Nuts

“Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.” Leo Corday and Leon Carr wrote that jingle for Almond Joy. It would apply perfectly to those who wish to book time in the vacation home below, which will be available in Duluth, Minnesota, the company’s headquarters. Photo from foxnews.com:

It’s rare when a mystery seems fresh, although it may be good. The Kid Detective (2020) is both. It’s the story of a 32-year-old PI trying to recapture past glory, the solving of petty crimes in his youth. Once admired by the folks in his idyllic small town, he’s now frowned upon for not having moved on. One day a high school student hires him to find the murderer of her boyfriend, stabbed 17 times. His life will never be the same. It begs the question: “Is it better to know the truth even when it’s beyond ugly?” The movie was written and directed by Evan Morgan, his first full length feature after several shorts. I didn’t find much bio info on him, but it’s safe to assume he’s from Canada, as the film received a few nominations there, including a much deserved one for screenplay. Adam Brody, a Californian, no relation to Adrien, is excellent in the lead, as is Kaitlyn Chalmers-Rizzato in her debut. She kept it low key throughout, whether from inexperience or excellent instincts, I have no idea. Veterans Wendy Crewson and Jonathan Whittaker do nice turns as the detective’s meddlesome parents. I did not understand the use of Nancy Sinatra’s happy go lucky Sugar Town (Lee Hazlewood) at the beginning and end. Maybe it is meant as a counterpoint to the dark side of life, what lies beneath. 14,000+ users at IMDb have rated The Kid Detective, forging to a consensus of seven on a scale of ten. I’d go higher. It did not fare well at the box office, returning only $367,000+ on a budget estimated at $2-$4 million. I hope DVD sales and rentals and streaming are strong so that Morgan will get more work. He deserves it. Here are the leads in character:

Round and round we go. Headline from nypost.com: “FDA votes against recommending COVID booster shots for most Americans.”

My thanks to the kind folks who bought and swapped books on this humid day. Here’s what sold: two art pictorials in Russian; an illustrated kids book featuring animals; Tell the Truth Until They Bleed by Josh Alan Friedman; and Seven (1995) and Scarface (1983) on DVD.

My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts

Read Vic’s Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza