Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

I don't give very many five star reviews, but after careful thought, I couldn't give this film anything but. It set out to do something and achieved what it wanted to, 100%.I had been reading O'Malley's books for years, but when I heard Scott Pilgrim was being made into a movie, I just rolled my eyes. As a friend in the comics business once told me, "They're going to screw your book. Just decide how much you want to be paid to get screwed." Now, this isn't as true as it used to be--a new generation of directors who understand comics are finally producing good work, like Watchmen--but it's still the way to bet. Which I why I was surprised when I heard from Bryan that he was pretty excited about it. Still....I was aware the film was being made but was too nervous to keep track of it. Even after it came out I dragged my feet about seeing it, then finally went near the end of the run.And I LOVED it!Not only is it the best possible adaptation of the book, it is pure 100% fun. I was talking to a comic book artist I know and raving about it. He's a HUGE Scott Pilgrim fan and loved it. Then he said: "Too bad it bombed, huh?" I was truly shocked--I had no idea. I couldn't believe how anyone couldn't like the movie. It's imaginative, original, well-written, well-acted, and awesomely, perfectly over-the-top.And now that I have the BR and have rewatched it twice (plus 3x with all the commentaries) I am still agog that it wasn't a huge hit. (Michael Cera has glumly said "We got blindsided by eight guys called The Expendables".) I think the problem some people have with it is that they aren't willing to just go with the flow and accept the strange reality the movie takes place in.Edgar put his heart and soul into this movie and it shows on every frame. I don't know how many times I'd have to watch it to catch all the references and inside jokes, and the backgrounds are so fill of tidbits I've had to step through some scenes almost frame-by-frame in a probably futile attempt to catch them all. The details are amazing, from the note-perfect Bollywood style of the fight with Patel (eg, the demon sisters all have big racks, and if you've ever watched a Bollywood film...) to the promo posters for the bands and the way the lyrics of the music often intercut and play off the script.The actors committed to this film above and beyond the call of duty. Let's face it, training Michael Cera to do long choreographed fight shots and look good doing it must have taken a hell of a lot of work on his part and the part of the fight choreographers. Cera commented that the thing he looked forward to most at the end of filming was "never doing another pushup again in my life." But like them or not, he did them anyway during the filming.And of course for several of the actors, they had to go from wondering what side of their musical instrument was up to playing live and recording the soundtrack. Only Cera and Larson had previous experience, and neither of them professionally. (Larson has a lovely voice!)Cera's acting does the job it needs to. He's pretty Scott Pilgrim-like. (I howled with laughter at his delivery of the line "But it's haaaard!") Culkin steals the movie, as others have noted here. Most of the other parts don't call for ACTING! as much as in most movies, but again, most of the actors do their work. The exception is the clumsy and leaden performance by Anna Kendrick as Stacey Pilgrim. My god, she's awful. But I need to give a special shout-out to Alison Pill who IS Kim Pine. It was almost creepy. Oh yeah, and Jason Schwatzman is brilliant as Gideon. A complete a-hole, just as he should be.I doubt anyone who has read this far (if anyone ever does) is not already a fan of the movie. But talk a few people into watching it with you, or lend out the disk. I think this movie will be a (semi) cult classic, and hopefully after a few years it will at least make its money back. It's just too cruel that Scott Pilgrim vs the World should be a Bob-omb.Scott Pilgrim FTW!

It is truly a shame that Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World didn’t do that well at the box office, because it promotes everything a geek could possibly love in one film: video games, action, comedy, and it’s based off of a graphic novel series, so it indirectly promotes a love of reading. Thankfully, the film, which was based on the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, has at least become a cult favorite, so its beauty was not lost on as many people as it potentially could have been.In case you are unfamiliar, the plot concerns Scott Pilgrim, played in the film by the oh-so-perfect-for-the-role Michael Cera, a geeky twenty-something who recently broke up with a girl who has gone on to be a successful rock star. He starts a relationship with high school student Knives Chau, much to the chagrin of his friends and fellow bandmates. Oh, by the way, he’s in a band that goes by the name of Sex Bob-Omb (a bob-omb being the animatronic bomb from the Mario Bros. videogames).But everything changes when Scott meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a delivery girl for Amazon.com. He immediately falls head-over-heels in love with her, but in order to be with her, he must first defeat her seven evil exes, each one either equally or more interesting than the former.Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick also appears in the film as Stacey Pilgrim, Scott’s sister, and there’s a special appearance by the band Metric, which is fronted by Envy Adams (Brie Larson), Scott’s ex for whom he obsessively pines - that is, until Knives and subsequently Ramona successfully distract his attention. Scott also lives with gay roommate Wallace, who adds his own special charm to both the movie and the books and is played by Kieran Culkin in the former.Edgar Wright’s movies are both comedy gold and filmmaking masterpieces. He knows just what to add and subtract from a frame and when, and his editing style moves his films along at a more exciting and consuming rate. He was the perfect director for this film, and truly, a better cast probably could not have been chosen.There are several subtle, number-related clues hidden throughout the film, and Wright’s use of typography (which we’ve also seen later on in the BBC’s Sherlock) is one of the oh-so-many innovative things I love about this film. Wright’s attention to the little things (like posting a “Pee Bar” that runs down as Scott drains his lizard, or having those that Scott defeats turn into gold coins [followed by Scott’s joke that it isn’t even enough money for a ride home]) make Wright’s films so much more enjoyable than most of the run-of-the-mill dreck we’ll see in our lifetimes.With films like Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and television shows like Spaced, Wright has officially charmed his way into my wallet with every new project he puts out. Though, in all fairness, O’Malley definitely deserves much of the credit here as well, as the original material found in his graphic novel series is just as hysterical, just as clever, and just as viable for repeat entertainment as the film adaptation that would inevitably eventually follow.

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