Veronica Mars: The Movie - Reviews #187

Veronica Mars (Rob Thomas, 2014)



*NO REAL SPOILERS, BUT IF YOU'RE A FAN, BEST TO GO IN BLIND*

She's back!

The ballsy, whipsmart heroine of this iconic '00s teen noir series finally returns, thanks to the determination of creator Rob Thomas, and the cheque books of some 91,000 fans (me included).

For the uninitiated, Veronica Mars was one of the defining shows of the last decade, and certainly my favourite, creating a Hammett-style hero who just happened to be a teenage girl, and mixing equal parts mystery, high school drama and absurdly sharp comic writing. If you're wondering why some of us continue to root for that blonde girl with the distinctive schnozzola as she endures yet another dodgy romcom (including the other school reunion flick with Jamie Lee Curtis, the bowels of hell's You Again), then this is your answer - she's Kristen Bell, and she's cool as flip.

The show lasted just two spellbinding seasons in its true form before its poor ratings caught up with it. The third was a botch job that provided many memorable moments but smelt of compromise. The pilot for a divergent fourth was never picked up. There was talk of a novel or a comic book, before all went quiet. Then one day a Kickstarter page appeared...

The film picks up nine years after Season 3, with law graduate Veronica tempted out of retirement when her ex-boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring, flexing that sad smile once more) is suspected of murdering his pop star girlfriend. He thinks an obsessive fan might be responsible, but her alibi isn't letting in much air.

Thomas, who directed as well as co-scripting with Diane Ruggiero, struggles to find his footing a little for the first half hour: his script inevitably exposition-heavy and overly compacted, needing stakes high enough to justify Warner Bros' backing, but having just 100 minutes to tell its tale.

But as it unfolds, toying with stock series tropes, dropping loving in-jokes and breathing life back into its strong, combustible human relationships, you see that it's doing everything right by its characters, right the way through to a simply stunning pay-off. The best evidence I can give? Boring old Piz is now likeable: a wry, smart and self-aware young man, rather than an interloping wet blanket with bad hair. Certainly the packed screening I was in seemed to go for the film completely, from the playful theme songs at the kick-off to the real thing over the end credits.

The performances are just a treat, Bell effortlessly recapturing Veronica's inimitable combo of bad-assery and off-kilter sentiment, Dohring slipping back into Logan's pec-boobs and sardonic asides (but where's his cool necklace?) and Rico Colantino giving the whole enterprise that lovely Keith Martian warmth. The clear affection that these actors have for their creations, abandoned seven years ago, extends right across the cast, to Mac (ace hair), Wallace (love that file gag) and Weevil, whose journey to respectability mirrors Veronica's own. Dick Casablancas is basically now just comic relief writ large, and who could object?

There are some things that maybe don't work (James Franco's cameo is funny but utterly incongruous) and others that certainly don't, including a mundane supporting performance from Martin Starr (one of *four* Freaks & Geeks alumni, including Percy Daggs III), and a smattering of clunky lines that would doubtless have been ironed out with a longer shooting schedule. Truth be told, the mystery itself is only middling, squashed into this shorter format instead of playing out over 22 shows.

The things that matter, though, it gets right: Veronica coming to terms with her past and herself - negotiating the ties that fray but never break, and facing the part of her personality that has lain dormant for seven years. Increasingly, those choices are presented in the most invigorating, viscerally exciting way, with Thomas all over his show's singular mythology in a way that should satiate even the most hard to please fans.

Is it objectively a very good film? How can I be objective? She's back. (3)

See also: Dohring also went to a school reunion - and tried to solve a mystery - whilst Scouting for Sonny. I'm sure I've reviewed it somewhere. Link to follow. Brief reviews of Veronica Mars Seasons 1 to 3 are via that link just there.

Bridesmaids, Cars 2 and scintillating chemistry - Reviews #81

CINEMA: Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011) is a fresh, funny and insightful look at middle-aged malaise, dressed up as a knockabout comedy. When unlucky-in-love Annie (Kristen Wiig, who co-scripted) finds her childhood pal Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married, she’s delighted - if a little envious. But as she becomes engaged in a running war with Lillian’s infuriatingly perfect new best friend (Rose Byrne), Annie’s life proceeds to fall apart, with not even the attentions of thoughtful traffic cop Chris O’Dowd helping her to see sense. Like many comedies from the Judd Apatow stable - including Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Superbad - Bridesmaids is a little unfocused and sentimental. But it’s also agreeably honest and very entertaining, with some spectacularly funny scenes. A gross-out sequence in a bridal shop toilets had the packed screening room shaking with laughter, though most of the highlights belong to Wiig: a meltdown on a plane, a row with a gobby teenager and a hysterical parade of car-related silliness. This is a terrific showcase for the actress, who handles the dramatic material well, spits out some cracking one-liners and displays a tremendous flair for visual comedy; the appealing centre of a very likeable film. (3)

***



CINEMA: Cars 2 3D (John Lasseter and Brad Lewis, 2011) - Pixar's latest is good fun, but conspicuously lacking the magic of their finest fare. A follow-up to the folksy-but-flashy 2005 film - the weakest of the studios’ 11 features, but a merchandising goldmine - this sequel is an international spy caper that throws rusty tow truck Mater (voiced amusingly by Larry the Cable Guy) centre-stage. It’s zippy, quite inventive and boasts some vivid visuals, including intoxicating recreations of Paris and the Italian Riviera. Michael Caine is a nice addition to the cast as a secret agent with a pencil moustache and an array of gadgets, John Turturro is a riot voicing on-track nemesis Francesco Bernoulli and there are bravura passages, including a super opening set-piece. But after that stunning run of WALL-E, Up and Toy Story 3, the film’s lack of an emotional punch is obvious and its moral of friendship and staying true to oneself appears too heavyhanded and mechanical. Perhaps the peculiar universe, populated only by vehicles, makes it hard to really engage. Improbably, DreamWorks’ newest offering - the superlative Kung Fu Panda 2 - leaves Pixar’s trailing in the dust. (2.5)

***



TV: Party Down (Season 1, 2009) is an incredibly funny comedy from those brilliant minds behind Veronica Mars, about a catering firm made up of frustrated actors who take on a series of diverse assignments, only for their personal lives to rather get in the way. It's inspired farce in the Steven Moffat vein - each episode building to an uproarious, often unexpected climax - shot in a handheld, faux-realistic style and blessed by Ken Marino's wonderful tragi-comic performance as team leader Ron and that scintillating Adam Scott-Lizzy Caplan chemistry. Mars fans will enjoy the host of guest appearances, including a naked Keith dive-bombing into a swimming pool, Logan Ecchols as a young conservative politico and Veronica herself playing a hard-ass boss from rival company Valhalla. Her "thank you" to Scott in that final episode is as lovely a piece of acting as you'll see all year. This whole series is just note-perfect, right down to its non-catchphrase: "Are we having fun yet?" (4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The reviews of Bridesmaids and Cars 2 3D were written by Rick Burin and appeared on Page 30 of the Harrogate Advertiser, July 29, 2011.

Veronica Mars - Complete series review

A bit of telly for ya...

Yes, I stopped watching films for long enough to watch a TV series. I've tried to keep the *SPOILERS* to a minimum, but there are a few in there (including photos of the Season 2 and 3 line-ups), so if you haven't seen Veronica Mars, do that without any further hesitation, then clicky back on over here.



Veronica Mars - Season 1 (2004-5) - Aaaaaah... thump. That sound is my jaw dropping. What an utterly fantastic, incredibly engrossing, staggeringly entertaining series this is: a succession of superb mini-mysteries, wrapped up in one big series-long conspiracy. Veronica (Kristen Bell) was the golden girl of Neptune High. But when her best friend Lily Kane (Amanda Seyfried) was murdered, her sheriff father (Enrico Colantoni) became convinced Lily's internet age billionaire father was involved - setting Veronica against the wealthy in-crowd, including her boyfriend, Lily's brother Duncan (the disappointingly wooden Teddy Dunn). So our uber-cool outsider - and prospective PI like her pops - becomes a part-time hero-for-hire, dissing the deserved as she tangles with the Kanes, moneyed bad boy Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) and biker gang leader Weevil (Francis Capra). Series brains Rob Thomas creates a fully-rounded universe in which it's a sheer joy to lose oneself and the performances from Bell and Dohring are just spectacular. Their chemistry, and Bell's rapport with Colantoni, is magical. With the caveat that I'm more versed in celluloid matters than small-screen, this is one of the best things I've ever seen on TV. (4)

Best episodes: Pilot (#1), The Wrath of Con (#4) for the punchline, Weapons of Class Destruction (#18) for the kiss.

***



Veronica Mars - Season 2 (2005-6) - Somehow, this is every bit as good. No sooner has Veronica brushed the dirt from her clothes, changed boyfriends and got a job in a restaurant, than a school bus goes careering off a cliff and a former stuntman washes up dead with her name written on his hand, plunging her into a new mystery. The cases are still surprising, the character development is intelligent and the larger narrative is completely absorbing, while Bell, Dohring and Colantoni are reliably brilliant and each of the supporting players deftly drawn and given a distinct voice. Ryan Hansen, as the uncomplicated Dick Casablancas, is given greater prominence and is genuinely hilarious ("I'm not a smellologist," he memorably protests at one point), though his apparent behaviour in Season One does colour proceedings somewhat. His shy, put-upon brother Beaver (Kyle Gallner) also comes centre-stage, after sporadic appearances last series. Touching, laugh-out-loud funny and devilishly clever, this super sequel of a series is gloriously-written, flashily-shot and extremely well-acted, building to an unforgettable climax. (4)

Best episodes: Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner (#7) for Lamb's one moment of empathy, Never Mind the Buttocks (#19) for Weevil's return, Not Pictured (#22) for the Usual Suspects-style revelation of those two simple words.

***



Veronica Mars - Season 3 (2006-7) - They said it couldn't be done. And they were right. This third series can't quite touch the first two instalments. The main problem is that, obsessing over audience figures and kowtowing to boneheaded execs, the creators tinkered with the format, changed their original plot and were then deprived of a (richly-deserved) fourth season anyway. That said, the series is still phenomenally enjoyable, picking up after an uncertain start in which the college setting takes a little getting used to. The performances are largely stunning, the mysteries remain intriguing and tricky to second-guess, and the balancing of comedic and dramatic elements is as sure-footed as ever, while incorporating some neat nods to the crime genre, including vintage Bogie noir, Charlie Chan and Nancy Drew. The larger crimes this time involve a series of rapes (a narrative continued from Season 2) and a college murder, with a third, reportedly mind-bending plot dropped in case it deterred potential first-time viewers. While one can bemoan the shattering of the familiar ensemble, some repetitiveness in the on-off central romance, a few loose plot threads and a distinct lack of closure, this remains a compelling and invigorating third helping: 13 hours more in the company of these remarkable characters. There's a massive hole in my life where Veronica Mars has been this last couple of months. (3.5)

Best episodes: Spit & Eggs (#8), in which the knot in our communal stomach gets tighter and tighter, Postgame Mortem (#13), which is just really sweet and nicely played, The Bitch Is Back (#20), in which we say goodbye, and Logan gets the send-off he truly deserves.