Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Release Date: 08/13/2010
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans

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By Thomas Leupp

The romantic action comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is like nothing — and, if you’re a person between the age of approximately 18 to 35, everything — you’ve seen before. British director Edgar Wright’s (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley graphic novel is so densely laden with pop-culture references it often times feels less like a movie than a mixtape. Those who share the tastes of the film’s 31-year-old writer and 35-year-old director will find the experience to be exhilarating; those who don’t, however, will likely be at a loss to comprehend what all the fuss is about.

The list of ‘80s and ‘90s video game nods in Pilgrim alone is daunting: Tekken, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Zelda, and even retro titles like Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man are represented, just to name a few. To fit all of it in, Wright must practically invent a brand-new kind of filmmaking. Using techniques and iconography culled from the holy fanboy triumvirate of comic books, video games, and anime/manga, and armed with a clearly generous effects budget, he splatters the screen with a dazzling array of CGI visual aids as the action unfolds: informational pop-ups supply key details on each character as they are introduced; words like “Boom!” and “Pow!” burst forth when blows are landed during fight sequences; a “Level Up!” graphic, indicating increased levels of key character attributes, appears after the film’s hero triumphs in battle. Even the old Universal Studios logo has been revamped by Wright, rendered in the rudimentary graphics and sound of the old 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. Call it easter-egg filmmaking.

At the center of this digital maelstrom is Scott Pilgrim, a 22-year-old Canadian hipster waif played by 22-year-old Canadian hipster waif Michael Cera. Unemployed and in no great rush to find work, he splits his time evenly between jamming with his middling band, Sex Bob-Omb (a Super Mario Bros. reference), combing thrift shops for new additions to his near-limitless collection of ironic t-shirts, and pining for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a beguiling New York City emigre whose signature attribute is her constantly-changing hair color.

After a few abortive encounters, Scott finally gets Ramona to reciprocate his affections. Thus begins the quest — or "campaign," as gamers call it — portion of the film, as Scott soon discovers that in order to secure Ramona’s hand, he must defeat each of her seven evil exes (six boys and one girl) in spontaneous death matches of decreasing novelty. (A few of them could easily have been excised without harming the narrative, but that might invite the ire of comic book fans, who typically demand nothing less than absolute adherence to the source text.) With a variety of found power-ups and an entirely implausible collection of fancy kung-fu moves, he faces off against, among others, a pompous vegan straight-edge (Brandon Routh), a self-absorbed action star (Chris Evans), a spiteful lesbian (Mae Whitman), and a smarmy record producer (Jason Schwartzman).

I expect Scott Pilgrim vs. the World will polarize audiences, and not just because of Wright’s distinctively dizzying directorial style. (Which I thoroughly enjoyed, even though it occasionally overdoses on manufactured quirk and is a bit too proud of its cleverness.) The film glosses over Scott and Ramona’s wooing process in its rush to commence with its succession of comic-book battles, which grow somewhat tedious toward the end. It’s simply assumed that Ramona would fall for our protagonist, as it’s likewise assumed that we already have. But not everyone will embrace Scott’s castrati hipster affect, which too often comes across as grating rather than charming. (The movie’s funniest moments come courtesy of Scott’s sassy gay roommate, played by Kieran Culkin, who is never without a clever barb for his lovelorn pal.) And beneath Cera’s self-effacing sheen exists an unmistakable whiff of pretentiousness that isn’t entirely justified — at least not yet. Far less debatable is the appeal of Winstead, whose spunky Ramona appears every bit worth the hassle of fending off seven or more ex-lovers.

God knows what she sees in him.