Yeah, there was a zero percent chance of me not loving Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It’s adapted from a comic book series I’ve read with a plot heavily influenced by old school video games being directed by Edgar Wright. I was there if the rating on Rotten Tomatoes was in the negatives.
Of all the comics that have been brought to the big screen so far, Scott Pilgrim was one where I truly wondered how they were going to translate book to film. I should never have doubted Edgar Wright. This was closer to his television series, Spaced, than Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz but that worked for all the weirdness that takes place in the Scott Pilgrim universe. He somehow made it work when defeated enemies turned to coins or all the scenes that take part in Scott’s head or just the fact that people are breaking into life or death fights and no one bats an eye. Although, my attention span may no longer work at such a quick pace because things moved at breakneck speed.
For reasons I don’t truly understand, some thought Michael Cera would not be able to pull off Scott. I felt he was a solid choice and brought all of his Cera-ness to the table and delivered. They didn’t make Scott as stupid as he is in the books but there were still plenty of scenes where Cera was just dumbfounded by everyday stuff. And he even pulled off all the fight scenes, which is something he has never really done before. The other major casting choice was Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramon Flowers and once again it worked. She nailed the distinctive look with all the crazy hair colors and the way that Ramona never really helped Scott understand what the hell was going on.
After those two, there is an avalanche of side characters and nearly everyone deserves a mention. Kieran Culkin stole every single second he was in as Scott’s gay roommate, Wallace Wells. He was easily the funniest character in the movie. Now if it was just facial expressions I would give that award to Alison Pill as Kim Pine. Who knew a person could have so many different dirty looks. Mark Webber was great as the leader of Scott’s band, Stephen Stills. Ellen Wong brought the perfect energy as Knives. It should come as no surprise that Chris Evans was easily the best of the evil ex-boyfriends. He is on an absolute tear recently. Evans was the best but Jason Schwartzman pulled off making Gideon Graves a worthwhile villain for Scott to overcome at the end. This was nearly a perfect cast.
Hooray for another movie in 2010 that I loved and no one saw. I wish a few more people saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ... and by a few I mean literally 3 people. That might have tripled the box office.
9 out of 10
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