enjoyable appearance by comedian Erik Griffin, who nails the minor role of a taxi driver named “Crazy Carl.” Then, the negatives. The storytelling isn’t done well. It’s confusing and leaves you unsatisfied. Glimmers of goodness exist, but the bulk of the drama is filled with unnecessary, uninteresting scenes. Boring stuff, such as drinking obnoxiously loud and taking a shower. Nobody wants to see a shower scene of a dude! Although an admirable effort with a few good qualities—the cameos, the acting, some funny jokes—The Private Eye just doesn’t leave much of an impact. Ultimately, it’s a missed opportunity and a disappointment. The few nuggets of good comedy just aren’t enough to save this one. Maybe worth a half-hearted watch, but not much more.
