(If Dario Argento ever directed a comedy/fantasy, this would be it. Fucked-up, huh?)
CAST: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Jason Schwartzman, Anna Kendrick, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Brandon Routh.
DIRECTOR: Edgar Wright
WARNING: Minimal SPOILERS and surreal video game chicanery right up ahead....
Scott Pilgrim (Michael "Yawn" Cera), the hero of the next film under review, has got problems. Specifically, seven of 'em. See, Scott has recently met Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) a chick who is so hipper-than-thou she changes her haircolor every week and is proud of it. And she's got seven ex-boyfriends who are not happy that Scott's the latest flavor of the month. By the way, the script would have us believe that Scott - your garden-variety early-20's slacker who looks like he has about as much testosterone as Twiggy - is a bit of a ladies man, judging from: (1) the fact that while he's courting and obsessing over Ramona, he's also (2) dating Knives Chau (Ellen Wong); and (3) he's also burned Kim Pine (Alison Pill), one of his bandmates - so much so that she is always giving him a look one usually reserves for one's victims if one was a blood-thirsty werewolf. So, allegedly (very allegedly), Scott is a dangerous heartbreaker. Try not to laugh. At least until this review is over.
One of the best ways to invite a whopper of a bad karma payback is to cheat on your trusting significant other. So, for the generous act of fucking around with Ramona behind Knives' back, Scott gets the privilege of discovering he must battle her seven ex-boyfriends in order to win her hands. Each of these battles are handled as if they were different levels in a videogame, and each ex-b.f. is kind of like the boss at the end of each level. Seems like a lot of trouble to go through for a chick who, given the time of the month, has hair that looks like a either a Pride flag - or a fruit salad (I guess that's the same thing).
Anyhow, Scott's sensible sister Stacey (Anna Kendrick) advises him to next time pick a girl who doesn't have, ahem, so much baggage. But it's too late for that - because the seven exes are now gunning for our pseudo-playboy hero. They are: (1) Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), an Indian dude with an awful mushroom haircut whose idea of being threatening is to break out into song while attacking Scott - which, frankly, is actually pretty fucking scary; (2) Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), a smokin' hot movie star who is also an awesome skater and, well, looks a lot like Chris Evans; (3) Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), a lunkhead who looks like Superman but with bleached blond hair; (4) Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), more of an ex-girlfriend from, ahem, Ramona's experimentation phase; (5) Kyle Katayangi (Keita Sitou), and his twin (6) Ken Katayangi (Shota Saito), two Japanese robo-musicians; and - last and most annoying, (7) Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzmann), some sort of club promoter who's also, I guess, Satan.
Will Scott vanquish the seven villains (well, technically, one is a villainess)? Will Ramona finally be free of her past? Will Lucas Lee make the women (and some men) in the audience cum hard in their seats when he growls like a horny lion? Will anyone buy that Scott is supposed to be a stud-muffin despite having a chin weaker than a headless chicken's? Will the fuddy-duddies in the audience rip there nipples out in rage at having to watch a two-hour video game?
Find out, if you dare....
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Three things will determine whether or not you enjoy SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, the film based on the series of graphic novels and comics revolving around the titular character: (1) your appreciation level for hipster culture, (2) your appreciation level for video games, (3) your appreciation level for Michael Cera - and whether you can buy him as a heartbreaker. If the answer to more than one of the above is "not much" then chances are you won't like this film. Personally, I don't mind hipster culture as long as I don't have to be part of it, I love video games, and - lastly - I'm sure Michael Cera is a nice guy but he's not my idea of a serial monogamist. And his "earnest hipster boy next door" schtick is getting old. Really old. As in I refuse to see a movie he's in from now on unless he's playing a transvestite hooker or a serial killer. He's merely adequate here. Not bad, not great. Just.... Michael Cera.
Fortunately, the supporting cast around him pick up the slack. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is suitably cool, complex, and composed as the mysterious and aloof object of Scott' s affections. Chris Evans is probably the most memorable of the bad guys, and gamely spoofs his image as a movie star. Too bad he doesn't have much screen time. Jason Schwartzman is hilarious as the main villain, while Brandon Routh scores some laughs as a vegan doofus who is yet another one of Ramona's exes. The actors playing the rest of the exes are all solid - especially Satya Bhabha as the singing Matt Patel. Of the other players, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, and Kieran Culkin are all very good as, respectively: (1) Scott's younger sister, Stacey, who seems to be light years ahead of Scott in maturity and wisdom (then again Kendrick has that air about her); (2) one of Scott's numerous (I call bullshit) ex-girlfriends who still has a major grudge against him; and (3) Scott's gay roommate, whose specialty is, ahem, seducing straight guys to the dark side.
Another plus are the fight scenes, which are dazzlingly realized. Even if Michael Cera is ultimately blank in the leading role, the propulsive plot and surreal visuals give the movie the otherworldly feel of a dream and the adrenaline rush of a videogame. These elements, coupled with a terrific supporting cast, is what makes SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD a good film.
Now, if only they'd cast a more potent actor as Scott, we might have a modern classic on our hands. Oh, well....
