[PT-BR/EN] CRÍTICA DE FILME: “Detetive Madeinusa” (2021)

[EN]

Without the slightest doubt, I say that the genre of Brazilian cinema that has movies produced over decades is comedy. At the same time, I also affirm (and also without a shadow of a doubt) that this genre is the one I see deteriorated the most over the same decades. This movie is an example of that, and shows vehemently, without making any effort, how much progress still needs to be made to make “comedies” (even very generic ones) here.

You don't need to be a renowned screenwriter to write comedies with classic nonsense touches, you just need to follow a “playbook” that already exists, but with appropriate execution to make the genre's clichés work. That's precisely what doesn't happen here, because despite the script having an essentially good idea, its execution is a complete and gigantic disaster. Honestly, it was a difficult mission to watch this movie until its end.

In the plot, the clumsy “detective” Madeinusa (nomenclature with the worst “analogy” to create a parallel with the American side) is hired by a billionaire lobbyist to investigate (and obviously solve) the theft of a prized ox of great value. He would never be able to do it alone, so he joins forces with an unexpected team: his assistant Uóston, Marcela (a psychic waitress), Larissa (a saleswoman in an accessories store) and Zuleide, who is a hacker.

Together, they begin to find the pieces of the “puzzle”, and the script becomes increasingly worse as everything within the narrative is deepened. Honestly, it's impressive (negatively speaking) to know that this plot was written by five people, because the level of precariousness in the entire project is extremely high, and that's precisely why absolutely nothing works for the right reasons. Not even the jokes, which should be the “trump card”.

The comic touch is dated, mainly because the vast majority of the jokes are known or poorly executed (for example, the use that involves breaking the fourth wall... which is when the cast looks at the camera and talks to the audience). Furthermore, there is no concern whatsoever about delivering a story with a minimum of credulity (even if it is pure generic comedy, the public needs to buy what is being constructed on screen), which all adds up to something even more futile.

In the cast (which isn't even worth mentioning by name because the work is really terrible) led by the comedian Tirullipa (the protagonist who ironically is the worst character in the entire movie), everything is a huge mess. Literally, they are completely lost in the scene and it even seems that director Rodrigo Van Der Put embarked on the same idea, because his work is one of the worst things I've ever had the displeasure of watching.

On the technical side, the movie appears to be a low-budget production (although it has a large number of special appearances, which are actually friends hired to do small scenes for a modest fee, I would say) that does not impress in any aspect. Quite the contrary, it is impressive because it is so poorly done (and a very clear example of this is the horrible work done in editing the scenes) and impossible to believe in some points.

Despite its very rare supposedly “funny” moments (which are only funny because of the embarrassment caused to the public), Detetive Madeinusa is a movie that I really do not recommend for absolutely anyone to watch (not even as a simple pastime). A pile of desperately poorly executed clichés and a project that doesn't take itself seriously for even a moment, which obviously ends in a huge disappointment.