Psych: The Movie(s)

TV Movie, 2017

EDIT 7/26/2020: I'm also adding any sequel(s) here, and I just got around to watching the 2020 sequel, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home. Review placed below the first.

I already have my review of the Psych television series, but last night USA network premiered a holiday movie, so of course I had to watch it!

Premise - It been three years since Psych has ended, when the gang moved to San Francisco (minus Lassie). While everyone but Shawn has moved on from the psychic detective shenanigans, Shawn puts his skills back to work when a new villain targets Juliet.

Review - It's no secret that I love this television show. A lot. When I heard there was going to be a movie, I in no way, shape, or form, expected it to be as good as the original series. And, of course, it wasn't. But it was highly enjoyable, and definitely a gift from the original cast and producers.

The movie mostly operated as a type of fan service. There are so many references to past episodes, characters, and story arcs, that you could just spend the entire movie spotting and counting them. (Personal favorites are the half-beard and GUS IS A TABLE). Only problem is, because so much was crammed in, there wasn't much room for story to take place. For instance, I was excited about the new villain, the Thin White Duke (played by the beautiful Zachary Levi), but there was not enough screen time to develop any new characters, as the story operated on re-hashes of old ones.

I think that was exactly to be expected. I don't think the creators were even that excited about writing any new stories, they just wanted to get the gang back together, and that included guest stars, friends of the cast, and so on. It was more of the cast and crew goofing off together, and for the fans, that's all we really needed.

That's not to say the film was completely without any emotional weight. Tim's brief appearance over the phone as Lassie (despite his real-life stroke keeping him from being directly in the film) is worthy of tears, and of course everyone was satisfied by the (spoilers) SHULES WEDDING! And, the film did something that was really important thematically, which was have their past unorthodox behaviors and lapses in protocol come back to haunt them (though of course they decide at the end that it was really worth it in the name of justice). After this film, I would still be entirely in favor of them creating more (78/100)

Quote - "Where the hell did you get a waffle?"

What to watch for - I've already said it, but try to spot as many references to prior episodes as you can.

EDIT 7/26/2020 Psych 2: Lassie Come Home

Premise - Three years after the first Psych movie, Lassie ends up in the hospital after being shot six times and suffering a massive stroke during surgery. While staying in a recovery home, he is convinced he is seeing ghosts and goblins. While his doctors say it's dangerous to feed into his post-traumatic fantasies, Shaun, Gus and Jules see this as an excuse to return to Santa Barbara and take on a new case.

Review - The complaint of the film being a cram session of old references and jokes still holds, though less so. I think now that the first Psych movie was a reasonable success and the makers can anticipate more happening, they went a bit tamer on the references and tried to tell a little bit of an original story. Still, though, they go heavy on the nostalgia and fan service.

As I said with the first film, it's less about the story and more about the chance to get the cast back together. In this case, it was a massive deal to unite the cast back with Timothy, who plays Lassie. In real life, he suffered a massive stroke, and in response, his character suffers a massive stroke so that he can act as Lassie in a genuine way. It's touching see them interact with Timothy with so much love and care. I only wish we got to see Lassie's son because I know he had one in Season 8! They did give Marlowe, his wife, a cameo. Dule's real-life wife also returned as Gus's girlfriend, and there were small parts afforded to Woody and Buzz. Sacrifice the quality of storytelling just to make sure everything can fit into 90 minutes.

I laughed a lot though. Had a sweet time.

Quote - "If you're so lucky, you'll see, the day that your kid is born - whenever that happens - your heart, it goes from being inside your chest to outside your body, to this other being it attaches itself to, who now owns it. And it swings around like a freakin' tetherball. You never get it back. And that's the torture. And I recommend it highly."

What to watch for - Lassie and Shaun holding hands was quite special. My favorite moments are still between Shaun and Henry, though. See quote above.

Producer/Director: Steve Franks
Network: USA