Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World

Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Kieran Culkin
Hands down, the best samurai/musical/fantasy/romantic comedy/video game/comic book/manga/action movie you will ever see. If it sounds like I’m describing too many genres, it’s because this movie really is the perfect combination of everything you want from a movie, and more. This movie is the story of Scott Pilgrim. He’s a 22 year old unemployed guy who lives with his gay roommate Wallace Wells. He plays in a shitty band called Sex Bob-Omb and is dating high schooler Knives Chau. He soon meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, and the two hit it off pretty well…until he learns that he must fight, and defeat, her seven evil exes in order to win her heart.

The trailer for this movie seemed to confuse a lot of people. No one seemed to know what the hell was going on. This is a movie that was made not for a quick buck at the box office, but as a tribute for all of us whose favorite toy growing up was a little device called Nintendo. Anyone who spent hours upon hours in front of their television with the Nintendo remote in their hands will easily catch all of the quick video game references sprinkled throughout the film, but those who didn’t will still be able to find something to bring a smile to their faces.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The reason most people will steer clear of this movie: Michael Cera. By now we’ve all grown tired of his shtick. You can only do the awkward, horny teenager act so many times before people start to get sick of it and begin to hate you. Thankfully, director Edgar Wright is able to get an actual performance from Cera. Over the course of the movie, Scott goes from being a selfish and irresponsible jerk to a young man who is able to own up to his mistakes and take responsibility for his actions. As someone who was completely skeptical about Cera, I can honestly say that I can’t imagine anyone else being better suited for the role.

“But Fernando! You seemed to really love this movie! Why isn’t it #1 on your Top 10 list?”

Let me tell you why. A few months ago, director Edgar Wright posted something saying that after reading issue 6 of the Scott Pilgrim comics (which came out in July), he had decided to bring the cast back together to re-shoot some scenes. Apparently there was something in that last book that was way too good to pass up. Anyone could see where the original ending for the movie was headed, but instead Wright decided to go with the more conventional Hollywood ending, which is the movie’s biggest downfall. I wouldn’t have had a problem with it, except that it just didn’t feel natural. Seems kinda ironic that a movie as refreshing and original as this would opt for such a cliche ending, especially when it spends the last 15 minutes establishing a relationship between two characters.

My favorite part of the movie? The opening 8-bit Universal logo. Or Chris Evans as ex-skater turned shitty actor Lucas Lee. No wait. It’s Brandon Routh as psychic vegan rock star Todd Ingram. Nope that’s not it. It’s the bad guys turning into coins after being defeated. Or is it Kieran Culkin as Scott’s gay roommate Wallace Wells? Come to think of it, everything about this movie is the best part of the movie…except for the ending. And when Matthew Patel started singing. BARF
A

No comments:

Post a Comment