The Private Eye

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2:20

The Private Eye

R

2024

1h 54m

Mystery & Thriller

Romance

Comedy

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4 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Private investigator Mort Madison (Matt Rife) has seen his better days. A mysterious woman, Michelle (Clare Grant) hires him to spy on David (Elliot), whom he believed to be her lover. In the detective process Mort himself falls in love with Michelle and decides the only way he can be with her is by eliminating David from the equation. Mort hopes this will entice Michelle to run away with him and live happily ever after only to reveal a mind-blowing twist.

Ben Shehadi

Film Threat

Mar 18, 2024

6/10

Ultimately, it’s a missed opportunity and a disappointment. The few nuggets of good comedy just aren’t enough to save this one.

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I.J. Wheaton

CBR

Feb 24, 2024

6/10

More of a psycho-sexual romantic anti-comedy with the affectations of a detective story and very basic aping of classic Film Noir tropes overlaying that incredibly confusing cocktail of genres and conceits, rather than a more focused spoof...

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

Feb 9, 2024

Meandering, lethargic, convoluted and overlong while lacking wit, suspense and thrills.

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Feb 8, 2024

2/5

Comedian Matt Rife takes a stab at a lead role in a feature film, but it's a messy, tonally weird affair where the private detective does very little snooping, or anything much interesting.

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Hope

Feb 10, 2024

If you love a good mystery rom-com, this movie is for you. The acting is phenomenal!!

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Andrew O

Feb 9, 2024

Horrible. The story was all over the place. This is NOT a comedy.

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R T.

@RT88844908 Jun 2, 2026

Loved the Cinematography! A bit of comedic timing along with the double twist with the timeline shift is exactly the kind of clever storytelling that keeps you thinking about a film long after the credits roll.

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private u

@RT89287212 Aug 3, 2025

I'm not sure what's with all these RAVE reviews, I think their totally bogus because nobody would rave about this movie, even if they were excited to see Matt Rife on the screen. I'm a huge Matt Rife fan so I was really excited to hear that he was getting into acting. But this movie highlights the fact that he's much better at improv than he is at delivering a script. His performance was incredibly flat, and the movie itself was awful... the story, the other actors, the production value, it was all very amateurish. Even though it featured Eric Roberts, who is one of my secret guilty pleasures, couldn't save this movie. I still love you Matt, but this was not the vehicle to move you ahead in your acting career.

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Scott d.

Aug 26, 2024

I saw "The Private Eye" first in a theater a few months ago and absolutely loved it. Interesting story with several twists I didn't see coming and the cast was amazing led by Matt Rife, Clare Grant and Eric Roberts. With what I discovered at the end of the movie (no spoilers here), I can't wait to go back and watch it a second time streaming. The flash back sequences along with the unique film noir were very well done. I rate this movie a 10 mostly because for a low budget indie movie (probably done for under 3M), it was very well done and most importantly a GREAT story! Can't wait to see what Jack Cook comes up with for his next movie!

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Scary Things A

@RT51300860 Aug 21, 2024

This is a movie buff movie… great indie film.

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Jack Cook

Director

Matt Rife

Mort Madison

Clare Grant

Michelle

Elliot

David

Denzel Whitaker

Bradley

Eric Roberts

Edmond

The Private Eye: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Private investigator Mort Madison (Matt Rife) has seen his better days. A mysterious woman, Michelle (Clare Grant) hires him to spy on David (Elliot), whom he believed to be her lover. In the detective process Mort himself falls in love with Michelle and decides the only way he can be with her is by eliminating David from the equation. Mort hopes this will entice Michelle to run away with him and live happily ever after only to reveal a mind-blowing twist.

Director: Jack Cook
Producer: Hope Ayiyi, Stream Gardner
Screenwriter: Hope Ayiyi, Rosalinda Books, Jack Cook, Patrick Roe
Distributor: Glass House
Production Co: Illusion Islands, Ayiyi Productions, Frame 12
Rating: R (Brief Violence|Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 9, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 20, 2024
Runtime: 1h 54m

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