Though it’s obvious and sometimes cliche, I like it when Psych crafts whole episodes that are more or less borrowed stories from other popular media content. As evidenced by the title of this week’s episode, Shawn and Gus get involved with a drag racing ring, resulting in a slew of “Fast and Furious” references and riffs.
And you know what? I loved them all. Now admittedly, I am a major fan of the “Fast and Furious” series. I find all four installments in the series to be entertaining, albeit stupidly so. However, the films aren’t overwhelmingly over-the-top or full of CGI shapes, so I’m not afraid to admit how much I like the series.
Anyway, as expected, this episode followed the film quadrilogy in a fairly predictable way. Shawn and Gus have to infiltrate a street racing crew to figure out if they’re the culprits of a crime — in this case, a murder — and shockingly (!), Shawn gets in too deep and has trouble ratting on the crew to Lassie. But this being Psych, everything in that paragraph is played for laughs, instead for straightforward drama like the events of “The Fast and Furious,” which is probably a much better approach.
For whatever reason, this episode also felt the need to throw in a number of “Point Break” references as well, which though funny, really took away from the “Fast and Furious” of it all. I understand that the two films are something of cinematic brethren, but I want more quotes from Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner and Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto. Sorry, Swayze — R.I.P. Alas, still a number of funny moments, a nice guest turn from Adam Rodriquez and another great episode for Gus (he pushed the gun right out of the tough gal’s hands right before she shoots Shawn!). What else can be said?
CORY BARKER 