Psych: The Movie

Eight seasons and a movie, as the saying almost goes. Psych returns with a holiday special which I was looking forward to, being a fan of the show for how well it does what it does. It is mostly a welcome return, although it is affected by the pressure to be an event, and also a bit of a lack of confidence in its own fundamentals. As a result the movie is really very busy at times - too many tick box characters showing up to not do enough. It is nice to see so many of the cast back, but at the same time there is a lot of shoe-horning in there and maybe it would have worked better if it had been more focused and kept supporting characters' time down.

The plot itself isn't great, but it provides a decent enough frame for the duo to be themselves. Mostly this is enough, although it doesn't quite have the spark and freshness that it once did - again a feeling added to by weight and baggage of the characters. There are some nice laughs and enjoyable sections, certainly enough for fans who are just happy for new material - but it is far from classic Psych and it does make it feel like it needed a tighter hand to make it happen the way it needed to. The cast are all on reasonable form - although Roday and Hill don't quite gel as they have in the past, and the rest of the cast feel too present but without enough material - Fuller has a high hit rate though, but Bernsen didn't need to be there, and Omundson is hard to watch even though it is a nice gesture by the film.

All told it is a so-so movie, which is patchy but offers enough to justify fans watching. If they do another I will be there for that, but will be hoping that it can be a better product than this.

It's stupid, cheesy, and just as I'd expected. It's a great way to see your favorite characters' storylines continued and their antics played out. There were many times I laughed out loud and I found the mystery storyline to be interesting enough for what I expected. The writing, especially the dialogue, is extremely clever with its movie references and the movie is a great way to have a good time.

It was such a delight to hear the Psych theme song again and see the wonderful cast, including James Roday, Dule Hill, Maggie Lawson, Kristen Nelson, Corbin Bernsen, and Kurt Fuller. The only one missing was Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) who actually did appear when Maggie contacted him by phone.

When the film begins, it is three years later, and the whole group is now working in San Francisco. Shawn (Roday) continues to search for the engagement ring he wanted to give Juliet (Lawson), Gus (Hill) has a beautiful stalker, and someone is out to get Maggie.

There are the usual one-liners, the singing in harmony, and some familiar villains, including a hilarious bit at the end of the film. There's a scene in a closed insane asylum and one in Alcatraz. All par for the course.

I really miss these guys. I think today we need to laugh more than we ever have, and the Psych group belongs on the landscape. Thankfully, I don't think this is the last time we'll see them.

This movie is for the fans, it feels like a continuation of the show, like an extra finale. It's great seeing the characters back, sad but understandable we didn't get to see Lassie, but he makes a brief cameo

People who haven't seen the show wont really get this movie. It doesn't stand on its own as a movie, it makes callbacks to the series & just feels like a longer episode

If you're a fan I'd recommend watching this, if you've never seen the show I'd recommend season 1 episode 1

I went back and watched the entire series again before watching this. "The Movie" wasn't Christmas dinner but more of a real good, satisfying late night ham sandwich. Standard Psych interactions. Fun, some good lines etc. The more negative reviews, I get. The plot was thin and it lacked any dramatic moments. Psych has the ability to bring laugh out loud moments and move you to tears moments in the same episode. Few shows do it as well. This wasn't Yin/Yang good (I hope Ally Sheedy is in the next installment), nor as good as the Despereaux or Declan Rand episodes but itt was entertaining and fun. I enjoyed seeing Zachary Levi from "Chuck" although wished he was a client rather than a bad guy. My hopes is that the second movie contains both the humor AND the emotional drama of the better episodes.