I have a confession to make. I, Dancin' Dan, am one of the crazy Veronica Mars superfans who donated to the record-breaking Kickstarter campaign to fund the Veronica Mars movie. And I have followed the making of said movie very eagerly. So when the official theatrical trailer was released yesterday, I was quite excited to see both what it would look like and what the reaction from non-fans would be. So while my answer to our eternal trailer query may be obvious, I'm very curious to know what people with little to no knowledge of the TV show think. Marshmallows, come gush with me!
Y|N|MS breakdown is after the jump...
YES
- I'm happy to see that the show's trademark quippiness and general dialogue style appears to be intact for the transfer to the big screen.
- The ten-year high school reunion setting looks perfect ("You've been sitting there since graduation, haven't you?"), especially as someone who was recently debating whether or not to attend his own.
- The cast is basically a who's who of the best cult celebrities in young Hollywood: Star Kristen Bell (aka Sarah Marshall), New Girl's Max Greenfield, Tina Majorino, Krysten Ritter (the B---- in Apt. 23), Party Down's Ryan Hansen, Chris Lowell, Jason Dohring... PLUS a cameo by Jamie Lee Curtis!
- I'm also really unbelievably happy they haven't gone with the "See what all the hype is about - 91,000 Kickstarter supporters can't be wrong!" angle (yet... this IS Hollywood we're talking about). It builds confidence that this is really about making something good...
- ...and the lack of inside jokes makes it feel like they aren't entirely going down the fan service route, either.
- FAN MOMENT: That last moment with Madison is SO satisfying! Also pretty much everything Dick says or does is perfect, especially this:
NO
- Jerry O'Connell? Really? I generally can't stand the guy.
- The cinematography no more cinematic than your average TV show? What makes this worthy of the big screen as opposed to being a two-hour TV special?
- FAN MOMENT: The relationship between Veronica and her father (the wonderful Enrico Colantoni) was always the heart of the show, and from the trailer it looks like the film has backgrounded it in favor of yet another dopey love triangle.
- Movie adaptations of TV shows have been mildly diverting at best (Bewitched, Dark Shadows) and unwatchable at worst (The Last Airbender, The Avengers), so the likelihood of this actually being a good film on its own is, frankly, slim.
- Rob Thomas, the creator of the show, has never directed a film before, and his only big-screen screenwriting credit is the Melissa Joan Heart-Adrian Grenier vehicle Drive Me Crazy. Not exactly a stunning recommendation...
MAYBE SO
- ...but he has been working on this project for years. The TV series ended in 2007 and Thomas and his stars have said repeatedly in the seven years since that they wouldn't do a film unless they felt they had something worth the time and effort. So is there really a reason to think it won't be good, at least on the story level?
- "I'm on to something Dad - it's big!" Will the mystery be interesting or flat and obvious? The series was an homage to the hardboiled detective novels and film noirs of the 40s (think The Maltese Falcon), but with a modern, ironic twist. But there's nothing ironic about generic lines like that.
- Veronica looks really glum for most of this. She was a real firecracker on the show, practically overflowing with personality. But she isn't a teen anymore, and her quips do have a bit more bite to them... plus she throws a punch!
- FAN MOMENT: I was never a big fan of Piz. He was too obviously and self-consciously the opposite of Logan and the chemistry with Veronica was lacking. So I'm not thrilled that our gal is still with him, but it's obvious she still has feelings for Logan (LoVe FOREVER!), so if this movie is what it takes to get them back together, I will be all the happier!
- This peak doesn't do a good job of presenting Veronica Mars to an audience who doesn't know her. The characters are set up efficiently, but the history and relationships might come off as muddy and confused to people who have no history with the show.
...but maybe I'm wrong?
Most of my issues with the trailer are really about how it will play with the non-fans, a category to which I do not belong. I tried to be objective watching the trailer (at least the first dozen times), but I'm so into this that my point of view is crazed superfan. It basically looks like everything I wanted from a Veronica Mars movie (minus Allyson Hannigan and with the slightest of slight reservations about the storyline). So I am totally and completely a YES. But then, I always was.
How about you? Yes No or Maybe So? And do you have a history with the show?