If your life had a face, I would punch it

Aug 13, 2010 by Joshua

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Posted under: film, film feature

Image courtesy cinemablend.com.

Title: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Directed by: Edgar Wright

Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman, Ellen Wong

Entertaining in its own right, if not a bit lacking

Six years ago, Canadian comics artist Bryan Lee O’Malley brought us a silly yet endearing story. He introduced us to the world of Scott Pilgrim, full of quirky characters, indie cool and video game references out the wazoo. It started with a nostalgia-fueled cult following and somehow got mainstream enough to bring about a feature film adaptation by none other than Edgar Wright of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” fame.

The question on the minds of many Scott Pilgrim fans is undoubtedly whether or not the film lives up to the humor and sincerity of the comics. O’Malley has stated that the film necessarily diverges to some extent from the original story, especially given that the last volume was not released until just last month. But, especially with the questionable casting of Michael Cera in the lead role, does the film still have the same feeling as the graphic novels, and – just as important – is it still accessible to a larger public that may not have read them?

These questions are a bit hard to answer. In short, the film is certainly entertaining in its own ways, but it is not really fair to expect it to have the same feeling of the comics because it is a different medium, with different strong points and shortcomings. Fans expecting a perfect adaptation should lower their expectations, and those unfamiliar with the original story would probably benefit from doing a bit of research before going to see the film.

The story of Scott Pilgrim sounds like something out of a video game – and rightly so. Scott (Cera) is a 22-year-old Canadian, something of a jobless slacker, who has been in a slump for over a year after a relationship that ended badly. One day, he meets Ramona Flowers (Winstead), the girl of his dreams – literally – and falls completely in lesbians love with her. Everything seems to be going well until his band’s concert is disrupted by a very angry young man with magic powers.

It turns out that, in order for Scott to date Ramona, he must first defeat her seven evil exes. So, while juggling normal relationship issues of intimacy, maturity and openness, Scott must also periodically take part in fisticuffs with the trash of Ramona’s past love life. Throw in a cadre of peculiar minor characters who serve as Scott’s circle of friends, and the viewer has plenty to absorb in a two-hour period.

As such, the pacing of the film is a tad fast. The film must squeeze in six epic battles (she dated twins once, at the same time) while also developing the characters of Scott and Ramona. What’s more, the main action does not start until 20-30 minutes into the film. The beginning starts off rather slow, beginning with brief introductions of the main characters and scenes of Scott coming to the realization that he should not be dating a Chinese high school girl (Wong, as the aptly named Knives Chau).

Where those unfamiliar with the comics might falter and where die-hard fans might groan is in the presentation of the minor characters. In the graphic novels, O’Malley has ample opportunity to develop their backgrounds and their past history with Scott. In fact, much of the last novel is spent with Scott revisiting his past and coming to terms with it. In the film, such opportunities are not available, and the characters become somewhat one-dimensional as a result: Stephen Stills, the “talent” of Scott’s band, turns into a fame-hungry opportunist; Kim Pine, a girl who Scott once dated until he moved away, is shown as angsty all the time; Young Neil is, well, Young Neil.

Image courtesy scottpilgrim.com.

In the same way, the character of Scott also loses out on some depth. In the novels, he spent much of the time being mopey, indecisive and whiny. He was characterized as immature, unwilling to become a grownup. Over the course of the novels, however, he develops a deeper understanding, allowing himself to get over his own faults and mature into a more confident, assertive person. Scott is the man-child who is afraid to use the word “love”, who skews his view of the past to make himself out to be the victim. By glossing over his interactions with minor characters, the film loses some of that development. It has a similar approach to Ramona, who is also flawed, ultimately replacing her moment of personal growth with a neutral MacGuffin.

I have spent much of this post more or less comparing the film to the books and bashing it in doing so, but I do not wish to mislead you. Though the film may not have as much depth as its source material, it wouldn’t be right to expect it to – unless they stretched it out to at least three separate movies. While it may not be deep and enlightening, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is still quite entertaining. The fight scenes are flashy and exciting, the music is original and pretty good (the music that Scott’s band plays is written by Beck, and some of the other tracks are by Metric and Broken Social Scene). Some, if not all, of the comic’s video-game-derived humor translated well to the big screen, and the film also throws in a few hilarious moments of its own.

Possibly the most entertaining character of the whole film is Wallace Wells, Scott’s gay roommate, played by Kieran Culkin. He easily steals a number of scenes with his witty lines and don’t-care attitude. It’s no surprise, though, given that his comic counterpart does much of the same. He sort of makes up for Cera’s performance, which is lacking in any kind of energy – a major flaw when the character he plays is prone to childish fits of misdirected emotion.

So, fans might be disappointed, and the unaware might be hopelessly lost in the scattershot of action and somewhat referential humor. If anyone actually wants to enjoy the film, though, they would do best to remember that it is a film, and it is meant to be entertaining, so just sit back, relax, and be prepared to laugh. Here’s a trailer: