A Long Time Ago, You Used To Be Small Screen

Let's face it, you'd have to have been living on Mars (haha!) to have not heard about the now-defunct tv show that raised 5.7 million dollars on Kickstarter for a follow-up movie. I'm not going to bore anyone with backstory, or exposition. (By which I mean, my own backstory, involving a lot of Veronica Mars watching after Buffy TVS bit the dust.)

On March 14th I received email notification of a link allowing me to download a copy of the film script thanks to my Kickstarter donation (and here I was happy with t-shirt and stickers). 

Reading the script first actually made the movie even more interesting to view, in terms of process. I got to see what was cut (generally humorous lines, or longer bits of dialogue, often not what you'd expect to get chopped, oddly enough). Let me just say I was kind of sad to note the scene with the Asian lady and her gift of spicy chicken curry over rice noodles didn't make it to cinemas.

Before I begin - to critics who, before even really ingesting the film, have an instant and overwhelming condescension/aggression/allergic reaction to the television show/Kickstarter combo, all I can say is, you do not want to start today with me, Paco. 

Is it so wrong for people to love a fictional character to the point they'll pay to see her story continue? Would it be more acceptable if Veronica had been birthed in a comic format first? I mean, how many Spiderman movies have we all sat through in recent decades? (Spotto James Franco!).

To celebrate the less than traditional path Veronica Mars took to the big screen, I've decided to do a pros, cons, and "uncertain" list in place of a traditional review.

Yes, let's sit back, relax, and take in the strange girl's opinions.

Pros:

-The way the film honours the thematic core of Veronica Mars (albeit in an updated form), which is essentially, empowerment. 

The television series began with Veronica in the process of empowering herself. Following her best friend Lily's murder, she eschews the easy path of least resistance, instead remaining loyal to her father and Lily's memory, eventually solving the case. 

In the film, a decade later, Veronica's loyalty to her ex-boyfriend sees her once again solve a murder (well, technically kind of two? Or even three?) and slowly come to terms with her own wants and needs. 

It really does continue the original story; she escapes her past, establishes a new present that she supposedly should want, and eventually, chooses the future she truly desires. 

Basically the film marks the character's full transition into adulthood, a journey that began with the television series. Hats off to Rob Thomas for creating such subtle narrative continuity.

High school reunion, huh? That face sums it up.

-Using the dreaded high school reunion as a plot device because it would be too difficult/heavy handed to work numerous high school friends into the movie any other way. Added bonus? Even people who've never seen the show can relate to the HSR cringe factor. I too had an unavoidable previous engagement on said reunion night (hair washing).

-Kristen Bell is the queen of voiceovers. I didn't experience any of the expected flashbacks to Gossip Girl. She makes her voice so distinctly Veronica here, just through inflection and timing, that the comparison doesn't even come up. 

-Hearing (a variation) of the closing line from the first ever television episode of Veronica Mars in the opening voiceover of the movie was delightful. She really IS a marshmallow!

Poor Gia. At least she had great hair.

-Krysten Ritter in general. Always been a fan of the actress, now even more so. The character of Gia Goodman turned out to be a more tragic figure than I had dared imagined.

-The noir look of the film. I love that New York seemed cold and that Veronica looked almost displaced on the streets, reflecting her subconscious lack of true connection with the location.

-The nice bit of casual background dialogue that paints Veronica as slightly absent from Piz's life, at least in the eyes of his workmates and parents. Law school is the convenient excuse, but at the same time, it's clear some element of her emotional psyche isn't completely engaged.

New York doesn't suit you, V. Totally washes you out.

-I kind of liked all the symbolism. For example, the use of mirrors and windows, and the almost exaggerated use of entrances and exits. Lots of entering and leaving, and this whole idea of being trapped in locations and identities... 

-Naming the boat Serendipity as a nod to Firefly. Okay, probably not, but I'm going to pretend it was, and enjoy the reference.

-The actress who plays Mac (Tina Majorino) is so obviously having Extreme Amounts Of Fun being back in the VM universe that she giggles, grins, and almost bounces through every scene. It's kind of cute.

And the Longing Gaze Award goes to...

-My inner Vogan? Leronica? shipper dug the fact Veronica still has Logan's number in her phone (almost a decade later) stored with a photo from when they dated. WHAT A TELL.

- Actors who make minor parts memorable deserve a mention, so let's raise a toast to the expression of fear on the face of the hedge fund guy at the bar when Veronica asks for his business card to give to her hitman boyfriend.

Piz, I'm calling to apologise for all the times I referred to you as Riley 2.0

-For the first time ever, I actually empathised with the character of Piz. Who thought that could happen?! I must be mellowing in my old age.

-The after party dance scene and accompanying voiceover. LOVED the way it was filmed and pieced together. So sharp. Veronica's mind, always working...

Maybe he should try hanging with the Mayor.

-Adored Weevil's storyline partly paralleling Veronica's self-discovery, albeit in a darker way. Kind of a tin-y bit Buffy and Faith there, guys.

Uncertain:

-The Sherlock-like use of tech information, by which I mean onscreen graphics of phone call and text details that were occasionally superfluous. Frankly, if we're seeing Veronica ring Wallace, we don't actually need the text from Wallace's phone telling us Veronica is calling flashing onscreen before he picks up. Ah, yeah, we got that. (Audience Tip: If you need that much help following the story, you probably shouldn't be watching a procedural...)

-The stalker girl critics seem to love. She scored quite a lot of screen time, comparatively. Her scenes were funny, but I could have handled some tighter editing.

-Justin Long, who deserved slightly better cameo material.

"These are my people, V." Missed you, Cliff!

-Veronica's dad. I mean, Keith's okay, but unlike the majority of VM fans who adore the character, I always found him well-meaning, but occasionally creepy, often judgmental, and a tad controlling. Extremely kind hearted, yes, and quite gallant, but sometimes I got that 7th Heaven feeling, you know, where you could see the good intentions at the core of their actions, but their strict moral filtering creeped it up a little?

-The questionable PC-ness of referring to Veronica's preferred lifestyle as an addiction. I like to think of it more as adult self-awareness!

-Knowing the $10,000 Kickstarter supporter who scored a speaking role could be any one of many bit-parters onscreen and having a corner of my brain play that guessing game the entire film.

"You should always wear this."
That there is a keeper.

-Is Logan's car really so flash?* Veronica talks about it like it's the Bat mobile, but this is Neptune, Land of the (Mostly) Rich. His car is black, sleek and expensive, but, you know, not a hovercraft. 

*This stuck in my mind because Veronica makes a comment about his car not blending just before they drive past a parked vehicle that his car, kind of, blends with? O_O 

Cons:

-Logan's Navy uniform in his first scene looks at least a size too big. Maybe it's my history in styling coming to the fore, but that bugged me. Bigtime (couldn't resist).

-What a pity Leighton Meester didn't return to play the character of Carrie Bishop, she would have killed it (pun intended).

-The first third or so seemed oddly lacking in terms of a background soundtrack, to the point where I thought there was a channel missing from my download. I guess it was an attempt to focus on the story. Obviously not a hundred percent successful since I assumed technical error.

No need to look so sad, just because your girlfriend died.
And your mum. And your dad. And your ex-girlfriend... Christ.

-Veronica's love interest Logan seems slightly disempowered without his bad boy edge. I guess he's meant to have matured to be deserving of (this version of) Veronica's love, but in the second half of the film he comes across as oddly ineffectual. It could be argued, though, that cinemagoers are just not used to a female lead being so completely empowered.

-Left a bit cut by the death of some characters I loved who now can't be in another movie (if there is one).

No spoilers here, the photo's just random, stop freaking out.

Favourite Lines:

Wallace: So when Logan Echolls said jump, did you actually say the words, "how high?" or was there just an understanding that you would achieve max verticality?

"Words with friends?"
"Some people just call it texting."

Basically EVERYTHING Dick says. Always hilarious. 

Cliff: Celeste Kane's statement says her car broke and she was accosted by the motorcycle gang. She claims she was terrified. Then she says Mr. Navarro approached her car and rapped on the window with a Glock and said, "Time to party." That's when she fired.
Weevil: Please get this case dismissed before anyone believes the words "time to party" came out of my mouth.

And, the James Franco reference (I've been informed by South Californians that this is actually true).

Veronica: There may be six degrees between anyone on the planet and Kevin Bacon, but if you're under 30 and living in Southern California, you're never more than two degrees from James Franco.

And I'll sign off with a shot from the actual script that really sums up Veronica's journey xx

xoxo (kidding)