Movie Review - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
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(2 votes, average: 3.5 out of 4)
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Reviewed by Dale J. Nauertz
PG-13 / 112 Minutes / 2010
If Woody Allen were into video games instead of old jazz music, “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” is the kind of movie he would make. Now, I realize that Woody Allen isn’t the hippest filmmaker in the world (I doubt many of his fans are under the age of thirty) but I’ve always found him to be, surprisingly, one of the most experimental. Woody breaks the fourth wall more often than nearly any other filmmaker. He’s also integrated animation, toyed with genre conventions, tinkered with the very art of storytelling itself, and explored social taboos in a playful, lighthearted manner that nonetheless does not make light of them, more than any other filmmaker that comes readily to mind. Especially in his comedies, Woody Allen eschews the rules that constitute the so-called “reality” of other films but he does so in order to make cogent and well-thought-out points about the rules, relationships, phobias and psychology that govern our day-to-day existence. (It goes without saying that I am talking about his BEST movies. In films like “Deconstructing Harry”, “Celebrity” and “Curse of the Jade Scorpion” he’s simply going through the motions, using his often ingenious and revolutionary filmmaking style either to make the same damned points he’s been making for more than thirty years or to make points that no one not named Woody Allen could relate to.)
With “Scott Pilgrim”, Edgar Wright addresses the thorny relationship dilemmas that plague damned near everyone in the most irreverent and bizarre way possible. In short, he structures the quest of his nerdy hero (Michael Cera) to win the woman of his dreams (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) like a video game. Namely the sort of old school game where you had to blow into the cartridge to get it to work properly (the only video games the film mentions by name are Tetris, Pac Man and Super Mario Brothers, and I think that’s intentional). After Scott and his dream woman (her name is actually Ramona Flowers) begin dating, he learns that he must defeat her seven evil exes in order to keep seeing her. Each of these exes appears in turn and Scott must vanquish each one in order to move to the next level…of his relationship.
Meanwhile, the film also concerns a young Asian high schooler named Knives Chau (played by adorable newcomer Ellen Wong), the girl Scott jilted in order to pursue Ramona. Though Scott’s friends and bandmates (sidebar: Scott is the bass player of a band named “Sex Bob Omb” that is engaged in a battle of the bands contest as the film progresses, adding another layer of combat to the film and providing several unique and fun sequences of its own) dismiss this relationship as an odd phase in his romantic life, Knives is no disposable character. After Scott abandons her, Knives concentrates her efforts on defeating Ramona and winning him back. Though she’s an idealized, underdeveloped caricature of Asian culture and young innocence at the start of the film, Knives proves to be a complex and compelling character all her own by the time the credits roll.
As he did with “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”, director Edgar Wright once again proves himself to be the most visually impressive filmmaker working in the comedy genre today…and possibly ever. Though he shares Woody Allen’s daring ability to break cinematic rules and employ surrealism to comment on reality, he does so with more visual panache and flat-out, balls-to-the-wall energy than Allen has EVER brought to bear. This film begins at a giddy, frenetic pace, one that it would seem impossible to maintain…and yet Wright not only maintains that exhilarating pace, he actually builds on it, upping the ante on lunacy and excitement with each subsequent sequence until arriving at an astounding and satisfying payoff during the film’s breakneck climax. Wright takes the video game conceit (one which only “Crank” seems to have previously utilized, though not nearly as well) and plays it to the absolute hilt. He seems not only to be progressing through Scott’s relationship as the film goes on but, also, through the history of video games. The film begins with a Nintendo-style rendering of the Universal logo, has characters turn into piles of coins when defeated, stages several of its battles in a style that is intentionally reminiscent of “Mortal Kombat” and even changes aspect ratios to transition into “cut scenes” whenever Scott is dreaming. But that’s not all! Wright also works in visual nods to sitcoms (one scene even includes the familiar “Seinfeld” music and a laugh track), Bollywood musical numbers, indie rock, comic books (appropriate since the film is, in fact, based on one) and 1980’s action movies, among countless others. Wright uses every trick in his formidable arsenal to make this film a giddy, geeky extravaganza that handily distinguishes itself from every other romance ever filmed. It’s so distinctive, I hesitate to even call it a “romantic comedy”. That label suggests a set of cliches that this film energetically avoids at all costs. The film also gleefully thumbs its nose at reality in a manner that was most accurately described by my colleague Mr. Jones as “batshit”. The movie is fiction. It accepts that fact and wears it as a badge of honor, bearing only the most passing resemblance to the universe in which we live.
Except, that is, on the emotional level, which is where “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” could simply not be more relatable. The characters and their situations all hold relevance. This is one of the most honest explorations of romantic relationships since at least “High Fidelity” (another movie that broke cinematic conventions, though not with the same zest as “Scott Pilgrim”). Scott is a geek but, unlike most geeks on film, he is not an innocent, noble sad sack pining for his one, idealized dream girl. Well, he is, but he also obliviously hurts those around him with his pathological self-involvement. Scott is a sweet prick, a fact that the movie acknowledges early and often. He’s a nice enough guy, sure, but he’s also well-developed enough that we see the ramifications of actions that would only be mentioned in passing in the average romantic comedy. He is guided by his emotions and rarely thinks things through. He’s subtly manipulative. He’s too wrapped up in his own bullshit to truly notice that other people have emotions too. And Ramona is no angel either. She’s caught up in her own self pity and damaging self-involvement. Ramona and Scott are perfect for each other, but not in the standard, allegedly uplifting manner presented in most romantic comedies. Most romantic comedies are about narcissists and mopey sad sacks. This one merely has the balls to own up to that fact and deal with it. It also conveys the refreshing message that if you want something you have to stop feeling sorry for yourself and go after it.
Michael Cera is perfectly cast here. He’s been playing dweebs like this for his entire career. Here he’s given the chance to show the rough edges of his standard character, the dark facets that most films are unable to present. Cera rises to the challenge admirably. Frankly, I didn’t know he had it in him. This is the first time I’ve ever found him truly engaging (though he was fine enough in “Juno”.) Mary Elizabeth Winstead isn’t quite as great as Cera, though she admittedly isn’t given as much to work with. She begins as an aloof stunner, an enigma of a woman, a Maguffin to keep the plot’s machinations grinding along. As the film goes on, however, we see the imperfections beneath this calculated facade: her doubts and insecurities, her weaknesses. As she becomes a real person and more is revealed about her (often through the clever device of the evil exes, who can be seen as a representation of emotional baggage in and of themselves, how past mistakes can often haunt present relationships in unexpected ways) Scott becomes less interested and we in the audience become more so. She loses her inscrutable dream woman status and becomes human which, of course, is troubling to the one who has spent so much time building a mythological persona around her. And, last but not least, Ellen Wong is incredibly winning as she makes the most of the seemingly thankless role of Knives Chau.
“Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” is bold, daring film-making that also manages to be a hell of a lot of fun. It handles the relationship dissection and the fight scenes with equal skill (the fight scenes pulse with an energy that’s lacking in most straight action films). It’s a wild ride with emotional heft and, as I hope I’ve properly illustrated, has several different layers operating simultaneously at any given time. It’s sweet without sacrificing its sarcasm, funny without losing its resonance, and fun without abandoning its brain. It’s a great date movie, a triumphant cavalcade of geekiness, a deep exploration of expectations vs. reality, and a bold adrenaline rush all rolled into one. It’s also, first and foremost, the only truly great movie I’ve seen so far this year.
