VERONICA MARS: A Fan-Funded Big Screen Reunion Special

Now playing in Raleigh at the Colony Theater...

VERONICA MARS (Dir. Rob Thomas, 2014)

Earlier this year, I made my way through all three seasons of Veronica Mars, which ran on the basic cable channels UPN and The CW from 2004-2007. I found the show, concerning a teenage private detective played with smart-alecky precision by Kristen Bell, to be a clever, witty, and very enjoyable mystery series.

A legion of fans who call themselves “Marshmallows” thought so too, enough to contribute $5.7 million to a Kickstarter campaign launched by Bell and series creator Rob Thomas to assist in producing a big screen follow-up, which is now playing in Raleigh at the Colony Theater and available worldwide on Video on Demand.
 

The movie version of VERONICA MARS, scripted by Thomas, advances the story ahead so that it’s almost a decade since the show ended, with Bell now living in New York, interviewing for investigator positions at prestigious law firms, and involved in a serious relationship with Chris Lowell, reprising his part as “Piz” her college love interest from the third season of the series.
 

Despite a lofty job offer from one of the most high-end firms, Bell treks back to her home town, the fictional Neptune, because of a phone call from her ex-boyfriend Logan Echolls (a very skinny Jason Dohring, also returning) asking for her help because he’s yet again accused of murder.
 

This is conveniently timed for the 10 year reunion of our heroine’s graduating class at Neptune High (that's why they skipped a few years ahead), so the scene is perfectly set for the appearance of more former cast members including Percy Daggs III as Bell’s best friend Wallace, Francis Capra as the now reformed biker badass Weevil, Tina Majorino as the computer savvy “Mac,” Ryan Hansen as the air-headed horny surfer Dick Casablancas, and Max Greenfield (New Girl) as a former Neptune deputy, and a former love interest of Veronica’s.
 

Also back is one of my favorite characters from the show, Veronica’s father Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), still operating as a private investigator.
 

The ins and outs of the mystery involving the murder of Dohring’s pop star girlfriend, another former fellow Neptune High student, are a little too tricky and Spoiler-filled to go into, so I’ll just cut to what fans are more interested in – the love triangle made up of Veronica, “Piz,” and Logan.
 

Lowell’s “Piz” is the nice safe guy that Veronica should be with, but the edgy darkness of Dohring’s Logan is obviously who the film and fans are rooting for, otherwise “Piz” would’ve been given at least one scene in to shine. Girls, even incredibly smart ones like our Veronica, always go for the bad boys, right?
 

VERONICA MARS may ultimately be just an extended episode writ large, as its production values aren’t that much improved from the show’s, but folks who’ve never seen the program before may still find it to be a fun snazzy thriller.

Critics are complaining that the MARS movie is a fans-only affair, but I disagree. I believe that much like the first X-Files film back in 1998, this film can function as both as an intro for newbies and an update for the hardcore.

It also sets itself up neatly for a possible sequel, but I'm hoping if they continue the adventures of Veronica Mars they'll return to the small screen. That's where her smart sassy self really belongs.

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Jason Bateman’s Directorial Debut BAD WORDS Mildly Amuses

Opening today in Raleigh at the Colony Theater...

BAD WORDS (Dir. Jason Bateman, 2013)

Because of its ripe premise about a foul-mouthed 40-year-old who uses a loophole to enter a national spelling bee for elementary school students, I was expecting big laughs from Jason Bateman’s directorial debut.

Instead I had to make do with a fair amount of mildly amusing moments provided by the jerkish behavior of Bateman’s Guy Trilby, a guy who delights in humiliating the children contestants he towers over onstage, throwing them off their game so he can clean up with his mad spelling skills.

Bateman travels with his sponsor, Kathryn Hahn as a reporter for an online newspaper, to Los Angeles to complete in the National Quill Spelling Bee, in spite of the protests of Alison Janey as the tournament’s snobby director and all the competing kids’ parents.

Hated so much that they place him in the hotel’s storage closet for the duration of the event, Bateman befriends the cute 10-year old Chaitanya (Rohan Chand of Homeland and LONE SURVIVOR), because these BAD movies (BAD SANTA, BAD GRANDPA, BAD NEWS BEARS) usually have their crusty lead characters thrown together with young ones lacking parental guidance.

Chand is left unsupervised by his parents who are staying in a nicer hotel, so our profane protagonist takes him on a wild night ride by way of booze, soliciting a prostitute (Kimleigh Smith, who may have a few of the best lines), and pulling a public restroom prank involving a stolen lobster.

Of course, the most important set pieces are the nationally televised spelling bee segments hosted by a slick announcer played by Ben Falcone (BRIDESMAIDS, ENOUGH SAID) and Philip Baker Hall as Golden Quill’s respected founder/administrator, another participant who is highly disgusted by Bateman. These scenes actually play with a tinge of suspense, even though we know Bateman is too smart to lose (he even gets the word “Floccinaucinihilipilification” right!).

We get the bare bones of a back story about Bateman (don’t worry – no Spoilers!) late in the game, but it doesn’t fully flesh out the character in a satisfying way making the conclusion come off as way too tidy.

Working from a script by first-time screenwriter Andrew Dodge, first-time filmmaker Bateman shows strengths in story structure and timing, though some scenes felt like they were edited with too many close-ups. Like Harold Ramis told Stephen Tobolowsky on the set of GROUNDHOG DAY, “Comedy lives in the two-shot.”

It also feels like the film is only pretending to be mean-spirited and offensive, like that friend we’ve all had that says rude or ostensibly outrageous things just to get attention, but you know they’re really a softie deep down and it’s all a show.

Still, Bateman has crafted a likable film about an unlikable guy that I chuckled throughout at, and he’s surrounded the crude character with a charismatic cast aping a posse of pissed off people - Rachel Harris in particular, as an angry mother, steals her scenes.

Few are likely to laugh their asses off at BAD WORDS or claim that it’s a modern comedy classic, but those who don't mind (or are fans of) R-rated language looking for a mildly amusing matinee should look no further.

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New Releases On Blu Ray & DVD: 3/25/14

Martin Scorsese's THE WOLF OF WALL STREET is definitely the biggest new release on Blu ray and DVD today. Sadly, the terrifically excessive story of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), is only packaged with one Special Feature: a 17 minute featurette entitled “The Wolf Pack.” I understand not including the 2-part, 4-hour cut that was mentioned in many interviews as it was a rough version never intended to be the final vision, but some deleted scenes from it would've been nice. Read my review from last December.

As WOLF was one of Scorsese's funniest films, it's fitting that his 1982 comic commentary on fame, THE KING OF COMEDY, is also hitting Blu ray today in a 30th Anniversary Edition (just two years late!). The film, starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, is one of my all-time favorites, so I'm glad to see that, unlike WOLF, is outfitted with such bonus material as nearly 40 minutes of Deleted and Extended Scenes, the 30 minute featurette “Tribeca Film Festival: A Conversation with Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis,” the 19 minute mini-doc “A Shot at the Top: The Making of THE KING OF COMEDY,” and original Theatrical Trailer.

Another great 2013 film, Paolo Sorrentino's THE GREAT BEAUTY, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film earlier this month, also releases today courtesy of the Criterion Collection. As with all Deluxe Criterion Editions, there is a plethora of Extras including a 13 minute video interview with star Toni Servillo, a 38 minute conversation with Italian film scholar Antonio Monda and Director Sorrentino, a 12 minute interview with screenwriter Umberto Contarello, 6 minutes of Deleted Scenes, the Trailer, and an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Lopate.

Criterion is also dropping two undeniable classics on the popular Blu ray format this week: Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor's 1925 Harold Lloyd comedy THE FRESHMAN, and Igmar Bergman's 1966 psychological drama PERSONA.

Also out today on Blu ray and DVD: Sini Anderson's documentary about “riot grrl” Kathleen Hanna, THE PUNK SINGER, Ken Scott's lame Vince Vaughn comedy DELIVERY MAN; Larry Fessenden's horror flick BENEATH, Joe Massot's 1968 curiosity WONDERWALL (featuring music by George Harrison), Abel Ferrara's 1981 thriller MS. 45, and Asghar Farhadi's fascinating follow-up to his excellent 2011 Oscar winner A SEPARATION, THE PAST (my review).

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