Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is the story of Scott Pilgrim (as played by Michael Cera), a regular slacker of a guy who is also in a band that appears to be going nowhere (Surprise!). Anyway, one day, he meets the 'girl of his dreams', one Ramona Flowers. The catch is, in order to be with her, he must defeat her 7 Evil Exes. All of whom apparently have different types of video-game inspired superpowers. Aaand...we're off!
"If your life had a face, I'd punch it."
I'll be honest. After seeing the trailers for this movie, I was on the fence about it. I'd heard it was a bit of quirky, slightly odd fun that often incorporated video game imagery. Not being a gamer (the single area of geekdom in which I am lax), I wasn't sure what to think about Scott Pilgrim. I'd also never read the graphic novel series on which the movie is based.
But, truth be told, the movie lived up to its hype - mostly. It was a little better than I'd expected, and certainly not worse. In point of fact, everything about this movie worked for me. Everything, that is, except Scott Pilgrim himself.
First, the good: Scott Pilgrim is a visually crazy movie. 8-bit video game images figure heavily into said visuals - for example, every time Scott faces an Evil Ex, they battle one another in arcade game fashion, and when they're defeated, the loser collapses into a pile of coins. You'd think it would be weird, but the visuals are so consistent and creative (not to mention funny) that they actually add a lot to the story. This, combined with the editing style and musical oddities, gives the film quite a distinct feel. The supporting cast (both actors and their characters) are great. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (as Ramona), presents a strong female lead; and Alison Pill (as Kim, the drummer for Scott's band) is a scene-stealer even with minimal lines. The story is cool, albeit over the top, but the pure fun of it tended to gloss over the flaws, and the majority of the dialogue was snappy and well delivered.
But then there was the character of Scott himself. Michael Cera is fine in the role, doing his typical man-child thing (See also: Juno or Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist). Normally, I can deal with that. Not here. About a quarter of the way through this movie, I realized something. I kind of hate the character Scott Pilgrim. He’s a weak-willed, slightly aggravating individual who for most of the movie lacks anything resembling a moral compass. When we first meet him, he’s 22 years old, and dating a 17 year old high school girl (which, for the record, would look insanely creepy on film…except for the fact that Cera still looks about 17 himself). So anyhow, from there, Scott suddenly becomes infatuated with Ramona Flowers, and starts dating her – without breaking off his other relationship first. For a good 20 minutes, we’re treated to the spectacle of Scott keeping both girls in the dark, while still enjoying the benefits of both relationships. IMHO, this is an a-hole move, and one that made me REALLY dislike the character. Just because his 2-timing ways make for a few laughs in the context of the movie doesn’t make it right.
Still, I would be much less critical of Scott if he showed the slightest hint of real progress toward maturity as the film goes on. Which he doesn’t. In point of fact, he causes the character of Ramona to regress. Which is exceptionally frustrating.
When we meet her, Ramona is fiercely independent, and very self-assured: in short, a pretty strong female character who doesn’t need a guy to make her important (If you want to see the opposite, go watch Twilight sometime). By the end of the movie, she’s all about Scott, and at one point even gets down on herself for not deserving him, because he’s “the nicest guy she’s ever dated.” Not once does she attack Scott for two-timing her, or even demand an explanation. No sane, self-respecting woman I’ve ever met would act that way, and it really brings the character down a notch.
Essentially, by the end of the movie, Scott’s character hasn’t changed a bit, and for the sake of the storyline, she has to instead. It’s an inane move, and one that made the end of this movie ring hollow for me. Scott’s character made this movie into an entertaining ride with an unfortunately disappointing ending.
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