Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – Movie Review

I was lucky enough to get a couple of free passes to an advance screening for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on a Monday night and, honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.

As soon as the film begins, it’s clear that it’s unique.  With its dynamic cuts, speedy movements, and continual little visual asides and special effects that step in, overlay, and at times even interrupt the otherwise mundane tone and look of the film, it feels pretty bizarre.  Heck, it even feels a little off-putting.  I can’t really say that I reached the point of irritation, but it was something of a confusing experience.

Thankfully, O’Malley’s work shines through all this and, because of that, I managed to settle in and fully absorb the on-screen kookiness and the atmosphere it produces.  Indeed, this movie is quite unlike anything I’ve seen in some time.  This is a truly innovative “comic book movie” that makes the absolute most of that label.  A live-action film, yes, but one that is constantly surrounded and encroached upon by comic book touches and visual effects.

Whether it’s the sound waves coming off of a performing musical act, little comic book illustrations that provide side-bar narration, video game references (life-bars, or “pee-bars”), black boxes obscuring a swearing character’s face, or whatever other madness is concocted, these visual pop-ins are a constant presence in the movie and they always seem to carry a sort of sentience behind them.  They may seem like frivolous, throwaway bits of humour but, in spite of this, there’s always a sense of method or meaning behind them.  They go beyond purely cosmetic purposes to achieve real effects and convey real comedy.  Really, these little visual effects serve as a very unique kind of accompaniment to the movie, as crucial to Scott Pilgrim as the movie’s score.  It also provides a perfect fusion of comic with film, while making O’Malley’s loves (video games, music, etc) a very tangible part of the movie, imbuing the movie with a sort of geek atmosphere and tone that has real impact on the narrative and story-telling.

The sound effects are no different, really, often giving life to these visual quirks or showing their own sort of sentience through some kind of reference.  Punches land with comic noises, once in a while a stereotypically deep-voiced narrator will step in, and, in a personal favourite of mine, the famous bass riff from Seinfeld plays to accompany a shot of Scott’s apartment door, only for the ensuing scene to be accompanied by a sitcom laugh-track.  The sound effects are as varied as the visual effects and, along with a great score, serve to heighten the experience and enhance the “comic book movie” atmosphere.

As for the plot of the movie, we’re sped through quite a bit; all seven evil ex-boyfriends are battled, which means we go from Scott’s meeting Ramona to the very end.  This means that, while the beginning lulls you a bit, this is a surprisingly brisk movie which somehow still manages to maintain it’s laid-back feel.  That being said, as the movie wears on, the fact that it is, ultimately, a series of boss-fights does make the movie longer than it is, partially because of the artifice of knowing that we’ve got a tidy list of seven evil exes to go through.  In this sense, past the movie’s opening twenty minutes or so, the movie’s structure is a bit rigid and overly structured.  Also, speeding through the exes like this, and condensing so much comic into a 105-minute film means that characterization does suffer for some characters, Scott’s ex Envy for example.

Yet, while the narrative structure may not be particularly inspired, this is counter-balanced by the dialogue, which is sharp and witty while maintaining a constant sort of wonder and positivity.  The script is a perfect balance of innocence and experience, with conversations and subject matter often highlighting the painful bridging between the two.  It’s at different turns touching and comedic; there are plenty of laughs to be had, but also genuine emotions to be felt.  All told, I feel that O’Malley’s work is done justice on this front.

Helping out is the cast, most of whom are stellar.  Kieran Culkin, playing Scott’s roommate Wallace, gives a particularly inspired performance and completely steals every scene in which he appears.  Culkin is perfectly suited for the character and consistently generated the best laughs to be had in the film.  Brandon Routh, Chris Evans, and Jason Schwartzman were all a lot of fun in their roles as evil exes.  While the other exes were a bit underwhelming in comparison, these three hammed it up to the best of their abilities and chewed the hell out of the scenery and made up the difference.  They were a joy to watch and managed to be completely and utterly ridiculous.  I also enjoyed Alison Pill’s take on Kim, managing to be perpetually sullen yet likable.

Then there are the two leads.  Mary Winstead pulled off just about the best Ramona Flowers that I could imagine.  She did a perfect job portraying the “tough exterior, heart of gold” persona, perpetually feeling distant and socially cold, but with just enough of a hint of vulnerability to suggest the artificiality of this front.  This combination lends the character that alluring mystique that makes the character immediately attractive, which is a good thing given that that attraction is the anchor of the plot.

For Michael Cera’s portrayal of Scott Pilgrim, I unfortunately have mixed feelings.  There’s no getting around the fact that, once again, this Michael Cera being Michael Cera, essentially playing the same character that we’ve seen him play in seemingly every film he’s been in.  The muttered asides, the lack of self-confidence, the awkwardness, it’s all there and it’s cranked to eleven.  I’m not sure how true this is to the character and, frankly, Cera’s “lovable loser” act is something we’ve seen a few too many times thus far.  Thankfully, Cera’s gimmick does fit well with the movie and the dialogue is genuine and humorous enough to carry him through.  Certainly, the fact that he has such a strong cast to bounce off of helps a great deal as well.

All told though, while it’s not perfect as a film, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World delivers a very positive experience, one that is at different turns thrilling and heart-warming.  It’s a splendid fusion of mediums and genres that brings together the ideals of being in your twenties and the fixation on love, video games, and music that often comes with.  Its tale of romance is relatable and touching; it’ll increase the yearning in those currently alone while augmenting the love between those who aren’t.

Mix this in with some ridiculously explosive, over-the-top battle sequences that are incredible, insane, creative, blazingly bright coin-op worshiping eye candy that mix video game and movie far better than any film that actually is a “video game movie” and Scott Pilgrim is a definite winner.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans