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| Courtesy of Warner Bros. |
This
time last year, Veronica Mars fans made pop culture history by independently financing,
with record-breaking speed, a film version of their beloved cult television
series, canceled (far too soon) in 2007. Along the way, they made Kickstarter a
household name and proved there was more than three seasons’ worth of story in the
life of a teenage private eye.
Picking
up nine years after the show ended in appropriately noir fashion – a
cliffhanger insinuating that Veronica (Kristen Bell) cost her father (Enrico
Colantoni) his job as sheriff because of a case – creator Rob Thomas (who
directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Diane Ruggiero) reintroduces viewers
to a much more grown-up version of the titular heroine.
She
has left the twisted world of Neptune, Calif. behind, and earned a law degree
from a prestigious university. She’s in a sane, safe relationship with former
boyfriend Piz (Chris Lowell) and is this close to nabbing a job with a
prominent New York City law firm when her past catches up to her.
Former
flame Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) calls her out of the blue to ask for help.
His pop star girlfriend was found dead in her bathtub and he’s the prime
suspect. She doesn’t want to get involved, but the pull of her hometown – and
the chance to reconnect with her dad and old friends (played by Percy Daggs III
and Tina Majorino) – is too strong to resist. And of course her investigation leads
to her loathsome high school’s reunion, where all the potential murderers will
be gathered in the same room.
Now
that Veronica Mars has been playing in theaters and available on demand for
almost a week, two big questions have been answered. First, does the sequel live
up to the insane hype? Surprisingly, yes.
As
the adult version of Veronica, Bell somehow manages to be even better than she
was on the show. The razor sharp dialogue sounds much more natural coming from
a 30-year-old woman than a teenager. It’s great to reconnect with the rest of
the cast and see that their astonishing chemistry is still there, particularly
between Bell and Colantoni.
The
pair had one of the best parent-child relationships on television, so seeing Keith
Mars’ ecstatic reaction to his daughter’s surprise reappearance was worth every
penny the fans chipped in to get the movie made. Dohring is also compelling as
Veronica’s apparently-reformed bad boy. That’s a sentence I never believed I’d
type after watching the first few episodes of the show. Dude was a psychopath.
The
next question is a bit tougher to answer. Is there an audience for the film
outside of diehard fans? Anecdotal evidence suggests yes (the first 10 minutes
of the movie is devoted to bringing everyone up to speed), but the plot relies on
so much minutia from the original series that I find it difficult to believe
newbies will have the same rewarding experience as more devoted viewers.
And
that’s not even taking into account all of the heavy-handed fan service. Look,
I get that Thomas want to reward the folks who paid for his movie – and I’ll
admit that I grinned like an idiot at every reference – but those winks come at
the expense of a central mystery that’s frankly not that interesting. That
contributed to making the screening an odd experience, as the fanboy and critic
parts of my brain were at war for 107 minutes. (In the interest of full
disclosure, I should admit that I chipped in $10 toward the movie’s production.
Big spender! I got some stickers and a nifty PDF version of the screenplay.)
For
example, I loved seeing Max Greenfield’s return as Veronica’s former love
interest, Deputy Leo. Since he’s now one of television’s biggest sitcom stars
(he plays Schmidt on Fox’s New Girl), Thomas would be an idiot not to ask him
to pop up for one scene. But his character’s conversation with Veronica – while
adorable as kittens, puppies and rainbows – is entirely disposable. It might
advance the mystery one step, which could’ve been accomplished for much cheaper
by throwing a line of dialogue into a different scene.
I
was also frustrated at the loose threads Thomas leaves dangling for a sequel
that might not happen. Granted, the overwhelming success of the film’s
Kickstarter campaign would turn even the most hardhearted skeptics into optimists.
But my practical side has to ask why Thomas would make a movie based on a
television show he didn’t get to finish and end it with unanswered questions.
Despite
these fairly substantial issues, I still walked away from my Veronica Mars experience with fandom intact. And I honestly hope Thomas gets that sequel he’s
hoping for. With all the reintroductions and fan service out of the way, I’m
guessing the critic part of my brain will be happier with the next installment.
Veronica
Mars is rated PG-13 for sexuality including references, drug content, violence
and some strong language.
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