The Mod Squad (Film Review)

1999 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Directed by: Scott Silver; Written by: Stephen Kay, Scott Silver, and Kate Lanier
Starring: Claire Danes, Omar Epps, Giovanni Ribisi, Dennis Farina, Josh Brolin, Steve Harris, and Michael Lerner
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 92 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 6/10

Julie, Pete, and Lincoln are living their last chance. Facing a lifetime of prison stints, they take up Captain Adam Greer's offer to become undercover cops. This works out okay...until Captain Greer is murdered. Unfortunately, Greer is not only framed for drug-related matters, but all the cops around him seem crooked...all but Julie, Peter, and Lincoln, who must now not only solve Greer's murder, but clear his good name.
The Mod Squad's plot is as rudimentary a story as a crime film has had. The 1999 adaptation of the late 60s/early 70s counterculture procedural almost doesn't even seem to care about its plot. The cops are bad, they get together and have a big meeting where they spell out all their plans, a villain even says, "But why did we kill X CHARACTER?" to which another villain answers, "Here's exactly why in detail..." and our heroes are sitting outside the window recording the entire thing on a cassette tape. It's the kind of story a middle schooler would scratch out for a weekly assignment. I can easily admit that as a storytelling device, The Mod Squad is an abject failure.
However...1999 is my favorite year in human history, and The Mod Squad is both aesthetically and aurally the most 1999 movie that exists. Scott Silver may not tell a coherent story here, but he knows what looks good. Silver's cinematographer, the award-winning Ellen Kuras, presents a washed-out desaturated image, punctuated by bright, contrasting colors, to create a gorgeous visual palette for the film that's one of the best looking of the year. Likewise, every contributing visual element here, down to even the wardrobe (the film's marketing included a corresponding Levi's campaign) and hair and makeup, are firing on all cylinders. 1999 coolness is bursting out of the seems, even as the plot dies on the vine.
Likewise, the jazzy score by BC Smith, outside of a few overly cheesy nods to the 70s, is wonderful and atmospheric, featuring some cool downbeat and satisfying cues. The soundtrack itself is an ode to 1999 cool, from a Curtis Mayfield/Lauryn Hill mashup to Morphine to Björk (all that's missing is some Portishead!), and I love it all. In the end, though, the visual and audio elements will not be enough to get many viewers over the lousy plot hill. Claire Danes, Omar Epps, Giovanni Ribisi bring a lot of cool to their lead roles, but that may not be enough to endear most viewers to their thin characterizations and lackluster dialogue. Even the film's dark humor is an acquired taste.
The best comparison I can make for The Mod Squad is to the Official Dreamcast Magazine. This magazine was created to focus upon Sega's final foray into console video gaming, and premiered in 1999. It's graphical layouts and style are the best 1999 can offer, and strangely similar to the theatrically released poster for 1999's The Mod Squad. If you are a fan of the Sega Dreamcast, and I am, the magazine's aesthetic beauty is easily enjoyable. If you aren't...if you're say, a huge X-Box fan who mostly plays Call of Duty...all of those aesthetics are going to do nothing for you. And neither will this film. Meanwhile, I think I'm going to throw it on again.