If life, as it appears in Scott Pilgrim’s world, was like a video game, imagine how happy we’d all be. Extra lives floating around in case of an accident, enormous floating text to signify our achievements. Hell, you could level up, World of Warcraft style, just by completing everyday tasks. “ALEX TOOK OUT THE BINS! +3 Stamina!” The underlying concept though would be that even the skinniest nerd in town could dish out painful justice to wrong-doers in unfeasibly cool set-pieces. Being of the slightly underfed, geeky persuasion myself, it’s not difficult to see why I find the idea of Scott Pilgrim so instantly appealing.
The Scott Pilgrim saga is the brainchild of Canadian writer Bryan Lee O’Malley. Presented with snappy North American dialogue, but with an artistic style that borrowed heavily from Japanese manga, it tells a story of love and loss, coming of age and fighting to get what you want. The first volume was released in 2004 and continued to be a minor hit all the way up to its conclusion this year. Edgar Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead , Hot Fuzz and Certified Best British Sit-Com of the Last Twenty Years: Spaced (to give it its full name) became a fan whilst making Fuzz, and thanks to his apparent mastery of creating cult hits out of almost nothing, was given backing by Universal to make a movie.
Scott (Michael Cera) is a loveable slacker, unemployed and hoping to form a meaningful musical career with his band Sex Bob-omb. After massive heartbreak a year earlier, Scott is lost and trapped in a shallow relationship with well meaning but clueless high-school girl Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). When Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the literal girl from his dreams, arrives in town Scott immediately pursues her, but finds that to win her forever he must fight and defeat a gang of Ramona’s evil exes, led by the nefarious Gideon Graves (Jason Shwartzman), as well as come to terms with the ups and downs of his own life.
Eyebrows were raised at the casting of Cera in the lead role, and although his performance reaches a high level at certain points, some of the criticism is justified. His chemistry with Mary Elizabeth Winstead is adequate, without being spectacular and, frustratingly, he just can’t seem to drag himself away from the Michael Cera we saw in Juno, Superbad, Youth in Revolt et al. It’s not a major drag on the film, but one can’t help but wonder if perhaps Cera might have been cast to pull in a certain audience rather than on the merits of his ability.
Although Cera has top billing, this has very much the feel of an ensemble piece, and equal screen time is afforded to a mostly excellent supporting cast. Allison Pill and Mark Webber are good foils for both Cera and each other as Scott’s long suffering bandmates and Kieran Culkin’s laid back performance as Scott’s gay roommate Wallace Wells is a vitally important calming influence when the action threatens to spill too far into the realms of epilepsy inducing mayhem. The real highlight though is Ellen Wong. The newcomer is superb as the slightly unhinged Knives, her strong development from meek high-schooler to ass kicking hipster chick excellently mirroring Scott’s journey and very definitely upstaging Winstead’s occasionally flat Ramona.
Fans of the graphic novel will probably have an easier time getting to grips with SPvsTW’s frenetic pace. The plot whips along without really stopping for breath and the uninitiated may find the opening act a little overwhelming. Once it settles into a rhythm though – around the time the evil exes make their appearance – this pace actually suits the style and delivery of the film and Wright’s fine comic style and innovative directing take hold. In Spaced, Wright has already shown that he is a master of encapsulating that feeling of directionless that occurs in our mid-twenties and balancing it with absurdist humour and outlandish set pieces. Here he works the same magic, with Scott and Ramona’s trial of a relationship, whilst filled with bizarre characters and deeply strange twists, never becoming too difficult to relate to or too abstract for its own good.
Another aspect that Wright excels in is the seamless weaving of pop-culture references into the piece, little moments that let you know that this is a project crafted with love and attention. From the opening Universal logo presented in a pleasing 8-bit motif, to incidental music samples that will only be recognisable to hardcore game fans, Wright has clearly gone out of his way to make sure that the film doesn’t leave anyone wanting. The fight scenes too pay homage to everything from Street Fighter to Tekken to Soul Caliber, beautifully presented, high octane fun with enough good ideas worked in to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Only once does this formula go awry. Scott’s penultimate fight against two fellow musicians is a mess of over-indulgent special effects that is so jarring that it almost seems like a scene from a different movie.
Scott Pilgrim vs the World is probably not for everybody, but it certainly has a broader appeal than meets the eye. Yes, its loud, colourful and moves constantly at a hundred miles an hour, but contained beyond its nerdy, flashy exterior beats the heart of a very honest coming-of-age-romance that should resonate with anyone who’s ever struggled for acceptance.
Overall Verdict: Not perfect, but fantastically entertaining. Scott Pilgrim vs the World just about gets the balance right between madcap action comedy and sensitive romance. It doesn’t let up, but by the time you realise that, you won’t want it to.
Reviewer: Alex Hall
