I think it was about five minutes into Psych‘s new movie that I realized just how much I was smiling.
How to explain the effects of Psych? It’s my emotional yoga. When I can’t sleep, I lie on the couch and play episodes till I do. It’s my white noise when I’m doing mindless busy work. And when I really need a pick-me-up (and who doesn’t right now?), I can put on an episode–even my least favorite–and laugh so much. (This despite the fact that I’m surely close to having the whole show memorized by now.) It doesn’t matter if I’m sad, worried, stressed; Psych‘s hilarious dialogue and antics always makes me smile. And the movies are no exception.
Lassie Come Home is both a typical episode and a tribute to Timothy Omundson (Lassie), whose stroke prevented his full participation in Psych: The Movie. But sweet as the tribute to Lassie is, it’s the Shawn and Gus team-up that’s the highlight, as always. I could listen to them banter all day long. This is still the best bromance I’ve seen on TV.
A favorite moment is when Shawn and Gus are trying to get a man to admit he’s faking an illness by tickling him. Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) begins the badgering of the man like this: “Tough guy from the old neighborhood. Probably didn’t even cry when Liz Berkley got addicted to speed in Saved by the Bell.“
Now that’s a pop culture reference!
As usual, there were some funny cameos, with Sarah Chalke, Scrubs alum, directly referencing her scrubs, and Kadeem Harison from A Different World showing up, reminding fans that Dwayne Wayne was Gus’s (Dulé Hill) early hero (see that bizarre werewolf episode, “Let’s Get Hairy”–Season 4, Episode 8). Chalke was an inspired addition–she fits right in. My other favorite new character was Morrissey, Chief Vick’s (Kirsten Nelson) dog. And current fan or not, you will love a wonderful breaking the third wall moment, when Shawn refers to Psych fans (Psychos), and Gus rips him in response.
Way back when I started this blog, I recommended The Thin Man to Psych fans. But that recommendation goes both ways. Are you a fan of delicious flavor–i.e., funny dialogue? Do you love pop culture references? Do you prefer the relationship between detectives (and their loved ones) to the mystery itself? Do you enjoy some childishness in your leads, as long as it’s funny? (If you’ve forgotten how immature Nick Charles is, watch his classic performance at his in-law’s house in After the Thin Man.)
If you share my preferences, why are you waiting to watch the series, much less Lassie Come Home? I envy you the eight seasons and three films (if you include the musical) you have yet to watch! And if you’re already a Psych fan, you’ll be so happy to have Shawn and Gus back–even for a little while.
I feel exactly the same way about Psych. It’s easily in my top 10 favorite shows, maybe even top 5. That being said, I didn’t love the new movie as much as I’ve loved the others. Something about it just felt a little off to me and I can’t quite put my finger on it. However, it was still hilarious and I adore these characters so much, so I’m sure I’ll keep coming back to it.
I love to find another fan! I definitely understand that reaction. It was certainly more disjointed than the others–many missing pieces that are never resolved. And it’s less funny in the second half. I found the Woody segment surprisingly unfunny. But Gus was amazing throughout, as was Shawn.
Psych fan from Day One. Watching later seasons, late on a Wednesday night (when they aired at the time) I would often comment that this episode was “okay.” Later, when I got them on DVD, some episodes I found “meh” on first viewing, are now some of my favorites. The joy of Psych is that it works on so many levels, all at the same time.
By way of extra texture, did you know that creator Steve Franks wrote the Adam Sandler movie “Big Daddy.” Take a look at the court room scene sometime and tell me Adam Sandler & Joe Bologna are NOT a rough-draft of of Shawn & Henry Spencer.
I, too, love finding new Psych fans.
That’s so funny! That’s one of the few Sandler films I like. I’ll check that scene out. It’s true that the episodes grow on you. There are so many jokes and pop culture references that I often catch one after seeing the episode multiple times.