Psych: The Movie (2017)

How sad is this?

A Major Disappointment

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I'll echo a couple of other reviews I've read on here in that, while I did enjoy seeing the full cast back in action together, I don't think it was up to par with the better episodes of the series. It was on-par with most of the episodes of the last season or two of the show but by then, the show was on a decline in quality. Some of the jokes were a bit played out; it almost felt like they were trying too hard to make the audience remember these characters' catchphrases and idiosyncrasies instead of focusing on writing good comedy.Still, it wasn't all bad. They did have a few lines that made me laugh aloud. The inclusion of some of the smaller bit characters from seasons past was a nice touch too. It's hard to complain too much about new Psych material!

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.

Psych is a show that had a lasting impact on the procedural genre, even if that wasn't their intention. Comedy has to be a part of every dynamic from now on and the ones that embrace it fully seem to last longer on the air than those that don't (see Castle, NCIS: LA etc.).This Psych movie was far from perfect, but it was a perfect return to the world of these crazy detectives and cops. Every character was on point and they did not miss a beat with the random cultural references (including an episode of Flight of the Conchords where Jemaine pretended to be David Bowie) or the returns of past guest stars.Funny, enjoyable, I never got bored, which is rare for a 2 hour TV movie.Glad USA did this and maybe it can become a tradition every two years or so for the network.

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.