The pairing of fan favorite director, Edgar Wright, and Brian O'Malley's frantic comic book series is like a match made in heaven. As if more ammunition was needed to put Wright up there as one of my favorites after Shaun of the Dead
, Hot Fuzz
, and the pop culture heavy TV series, Spaced
, he's now managed to make the first film truly aimed at the video game/comic book generation. Say what you want about Michael Cera, and certainly some fans were put off by his casting, but he has the wishy washy dude routine down pat. He stars as Scott Pilgrim, a somewhat mediocre but strangely alluring guitarist living in Toronto. His band, Sex Bob-Omb(remember the little bomb guys from Super Mario?), features his friend Stephen Stills(Mark Webber), and ex-girlfriend Kim Pine(Allison Pill). For being kindof a loser who doesn't appear to be all that bright, Scott seems to have a ton of women left in his wake. He's still trying to get over being dumped by his ex, Natalie, now a big time rock singer with her band Clash at Demonhead(another video game for ya).
Only in the world of Scott Pilgrim could a guy be dating a 17 year old girl named Knives Chow(Ellen Wong) and nobody bat an eye at her name. The relationship is awkward and one-sided at best, but all is thrown out the window when Scott starts runs into the literal girl of his dreams, the crimon haired Ramona Flowers(Mary Elizabeth-Winstead). After scaring her away with his dorkiness, he manages to convince her that he's not a total flake, and the two start dating. Unfortunately for Scott, Ramona comes with baggage. Not just emotional baggage although she has that in spades, too. Ramona's baggage is decidedly real, angry, and violent, coming in form of seven evil exes who Scott must defeat in order to win her heart.
These aren't exes like you and I got, the ones who prove to be mostly irritating when they pop up out of nowhere. Together they form a motley crew known as the League of Evil Exes who have vowed to put the kibosh on all of Ramona's romantic endeavors. They're led by Gideon(Jason Schwartzman), a manipulative record exec; action star and pro skateboarder, Lucas Lee(Chris Evans); and Clash at Demonhead bassist and super-powered vegen, Todd Ingram(Brandon Routh). The rest of the league aren't given nearly the attention they probably deserved, but that's understandable considering they're trying to cram five books into one film without sacrificing pacing. It still becomes a problem later on as we don't get any insight into the last few exes(the Twins in particular), and it's obvious we're being herded to the big boss battle at the end.
It's obvious that Edgar Wright and all involved are huge fans of the material. You have to be to play it with so much enthusiasm, especially by the supporting cast which might be about as perfect as anyone could've hoped. Everyone shines from Kieran Culkin as Scott's snarky gay roommate, Wallace, to brief turns by Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick as Scott's sister.
A movie like this can't exist unless you're willing to throw any sense of logic out the window. Or at least, logic as we know it. The reason why Scott Pilgrim works is because it creates its own world with its own rules, and never bothers to even acknowledge that any other kind of place could exist outside its boundaries. Taking a cue from the Japanese manga that has so clearly influenced it, Scott Pilgrim is a film based purely on emotion and action. Every fight dazzles with spectacular digital explosions, blazing human-sized weapons that look like they were forged by crazy blind giants. The pace only slows down long enough to prepare you for the next amped up level.
If I went on about all the little things this movie does right, I'd have no time to play any of the games it's inspired me to go back and revisit. Scott Pilgrim isn't about a video game. It's not about some superhero you can read about in a comic. Films like Iron Man and X-men, while awesome, aren't necessarily made for the comic book fan who already knows about them. They're made for broad market appeal. Scott Pilgrim probably has no appeal outside of a certain fanatical segment. Count yourself lucky if you consider yourself part of that group. The rest of you need to get with the program!
