Adam Brody will always be known as Seth Cohen from The O.C. At the time of that show’s main run, there was a lot of buzz about his future career and talk about how he would be the next big thing. Despite some very interesting roles, that ‘next big thing’ promise never came to fruition. 2020’s The Kid Detective is the prime example of why this is a travesty.

In The Kid Detective, Adam Brody stars as Abe Applebaum, a formerly distinguished kid detective, now in his thirties and stuck in a rut, longing for the days of his former glory. A teenage girl comes to him with a real case to ask for help solving the murder of her boyfriend. It’s a chance for Abe to redeem himself from past failures and solve a central mystery that has haunted him for decades. Adam Brody carries this movie with ease, giving a funny and heartbreaking performance. The film also cleverly utilizes its casting choice of Brody, as Abe’s arc, in broad ways, mirrors Brody’s own — a young star who does not live up to his full promised potential.

Promising Young Talent — Adam Brody Took On Many Smaller Roles After ‘The O.C.’

In the early 2000s, Adam Brody became famous for his work on the teen television drama The O.C., playing fan-favorite character Seth Cohen. Seth wasn’t a typical character in a nighttime soap opera, but Brody’s portrayal earned him several Teen Choice Awards, an adoring fan base, and high acclaim. There was much talk about his career potential and much expectation that he would be a huge breakout star, building on the success he found on The O.C. But the show declined in popularity and praise after its first two seasons and fizzled out after four.

Brody’s career did not skyrocket to the absurd level of movie stardom predicted for him when he initially broke out on The O.C. But he has been a staple in smaller roles in a wide variety of television series and films. Some of his more memorable support work can be found in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jennifer’s Body, Promising Young Woman, American Fiction, and, of course, the Shazam! films as Freddy’s superhero alter-ego. His CV is stacked, and he has been working hard since his days as Seth, but no role has been as suited for him as his lead role in The Kid Detective. This film is a standout because it’s a rare lead film role for Brody, and it almost feels custom-made for his particular talents and career history.

‘The Kid Detective”s Arc Mirrors Adam Brody’s Career

The Kid Detective requires Adam Brody to be particularly open and vulnerable in his portrayal of the main character, Abe Applebaum, as Abe’s arc parallels Brody’s Hollywood career path. Highly acclaimed as a young detective, Abe’s future looked bright, but as he grew older, he was still solving these small cases, unable to shake the memory of his youthful reputation. Much like Brody is always remembered as Seth, Abe is always remembered as that prodigious kid detective who hasn’t yet lived up to his promised potential. Those around Abe, but mostly Abe himself, put upon him this expectation that he should do more with his talent and be more than what he is. “The people in this town used to look up to me. Even the adults. I was so far ahead of the game,” says Abe. “And then, one day, I just woke up behind.”

The dark comedic tone of the film is perfectly suited to Brody, whose previous work as Seth Cohen had well-established his knack for sarcasm and wit. Much like Abe goes through bouts of self-pity and angst, Brody has admitted that during his time on later seasons of The O.C., he had begun acting out, feeling as though the work was beneath him. “I used to be loved. I used to be a kid detective,” Abe’s voice-over reads. It may as well have been Brody describing his past as a young actor.

It feels almost cathartic to watch Brody, specifically in this role, going through the motions of coming out from under one’s own youthful shadow. Abe is down on himself for the bulk of the film, losing himself in drinking, drugs, and the memories of his past successes. He hangs newspaper clippings of his old solved cases on his office wall, uses outdated equipment like intercoms, and still claims his free “ice cream for life,” which he was rewarded after one past case. When high-schooler Caroline (Sophie Nélisse) comes to Abe for help in solving the mystery of who murdered her boyfriend, it gives him a chance to prove his talents and move beyond his childhood legacy with a grown-up case to solve at last. Adam Brody gets given the same chance with the arrival of The Kid Detective, his talents on full display as he gets his most mature and complex role to date.

When Caroline first meets Abe, she asks him, “So, when’s the last time you solved a case?” “I solve them all the time,” he answers. “They just stopped putting my picture in the paper.” Much like Brody, who since his days on the O.C. has been working in film and television non-stop but no longer features on as many high-profile magazine covers. By the end of the film, Abe comes to terms with who he was and who he now is in his career, “the kid detective who never gave up.” He clears his office walls of the old newspaper clippings of his former solved cases and decides to grow up, saying, “I had to take the old headlines down. They looked too stupid.” In much the same way, Adam Brody has finally put Seth Cohen to rest after all these years with new and exciting roles, such as Abe in The Kid Detective.

Abe Applebaum and Adam Brody Come of Age

Image via Woods Entertainment

The role of Abe is a challenging one, as the actor must effortlessly blend humor with pathos. Think a parody of a precocious kid detective, a la classic Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys, mixed with the mystery of a serious gruesome crime. The Kid Detective blends the genres of film noir with satire and dark comedy, fused with such brilliant specificity. Through his performance as Abe, Adam Brody masters the deadpan delivery, paying homage to classic film noir, allowing moments of humor to punch through, even as the performance remains restrained and serious. He internalizes Abe’s brutal discoveries with a subtle and effective childlike innocence. Many of his best moments come through a slight hesitancy, a sigh, or a glance. It’s a low-key, excellent performance.

While it is a quiet, restrained, and reflective performance, it still manages to cut with its humor and point of view. The film’s final scene alone is a revelation of the actor’s talent, as Adam Brody breaks down under the full weight of the pressure Abe Applebaum has felt for his entire adult life. So reserved throughout the entire film, he’s finally allowed this moment of full-on emotion, and Brody delivers it in the most heartbreaking, truthful way. When confronted by his former school principal, Abe is told, “I watched you grow up with the weight of the entire town on your conscience. I always felt a little sorry for you. No child could survive that.” Abe’s crying outburst works so perfectly as the finale of this film, encapsulating all of the emotional moments that came before this final scene.

Adam Brody may have become more of a successful working actor than a huge movie star, but his work in The Kid Detective puts his talent front and center. It is a quiet, reflective performance that shows what a talent he really is. On all levels, there is no better casting choice than Adam Brody for the role of Abe Applebaum, as his performance is masterful, while his own personal history adds a nuanced layer to the character. He not only plays the kid detective, he is the kid detective.