I liked Most of what I’d hoped for found its way into this movie, though of all the Neptune High people I’ve cared about over the years, Carrie Bishop and Susan Knight have never been among them, nor was Madison Sinclair someone I felt I needed an update on. There were other characters from the original series I wanted to see, though. Norris, the guy with the weapon collection wrongly implicated in “Weapons of Class Destruction,” for example, and Mandy, the sad dweeb whose dog was kidnapped, for another.
But my biggest wish for the inevitable Veronica Mars 2 movie? More Mac, more Wallace, and more Weevil. I did not buy for a second that Veronica had no idea Weevil was married or had a kid. Lost touch with him? Hey, it happens. But if even one of your parents still lives in the town you grew up in, you hear about things. Whether you want to or not! In any case, Mac and Wallace were totally tangential to the central mystery of the film and they really only had a scene or two each. Now that we know Mac is working at Kane Software, and Wallace is working at Neptune High, surely there’s something that could arise at one of those places that would entice Veronica to investigate. I don’t just want to see the old gang; I want them to actually be invested and involved in whatever’s happening.
Speaking of involvement, I want Veronica and Keith to work together on an investigation. Of any kind! One of the things that’s easier to explore now that Veronica is an adult is Keith’s ongoing guilt about how Veronica grew up — and not just guilty that her mom split, or that they became social outcasts. Keith still does not want Veronica to be in the PI business, but now that she’s throwing herself into it willingly, it’s time for him to get over that. (And they’re gonna need some big clients, too, since Veronica must have some serious law school debt.) Keith respects and loves Veronica, clearly; the issue is learning how to forgive himself and recognize that he was a good father who did the best he could. Veronica turned out just fine.
I also want to see Happy Logan. Logan’s a brooding, often miserable guy, full of self-loathing and self-recrimination and regrets and violence and a hole where his parents’ love should have gone. But he’s also smart and hilarious, and we didn’t get to see as much of that sardonic, zinger-ready Logan in the movie. He’ll never be a perky ray of sunshine, but it’d be nice to see him and Veronica happy, even briefly.
As much as I enjoyed this VM, there’s part of me that thinks Veronica’s natural form is something more like a TV episode. What about a 75-minute installment once a year? It wouldn’t be a full-on revival, so various cast members could maintain their other commitments, but it wouldn’t have quite the same pressure or scale as a movie. This was a good start — but it really does feel like a new start, and not like another ending.