A long time ago
We used to be friends
But I haven't thought of you lately at all
If ever again
A greeting I send to you
Short and sweet to the soul I intend
That was the opening to the theme song of the show, by the Dandy Warhols. It does a odd job of representing the movie and the relationship most fans will have with it. The show stopped airing early 2007, just over 7 years ago. For that period of time very little info was given out as to what happened to the different characters. In April 2013 a kickstarter was successfully funded for the new movie to finally occur. The fans themselves donated over 5 million dollars in order to get another chapter in Veronica's story. Earlier this month the movie was released in a limited amount of theaters, and the fans who helped fund it were given a digital copy. Sadly no theater in my area picked it up, but I was able to buy it off of amazon instant video. So the question is, will the movie make the fans happy? Or a better question would be, will the movie make the non fans happy? Sadly, the answers to those questions are going to be different.
If you have seen the show, you can skip this paragraph. The show was about a high school girl named Veronica. At the age of 18 she was given her Private Investigator's license, and she started working along side her father as his assistant. In the show, her best friend was killed and the first season revolved around her trying to piece that mystery together. It had dark humor, drama, and great writing. One thing the show did very well though was develop its own characters. As the seasons progressed you came to learn quite a bit about the residents of Neptune, and appreciate them all in one way or another. Veronica had a hard life though during those seasons, from being almost killed, being raped, and betrayed by those close to her. Every season took its toll on her. I think that is why the fans rallied behind this project so much. They all wanted to see her finally come out ahead, and in a good place.
The story for the movie picks up 9 years after the show ended. Veronica is now about to become a Lawyer, and is living in New York with her boyfriend Piz. There is a theme about her escaping Neptune and her chaotic past for something simpler and safer. Piz is a big part of that, he is viewed as a safe relationship for her. However her ex boyfriend Logan, is being accused of murder. He is being accused of murdering his Girlfriend Carrie Bishop who was a well known pop star. Veronica drops everything to head back to Neptune to help Logan pick out a lawyer, but ends up staying on to work the case. The overall story is about the murder investigation, but the overall theme is about Veronica trying to figure out who she wants to be.
Seeing a television show go to the big screen is a odd thing. In some cases it works wonderfully, however you never know if the magic will be there. With Veronica Mars, you were given a entire season to piece together the big mystery. You were excited for every new clue, and tried to put it all together as the show went on. With 22 episodes per season, that is something like 15 hours of mystery time. Trying to recreate that feeling in just under 2 hours leaves something to be desired. The movie is for the fans, and as such it does not spend much time if any building up the characters. They assume you know who they are, and how they relate to each other. This was not a issue for me, but my wife did seem to have trouble remembering who certain people were. And if you never saw the show, you may have trouble becoming invested in what is happening. You will also miss a lot of the humor and little references. The movie is very self aware, and likes to reference things that happened both in and out of the show. From the opening sequence where Veronica calls herself a "Marshmallow" to a throw away line about somebody hearing she was in the FBI. Marshmallow being the name given to the fans as well as a throwback to the first episode, and FBI being a reference to the previous movie idea that never got made. As a non fan, you will not appreciate everything the movie brings with it. That is not to say you can't find enjoyment from it, but you will be at a disadvantage.
Is that really a good way to go? Well the movie was pretty much funded by the fans. So giving them what they want does make some sense. Also if you have not seen the tv show, you should probably remedy that. However I do think it should have been more accessible. Something as simple as filling out the intro scene that was supposed to cover the back story. We get a very quick recap of season 1, with not much else thrown it. Making that sequence a few moments longer would have helped out immensely. Still if Veronica Mars is new to you, but you like mystery movies, you should find enough here to keep you happy.
If you have seen the show, you can skip this paragraph. The show was about a high school girl named Veronica. At the age of 18 she was given her Private Investigator's license, and she started working along side her father as his assistant. In the show, her best friend was killed and the first season revolved around her trying to piece that mystery together. It had dark humor, drama, and great writing. One thing the show did very well though was develop its own characters. As the seasons progressed you came to learn quite a bit about the residents of Neptune, and appreciate them all in one way or another. Veronica had a hard life though during those seasons, from being almost killed, being raped, and betrayed by those close to her. Every season took its toll on her. I think that is why the fans rallied behind this project so much. They all wanted to see her finally come out ahead, and in a good place.
The story for the movie picks up 9 years after the show ended. Veronica is now about to become a Lawyer, and is living in New York with her boyfriend Piz. There is a theme about her escaping Neptune and her chaotic past for something simpler and safer. Piz is a big part of that, he is viewed as a safe relationship for her. However her ex boyfriend Logan, is being accused of murder. He is being accused of murdering his Girlfriend Carrie Bishop who was a well known pop star. Veronica drops everything to head back to Neptune to help Logan pick out a lawyer, but ends up staying on to work the case. The overall story is about the murder investigation, but the overall theme is about Veronica trying to figure out who she wants to be.
Seeing a television show go to the big screen is a odd thing. In some cases it works wonderfully, however you never know if the magic will be there. With Veronica Mars, you were given a entire season to piece together the big mystery. You were excited for every new clue, and tried to put it all together as the show went on. With 22 episodes per season, that is something like 15 hours of mystery time. Trying to recreate that feeling in just under 2 hours leaves something to be desired. The movie is for the fans, and as such it does not spend much time if any building up the characters. They assume you know who they are, and how they relate to each other. This was not a issue for me, but my wife did seem to have trouble remembering who certain people were. And if you never saw the show, you may have trouble becoming invested in what is happening. You will also miss a lot of the humor and little references. The movie is very self aware, and likes to reference things that happened both in and out of the show. From the opening sequence where Veronica calls herself a "Marshmallow" to a throw away line about somebody hearing she was in the FBI. Marshmallow being the name given to the fans as well as a throwback to the first episode, and FBI being a reference to the previous movie idea that never got made. As a non fan, you will not appreciate everything the movie brings with it. That is not to say you can't find enjoyment from it, but you will be at a disadvantage.
Is that really a good way to go? Well the movie was pretty much funded by the fans. So giving them what they want does make some sense. Also if you have not seen the tv show, you should probably remedy that. However I do think it should have been more accessible. Something as simple as filling out the intro scene that was supposed to cover the back story. We get a very quick recap of season 1, with not much else thrown it. Making that sequence a few moments longer would have helped out immensely. Still if Veronica Mars is new to you, but you like mystery movies, you should find enough here to keep you happy.
This movie was shot in 23 days, I don't know how long a movie normally takes, but that seems pretty short. There are no great special effects to talk about. The acting was pretty solid overall, and the dark humor from the original series was fully intact. They did try to fit every single character back into the movie, or at least it felt like they did. While it was nice to see what everybody was up to, it did seem more like a negative situation to me. We are given a brief glimpse at some of our favorites, but we don't really get to much time with them. It almost felt like, if we don't get to learn what they have been doing, and where they are in their life now....why bother. It felt like each time somebody was introduced, it was just a short tease. While given the run time of a film, you really can't fault them for going that route. But it did make me wish another season would come around.
Veronica slides back into her old ways easy enough. And the formula still works very well. For the fans, this movie will be a great addition. Like the song, it is a greeting, short and sweet. For the non fans, it is a solid mystery movie that is very well written. However you will feel like you are missing out at times, and some of the details will be lost on you, as the movie does not explain everything. It has some great moments, and a wonderful appearance from James Franco as himself. If you are a Marshmallow, chances are you have already seen this. But if you missed it, or simply did not know about it yet, you will be quite happy with the movie. For everybody else, a rental is probably your best option.
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