Murder?... Anyone?... Anyone?... Bueller?

The movie(Ferris Bueller, Breakfast Club etc..) and song references (Pat Benatar, etc..) are all things that would be at an 80s reunion not a 1995 reunion that this episode revolves around.

Of course this episode is great because it's Psych, and the whole show is awesome. I just felt the need to back up the other reviewer who pointed out that a class who graduated in 1995 would not be all about the 80s at their reunion- and for that the reviewer got thumbs down. Now absolutely no one else could play Shawn besides James Roday Rodriguez and I wouldn't want to see anyone but him and Dulé Hill as leads. But let's face it, Shawn should be 8-10 years older for this show's 80s obsession to make sense. I always figured it's got to really be based around the tastes of show creator Steve Franks, even though I don't know his age. As someone who really did go to high school in the 80s, I love all the references to John Hughes movies and the music played in this episode. I especially think Janet Varney is hilarious and wish she got more scenes. But continually mentioning that the class specifically graduated in 1995, makes it harder than usual to just ignore how Shawn's age doesn't match up. Maybe that's why Rachel Leigh Cook was in this - because she's so associated with 90s movies. It does help a lot. Anyway, this show's a fantasy so they can get away with not making any sense. Speaking of 90s reunions, this episode reminds me a lot of the one on Bones where Temperance goes to her reunion. I think that one had a slightly better, yet similar, mystery and they actually played music from the 90s, but obviously they were doing something very different than Psych. For me, the John Hughes references are what really makes this episode great.

This is a bit of a subjective matter, but I consider this the first real homage episode, which Psych became known for later. In this case, it's an homage to the John Hughes' films of the 1980s. There are spoken and visual references to "The Breakfast Club," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Pretty in Pink," "Sixteen Candles," and others. I know... as others have pointed out, if this is the graduating class of 1995, Shawn and Gus shouldn't be this well-versed in 80s lore; but as a child of the 80s, the anachronisms are fine by me. I have always appreciated the way the show generally makes these references without explaining them (though many are called out in this episode). The show can usually be understood and enjoyed just fine without all that insider info, but these little nuggets serves as fun easter eggs. If you're in on the joke, it increases the enjoyment. A good example of an unexplained reference is Shawn's dance on the roof. Of course you can find this out by reading the trivia, but if you are a fan of "the Breakfast Club," you will immediately recognize that the entire sequence is a call-back to the dance montage in the movie. And there are so many other great references. And the musical choices are perfect for this episode.

Another great thing about this episode is its wonderful guest stars - Rachel Leigh Cook (in her first of several appearances), Janet Varney (in her first of several appearances), who is absolutely hilarious, and Cybill Shepherd (in her second of several appearances).

This episode has SOOOO many memorable one-liners ("no body, no crime"), and it has a couple of my favorite exchanges in the entire series. It also has some great moments between the principal cast members. We don't get a flash-back scene, but we do get a good bit of back-story, especially regarding Shawn and Gus's long-term friendship, which is one of the key reasons this series is so wonderful. The writing is exceptional, thanks to the wonderful talent of Andy Berman who never disappoints and always expands on the relationships.

Whenever I introduce someone to Psych, I try to show them an episode that fits their personality and interests, if possible. When in doubt, this is one of my "go to" episodes.

The writing seems drawn out. While there is typically superfluous side stories and scenes where Shawn is acting childish, there was too much here.

Maybe the absence of a flashback required filling the extra time.

I get that a lot of people like to reminisce about the past (old movie, songs, celebs etc) but I think (and probably most people would disagree) that the writers shouldn't put so much focus on that.

To those who understand it, it's probably great and funny but not all viewers understand it. Some viewers didn't grow up in the 80s. Some viewers didn't even grow up in the states so if you throw a reference here and there and some of us miss the joke, that's fine, no big deal but if you keep them going it could get annoying real fast.

I like this show, it's interesting and funny most of the time but I have to say that I didn't enjoy this episode that much. Everything felt a little over the top for me. I much prefer the episodes that start with a flashback to some event between father and son that gives us a little sneak peek at what made Shawn who he is now. Henry's past as a cop intertwined with Shawn's present as a crime solver is very meaningful in a lot of ways. The childish behavior is also funny and adorable but as long as it's not too much. Plus, I really love the other police characters (Carlton, Juliet, the chief and even McNab) and they hardly had a part in this episode. They were practically insignificant. So for all these reasons, to me, this wasn't a great episode.

I'm rating it 6/10 because it wasn't a bad episode but since the rating in here is so high (currently it's 8.9/10), I just really wanted to write this review just to point out the problem with using so many references to a certain time or topic.