Movie #13 of 2019:
Veronica Mars (2014)
I still haven’t seen the new Hulu revival of Veronica Mars, but my rewatch has finally reached this equally-unexpected reunion movie that came out in 2014, seven years after the original show went off the air. I think I’m a little more charitable towards the project than I was when it first came out — the film does a pretty good job of hiding its shoestring Kickstarter budget, the script taps into audience nostalgia for the characters and their typical storylines, and the cast members are clearly thrilled to be brought back for even the smallest roles. Some of the plot threads do feel a bit truncated, but at least we avoid the major missteps around sexual assault that weakened the writing in seasons two and three.
Mostly, though, I appreciate that this sequel tries to do something new with its titular heroine, casting her attraction to her hometown, her ex, and her old P.I. lifestyle in the language of addiction. Veronica has been clean all this time, but now she’s relapsing, and it’s clearly a rush for her to fall back into those familiar patterns, no matter how unhealthy. It’s not always easy to root for a protagonist like that, but it makes her interesting to watch and raises an unsettling meta-question of what we want from this sort of TV reboot in the first place. I’m looking forward to seeing what season 4 adds to that conversation.
★★★★☆
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