It's been exactly one month since my last post. Sorry. This entry is dedicated to Mr. Jeff Raposo, who is responsible for keeping the proverbial fire under my ass lit. Also, I saw the movie with him.
The last few years have seen a great upsurge in the amount of comic book movies being produced in Hollywood. Films such as Watchmen and The Dark Knight have shown that comic book movies are indeed fiscally viable - The Dark Knight being record-breakingly so. It's gotten so that producers and production companies are willing to take a chance even on comics that don't belong to the comic book powerhouses DC or Marvel, namely Brian Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series. While relatively unknown (relative to contending titles, fans of Pilgrim would beg to differ), Scott Pilgrim has managed to attract the attention of film maker Edgar Wright, director of recent cult favorites Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the sitcom Spaced.
I must admit to not knowing a single thing about Scott Pilgrim prior to the first time I saw the trailer. And seeing Michael Cera attached to the project, I was even less inclined to give the film my $10.50 and more importantly, my time. But I also know that my boy Edgar really knows what he's doing (the three aforementioned projects being three out of my all time favourites.) And so I resigned myself to at least checking the flick out, regardless of how much I dislike Cera as an actor. And let me say that i'm really glad I decided to peep this one out.
The premise is simple. In order to date Ramona flowers, Scott Pilgrim must defeat a league of her seven evil exes in battle. The entire situation is decidedly less so. Scott Pilgrim, twenty three years old, is finally getting over his ex girlfriend of a year, by dating "Knives" Chau, a seventeen year old high school girl. Despite being ragged on by his band, The Sex Bob-ombs, his sister Stacey (played by Anna Kendrick), and his gay roommate Wallace (played by Kieran Culkin), Scott is happy for the first time in a long time. That is until one night when he dreams about a pink haired girl, the most beautiful girl he's ever seen, dreaming or otherwise. He obsesses over her, until he meets her in real life at a friend's party. Scott is instantly smitten, and just as quickly ruins any chance of ever speaking to her again. The next day, he hatches a plan to speak with Ramona again. Through a friend, he's found out that Ramona has just moved to Toronto and is working for Amazon.ca making parcel deliveries. Ordering something really cool, Scott waits for his delivery. He asks her out and surprisingly, she says yes. They hit it off and end up making out when Scott gets caught in her house during a snowstorm. BUT WAIT. Scott is still dating Knives Chau. His roommate tells him he has to break up with Knives if he wants to date Ramona. He tries, but fails. Like the classy guy he is, he invites both girls to his bands show at The Rockit. Thankfully, he's saved from a particularly awkward situation by the arrival of Ramona's first evil ex. From that point on, it's an action filled fight fest, as Scott Battles his way through the League of Evil Exes.
I've long maintained that Cera's only claim to fame is portraying a wimpy, awkward pushover. Scott Pilgrim is no different - Cera's portrayal of Pilgrim is, well, a wimpy, awkward pushover. However since the rest of the characters are also caricatures, Cera's presence is not an overwhelming factor in thi movie. What's more is that Pilgrim provides a sharp contrast to the seeming douchebags that make up the league of Ramona's exes. Also, the wimpiness of Pilgrim is the furthest removed from a character you'd expect to partake in the battles that occur in this movie. The supporting cast are also excellent in this film. Anna Kendrick plays Stacey, Scott's 18 year old sister. From her last role as Natalie Keener opposite George Clooney in "Up in the Air", she takes the complete opposite tack and convincingly portrays a high school girl (not that the role is new to her, she plays Jessica in the Twilight movies.) Brandon Routh and Chris Evans bust out their comedy chops, playing a Vegan empowered bass player and a "pretty good" skateboarder turned "pretty good" actor respectively. and Jason Schwartzman is getting really good at playing a huge asshole (see Iron Man 2's Justin Hammer.) The surprise breakout actor though, is Ellen Wong who plays Knives Chau. The formerly unknown local girl (from Scarborough!) channels the spirit of a 17 year old in her first relationship with such competence that you can literally feel the excitement, jealousy, and malice dripping from the little asian girl. And she can kick an ass or two.
While movies like Watchmen and The Dark Knight have taken a more realistic feel, putting the "movie" back into comic book movie, recent endeavours into the field have taken the opposite approach (see Kick-Ass.) Scott Pilgrim V.S. The World is definitely a movie that puts the "comic book" back into comic book movie. From the quirky nature of many characters to the presence of onomatopoeia on screen, Wright has created an atmosphere that simply screams out COMIC! in every frame of film. Adding to the comic feel of the movie are the whip quick cuts. Edgar Wright has brought his skill in editing to a finely honed point. Another major contributor to the feel is the quality of the fight scenes in the movie. Though the fights are fantastical in nature, Wright's handling of them i such that they seem almost feasible. Important to note is that Wright seems to draw inspiration from wuxia and classic martial arts cinematography, rather than the new style of hand held shaky camera that many action films have taken to using recently. This is appealing to my own personal philosophy that a good fight scene is one where the viewer can actually see what is happening. Wright manages to re-educate us in something that Hollywood seems to have forgotten: that its possible to create a fight scene that is intense, entertaining, and coherent without having to resort to a "unique" camera style. The fights in this movie are as action packed as anything legendary choreographer Yuen Woo Ping could create, and as well shot as you can ask for.
I had reservations about seeing this movie, but upon viewing of it, I find, as with all of Edgar Wright's other projects so far, that I have fallen in love with the definitely unique film. Wright has one again crossed the boundaries of genre, melding comedy, romance, martial arts, and the essence of a comic book into a single package, which I can safely say has never been seen before. With a little bit of something for everyone, this movie is a top contender for the summer's best hit. If you haven't yet, you must see this movie.
