Veronica Mars

Resurrected from TV to the big screen—The Film Fatales investigate Veronica Mars. 

Veronica Mars. In theaters AND On Demand. 2014. PG-13. 107 minutes. Starring Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Lowell, Jerry O’Connell and many, many familiar faces. 

Years after walking away from her past as a teenage private eye, Veronica Mars gets pulled back to her hometown - just in time for her high school reunion - in order to help her old flame Logan Echolls, who's embroiled in a murder mystery. [IMDb] 

Nicole: Everyone’s favorite teen detective is back in this reboot from small screen to big screen, giving hope to fans of cancelled (or finished) TV series everywhere. (I’m talking to you Bryan Fuller. Let’s get Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies resurrected to Netflix, pretty please?) So, where does this new installment of VMars find our intrepid heroine (Bell)? In Manhattan, shacking up with Piz (Lowell) and interviewing at a law firm…um, what? Can you say fish out of water? What happened to the old Veronica? Well, she resurfaces fast and furiously when ex Logan (Dohring) is accused of murdering his girlfriend. Angst thus ensues… 

elizabeth: There are so many things that I would like to see resurrected, but I think I will take pass on digging up this show from the land of where canceled TV shows go.  It sounds like someone’s nephew wrote the storyline. I wonder how it is going to end? ZZZZZZZZ….

Nicole: *rolling eyes* What fans will love about this movie is it gives them a chance to catch up with all their favorite (and not so favorite) characters about 10 years later. What fans may notice, however, is that not every one of these TV actors translates well to film. Bell holds her own; obviously, she’s well used to the medium. But the same can’t be said for her leading man, Jason Dohring, who does a miserable job at bringing Logan to the big screen. He’s awkward and uncomfortable, and his performance pulls you right out of the viewing experience. (Makes you wonder why VMars ever had a thing for him in the first place.)   

elizabeth: if I was ever going to push to see a TV show to be brought to the big screen I would pitch Will & Grace, Frasier, or Third Rock from the Sun.  But then again, perhaps not. They ran their course and they left  on a high note. I would hate to see Will and Grace on blood thinners, Jack wearing Rosario’s Members’ Only jacket or Karen running an AA meeting in flats. Leave me to remember my TV friends the way they are. All in their 30s. Just like me. Do not go there. 

Nicole: There are a lot of fun cameos…and I’m not giving anything away by saying so (they’re listed on the credits). Be on the lookout for laugh-worthy scenes from James Franco (who’s always keen on self-deprecation) and Bell’s husband, actor and comedian, Dax Shepard – just to name two. I could have done with more screen time from Keith Mars (Colantoni), but there was a lot of ground to be covered here and I get why the screenwriter made the choices he did. Overall, it’s a satisfying reunion with an open ending to the possibility of more to come. Now, excuse me while I go sign a bevy of petitions to give my favorite shows a new lease on life.

 THE FILM FATALES GIVE VERONICA MARS