Veronica Mars Review

Veronica Mars is apparently a very satisfying return of some clearly beloved characters from a TV series that went off the air seven years ago. Fans will love it. In fact, fans do love it, as I witnessed at the packed premiere in the 1100-seat Paramount Theater at SXSW. There’s nothing wrong with a movie catering to fans of a property, and there’s no reason to assume something serving as a continuation of a pre-existing entertainment product should work for those attempting to jump in blind. This certainly isn’t the first feature spun-off from a TV show that expects you to have at least some familiarity, nor is it unlike many sequels throughout the history of film, nor is it unlike a ton of made-for-TV movies offering a reunion of characters (and of cast members that play them) and, more importantly, of reunion of fans with those characters they’ve missed.

Veronica Mars, however, is not for me and the majority of people who’ve never seen one episode of the show. Why did I go into something like this without catching up? I was curious to see if it would be worthwhile for others in my shoes. And now I can say that it is not. Maybe that’s all I need to say, but I’d like to offer more, because I believe that fans deserve better than what they get here, regardless of all the direct service they receive in the form of recall references that only exist to make someone feel special for having a memory and some dedication. Am I bitter for not getting the inside jokes that had most of the theater laughing at seemingly random bits of dialogue? No, I was just bored for that reason. But I also feel bad for the fans that the movie’s humor is so based in what’s already in their heads rather than in anything new and unique.

The plot of this extended episode, set nine years after the events of the final season, has the title character (Kristen Bell) about to start work as a New York City lawyer when she’s beckoned back to her hometown of Neptune, California, because an old...