Based on the extremely popular comic book series by author Bryan Lee O’Malley, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is not only a fun, exciting and original movie but its one of the best films that I’ve seen this summer. The film is about dating, which is something that everyone can relate to and it brilliantly uses pop culture, such as video games, super-heroes and rock n’ roll as a metaphor for relationships and love. Edgar Wright directed the film (“Shaun Of The Dead”) and in my opinion it is one of his best. He shows so much growth as a director in this film and his unique style and humor lend to the source material quite well. The movie is so original and at the same time relatable that it makes for an amazing film experience.
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The cast is fantastic and Michael Cera may just have been born to play this roll as his wry sense of comedic timing lends to the character perfectly. All the other actors are excellently well cast in their roles but in particular performances from actors such as Kieran Culkin (“Paper Man”), Brandon Routh (“Superman Returns”), Mae Whitman (“Arrested Development”), Anna Kendrick (“Up In The Air”), Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) and Jason Schwartzman (“Bored To Death”) really stood out. The film is filled with spectacular special effects that are not only beautifully done but add to the story of the film rather than subtract from it. Another extremely important element in the film is the music, which was really well done. The songs and the special effects that are used to make those notes come alive are fantastic and fill the film with fun and excitement.
I’ll try to give just the basics of the plot as not to spoil too much of the story for you but if you want to be completely surprised, you should probably skip the next two paragraphs. The film begins by introducing us to Toronto resident Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) and his band, Sex Bob-omb. He is the bass player along with his ex-girlfriend Kim (Alison Pine) on drums and the true talent of the group, Stephen Stills (Mark Webber) on lead guitar and vocals. Scott is still getting over his ex-girlfriend Envy (Brie Larson) when he begins seeing Knives Chau (a delightful Ellen Wong), a high school student who his friends and sister Stacey (Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick) think is way too young for him. Scott lives with his best friend Wallace (an excellent Kieran Culkin) who is gay and owns the bulk of their household belongings. Scott suddenly begins having odd dreams that include a mysterious girl with pink hair that Scott becomes infatuated with. Much to Scott’s surprise he begins running into his “dream girl” in real life and eventually has the guts to speak to her and discovers her name is Ramona Flowers.
Eventually Scott and Ramona begin dating and Scott must break things off with Knives, which she is not too happy about. But just as things start to get serious for the two lovebirds, Ramona’s dark secret is revealed … she has seven evil ex-boyfriends. Scott finds out that in order to date Ramona he must defeat all of her former boyfriends, which include Mathew Patel (Satya Bhabha) who has mystical powers that allow him to summon “demon hipster chicks,” Lucas Lee (Chris Evans) a skateboarding movie star, Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh) a vegan rock star, Roxy Ritcher (Mae Whitman) a lesbian Ramona once experimented with, Kyle and Ken Katayanagi (Shota and Keita Saito) a pair of DJ twins and Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzman) a music producer who holds the future of Scott’s band in his hands. Now Scott must battle these evil foes one by one and defeat his own personal demons if he hopes to win over Ramona’s heart.
Wright himself wrote the script along with Michael Bacall and they did an amazing job of condensing all six of O’Malley’s comics into one cohesive story while never loosing the energy and fun of the original series. As I mentioned earlier, the film uses video games, super-heroes and rock n’ roll as a metaphor for relationships and dating, and the special effects really enhanced that. The visual effects made the music come alive and the film opens with a cool old school video game style rendition of the classic Universal shield. The effects are also wonderfully used in the fight scenes to simulate a Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter style fight, complete with bonus points and extra lives. There are also two great cameos in the film that I won’t ruin for you but be sure to keep an eye out for the vegan police!
In the end Edgar Wright has really made a contemporary masterpiece with this film and has raised the bar for making comic book adapted movies. My only fear with the film is that it may be too hip and trendy for a national audience and that only teenagers or young adults living in Silver Lake, Ca or Greenwich Village will understand all of the pop-culture aspects of the film. But beneath all of the movies cool and hip references, stunning visual effects, loud rock music and funny moments this is a heartfelt and romantic picture that beautifully illustrates what its like for a young person to date in the 21st century. At the end of the day, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is a totally awesome, epic film that is fun, original and deals with a subject that anyone can relate to.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World is out August 12, 2010.
