Psych 2: Lassie Come Home | Film Review

After over 100 episodes, a full-blown musical, and a feature-length reprisal film, I am not quite sure what it will take for the uninitiated to finally take a dip into the pool of delicious flavor known as Psych 2: Lassie Come Home. For 8 seasons and a movie, our hyper-observant and immature detective, Shawn Spencer (James Roday), has successfully solved crime after crime, time after time. All while cracking wise utilizing humor coated with a heavy dose of pop-culture references with his subdued yet equally juvenile best friend, Burton Guster (Dulé Hill), at his side. Psych 2 continues their odyssey as our duo must solve a mystery involving one of their own.

A TV series that began as a gimmicky companion to USA’s Monk, Psych – revolving around a childish imbecile who pretends to be a psychic to play detective with his best friend without ever having to put in the work to earn a badge – quickly grew into the most hilarious and emotional bromance on television. Roday and Hill were complemented with an exceptional cast of supporting characters as well (Corbin Bersen’s Henry Spencer remains one of the best dads in entertainment history), and the gang is back on the case as they head to Santa Barbara in Lassie Come Home.

Our second Psych feature film – this time airing as a highlight to launch the Peacock Network – hits the ground running. Santa Barbara’s Chief of Police, Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), has been shot several times, suffered a stroke, and left for dead. His attack has left his memory devoid of the assailant’s identity and he believes suspicious activity is afoot at the Herschel House Recovery Center, and therefore needs the assistance of his friendly foes Shawn and Gus to get to the bottom of it all. Though Shawn and Gus left Santa Barbara for San Francisco at the end of the series and the first film, Psych 2 allows them to revisit their old stomping grounds, including their hipster reimagined former office – to uncover the truth.

Originally, the sequel was going to take another direction, but after Omundson suffered a real-life stroke that left the actor debilitated, the cast and crew put together a story that focused on Omundson’s character in a sensible way to draw every character back to where they started. There is also a lot of heart at play in this endeavor, between Lassiter’s recovery and the overarching theme of fathers and their children that permeates throughout the proceedings. For long-time fans, there is even a scene between Henry and Shawn that ranks up there with their best moments of the entire series. In other words, there is much more to Psych 2 than devouring ice chips or rocking Russian ear flaps.

Seeing as this is Lassiter we’re talking about, everyone from the original series and the last film returns. Juliet (Maggie Lawson), Henry, Vick (Kirsten Nelson), Selene (Jazmyn Simon), and even Woody (Kurt Fuller). It wouldn’t be a Psych event without a few glorious guests and cameos: including Sarah Chalke in updated scrubs with an eye for Gus, Joel McHale, the ever-insanely-fun-to-watch Jimmi Simpson, and even a clever nod to Roday’s other series, A Million Little Things. When I say “the gang’s all here”, you can take that literally.

That is really the magic of Psych, when you think about it. A series with a ridiculous concept has steamrolled expectations by allowing its cast – kudos to creator Steve Franks on this insanity – to embrace their most infantile inner voices and amp up the silly to an ear-busting 11 without cresting into utter nonsense. Fifteen years later, this template should be growing stale, yet the love this cast has for each other, the material, and these characters shines through every frame of Lassie Come Home.

All that said, the mysteries of Psych have always been more of a guideline than a road map and this go-round is no exception. We’re here to watch Shawn and Gus be hungry idiots for 90 minutes, and once again they never fail to deliver. Name another series where our heroes could drag an unkempt and fairly mangy dog into a medical recovery center without raising an eyebrow. Or could manage fist bumps with a corpse’s hand for laughs. Or could turn accidental selfies at the urinal into full-on comic rifts. C’mon son!

James Roday and Dulé Hill have that rare Abbott and Costello chemistry that never tires, a devoted friendship that thrives on puerility, and they maintain that manic energy to deliver yet another solid entry in what we can only hope are several more installments of this beloved franchise.

Ultimately, Psych 2 has the three H’s in spades: heart, hijinks, and hilarity. James Roday and Dulé Hill continue their run as one of the best duos in entertainment, and even almost 15 years after the series began, Shawn and Gus’s bickering banter leave their audience still demanding more.

You know that’s right.