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<i> Psych 3: This Is Gus </i> — Spoiler Free Advance Review. Is the Third Time a Charm?

Cast: Dulé Hill, James Roday Rodriguez, Jazmyn Simon,, Timothy Omundson, Corbin Bernsen

Runtime: 96 Minutes

Release Date: Thursday, November 18, 2021, on Peacock

Rating: ★★★★★

“It’s Gus, It feels like we’re drifting apart.“ – Shawn

With the impending birth of their baby, Gus (Dulé Hill) and Selene (Jazmyn Simon) are deep in their wedding plans. There’s just one catch, Selene has yet to get her ex to sign their divorce papers. Sensing things aren’t adding up Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) takes it upon himself to uncover her mysterious past. What could go wrong?

The strength of Psych has always been the chemistry between Rodriguez and Hill. From their quirky behavior to the endless pop culture references it’s hard not to laugh anytime Shawn and Gus are together. Psych 3: This Is Gus is no exception. 

As a fan of the show since its inception, it’s been fun watching Shawn and Gus grow and somewhat mature. With a show known for its childish antics, it’d be easy for the writers to take the lazy way out andrepeat what has worked in the past. Instead, they’ve done a wonderful job creating characters who are multidimensional. 

It’s great to see the main cast reunited, including Buzz McNab (Sage Brocklebank) and Woody (Kurt Fuller). Yet with eight seasons and three movies full of unique characters to draw from, I found myself longing to see more cameos from other actors besides Curt Smith from Tears for Fears and one other surprise appearance. Speaking of cameos, I can’t believe they still haven’t found a way to get fellow USA Network series character Monk (Tony Shalhoub) to appear.

Perhaps the standout moment of the film is a touching scene between Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) and Henry (Corbin Bernsen)that I didn’t realize I needed. It’s a wonderfully acted heart to heart discussion about life that goes much deeper than just a scene in a television movie. 

As much as it pains me to admit, I haven’t been a fan of the Psych movies. As much as I love the series, the films have been greatly impacted by unforeseen events and I longed for that classic Psych episode transformed into a lengthy TV movie. The first Psych movie was rocked right before filming began with the news of Omundson’s stroke. Psych 2: Lassie Comes Home became a tribute to Omundson’s amazing, albeit ongoing, recovery. While his return took away some of the focus of the movie, it was the right thing to do. It wasn’t until the second half of Psych 2 did it feel like a genuine Psych film. With Psych 3: This Is Gus, I was excited to see what the writers would do with a clean slate. And for much of the third film that’s exactly what I got.

Yet, while watching Psych 3, I realized the upheaval over Omundson’s stroke wasn’t the main problem; Psych simply is better formatted to be a series instead of a movie. Without weekly episodes, the writers are forced to carefully choose which storylines to focus on because no one knows when the next movie will be. Two storylines, in particular, stand out where a scene of great importance is introduced only to cut away never to be heard of again. It was as if they were thinking the storyline could be resolved in next week’s episode. 

Overall, Psych 3 is very enjoyable. It isn’t until things begin to wind down do you realize several storylines were forgotten or abandoned. With so much left unanswered, one would think the writers might use the final few minutes to set up the next film. Instead, they go in an entirely different direction. 

Don’t get me wrong, what happens in the final minutes is absolutely Psych. Anyone who has seen the marketing of the show through the years won’t be surprised by what happens. Except those instances were always part of the marketing, not the actual show. In the end, storylines are sacrificed for a gimmick better suited as a DVD extra. This creative choice left a bad taste in my mouth given how much had yet to be wrapped up.

Despite my frustration over the ending and unresolved storylines, Psych 3: This Is Gusis still worth checking out.Perhaps instead of yearly films, Psych should become an annual miniseries of perhaps 4-6 episodes. This way the storylines can be better fleshed out.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about Psych 3: This Is Gus

For more on the show, go https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-movies/psych-3-this-is-gus

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Source: ©2021 NBCUniversal. All Rights Reserved.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.