On the negative side of Dot Conner: Webtective, a few of the religious sequences feel shoehorned in. When Dot and her friends go through the appendix of the Bible to find a quote, it feels forced. From my understanding, this is a series thing and might make more sense to those familiar with it. But within the film unto itself, it comes out of nowhere. To be fair, when Dot’s grandma or others sit down and review biblical passages with her, it works much better. But the bigger issue involves a twist to a specific character that is far too easy to guess. In fact, I figured it out 5 seconds after that person’s introduction, which was well before the story got far enough along to reveal that there would be a twist, much less who said twist would entail. The way that person acted and spoke made them feel off right away. Please note this is entirely due to the writing and story structure, and not the fault of the actor playing that character. He or she is outstanding and fun in the part, especially at the end.
A close up shot of Ethan Pogue as Alex Murray and Gili Gould as Dot Conner during the scooter chase scene on the set of Dot Conner: Webtective, The Movie on Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee on July 24, 2024. (Photo by Frederick Breedon)
“Gould is terrific…”
That segues nicely to the cast. Gould is terrific as the lead character. Her comedic timing is spot on, but she also sells the more dramatic and intense moments equally well. McCardell and Pogue are fun and also have good comedic timing. Marsden and Brady steal the show with their antics. They play off each other nicely, and every scene they are in is funny from start to finish. Waters has the most serious role and gives the proceedings the right amount of edge to sell the thrilling moments well. John Rhys-Davies has a voice-over cameo, and he nails it. He comes across as very authoritative and funny at once. However, the very end with him is cringeworthy in all the worst ways.
Dot Conner: Webtective is a hilarious and thrilling spy thriller that the whole family will enjoy. The cast works very well, and the direction admirably balances the comedy and thrills to a compelling whole. While there are negatives throughout, the strengths do outweigh the drawbacks, and families would benefit from incorporating this into their weekly movie-watching rotation.
"…a hilarious and thrilling spy thriller that the whole family will enjoy."
