Veronica Mars

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"She thought she was out."

I'm sure we've all thought that once or twice, but let's face it, you never really get out do you? That sure seems to be the case for Veronica Mars, and maybe fans of the show as well. How's it going folks welcome back to The Tagline. Today I'm going to be giving my thoughts and impressions of the recent Veronica Mars movie, which has a neat story behind it before I even get to the actual movie part. So let's talk about how a Veronica Mars movie even happened to begin with. If you aren't familiar, Veronica Mars was a show that ran for three seasons, from 2004 to 2007, about a teenage girl who becomes a private investigator in her rich meets poor hometown of Neptune, CA. If this sounds ridiculous... well it kind of is, but she's only sort of an actual PI, see she works for her dad, who actually IS a licensed private investigator, so that gives her the in to the biz (I don't know how much you know about it, but to be a private detective in most states you need to either have worked under another PI or have been a cop for a pretty substantial amount of time). After three seasons of struggling to keep themselves on the air despite flagging ratings, Veronica got the ax from the CW so they could fit in more reality TV (I'm not even making this up). Despite not having a huge viewer base, what Veronica did have was a really hardcore fan segment, and they were raring for more V Mars man. So Kristen Bell and director Rob Thomas (not the singer for Matchbox Twenty a different guy) started a kickstarter. Their goal was to raise more than 2 million dollars. Point in fact they ended up raising something closer to 6 million dollars (5,702,153 according to the page) which I think expresses in clear green numbers with dollar signs just how badly people wanted to see Kristen Bell being tough on crime like Scruff Mcgruff only much hotter (this sentence is like a runaway train I want to get off but I can't). Anyway that weirdness aside the point is thanks to fan support, the movie was made, and I got to see it.

Always take time to admire the douchebag murderers you
went to highschool with.

So back to the movie. The Veronica Mars movie takes place nine years after the finale of the show (which I thought was a wise first move, rather than trying to have substantially aged actors try and pretend to be 22). As you've by now deduced from the tagline above, Veronica has "gotten out" of Neptune, and is in New York City applying for a job at a law firm, having recently graduated from law school because obviously Veronica Mars is super smart. Just as things are starting to line up and it looks like Veronica will have that normal life she always dreamed of maybe who actually knows, she gets a call from her old on again off again bad boy love interest Logan, who asks for her help. He's been implicated in the death of his girlfriend Carrie Bishop, who was some sort of terrible pop star I guess, and he needs Veronica's awesome detective powers to clear his name. Along the way Veronica runs into all the usual suspects, and is quickly sucked back into her old life dealing with the secrets, factions and corruption of the town, and trying to ferret out the truth, despite the truth's best efforts to never see the light of day. The plot is pretty typical of the show itself, which isn't a bad thing, but it does establish quickly what this movie is going to be about.

That face means "oh god I'm married to Dax Shepard.

I guess what I should really be saying is WHO this movie is about. This was a movie funded entirely by the fans, and it was written for them too. The movie was sharply written, is full of nuanced characters with their own motivations, and has an interesting plot all by itself, but really what will draw you to this movie and what will really reward you is if you are already a fan of Veronica Mars, because that is the person the movie was made for. The movie is packed full of the kind of fanservice that most segments can only dream of, and not only does it give us a continuation of the story and a conclusion, it gives another chance to see Veronica at her best, along with all the characters you liked and hated. The movie makes sense from the outside, but if you're coming into it fresh you probably won't be drawn in. Without the considerable history and back story that the show provides, what you're left with is a competent but forgettable film.

Relive the good times.

I do however fall somewhere on the fan spectrum. I really liked the show, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It's nice to see Veronica fight the good fight, and to see her and Logan finally settle their shit once and for good. I don't think I need to say that Kristen Bell is fantastic, and the rest of the cast is equally excellent. Also weirdly James Franco briefly appears, so there that is.

That's it for today! Join me again next week, for a dystopic future that is just like high school.