Okay, straight to the point. If you are a twenty-something pop culture geek who has grown up on video games since the NES, then GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!
It's hard for me to not be a little bit biased with this film. I knew I was going to love it the moment the Universal logo came up (I mean that literally, once you see it you'll know what I mean). I always try to be objective with reviews, but then again, you can never be completely objective with "art." Video games, music, and general pop culture bounce all over the place in this film. So much so that you may need to watch it several times to get everything. Good things it's one of the most purely enjoyable films of the year.
Scott Pilgrim is an average twenty-something loser Bass player in an average indie band called Sex Bob-omb (Mario references, yay!) who proceeds to make a mess of his personal life. He is currently dating a high-schooler but quickly falls for the girl of his dreams (literally) Ramona Flowers. They begin dating, but Ramona comes with a bit of a catch: she has 7 evil exes(!?) who plan to kill Scott. He must fight and defeat all seven of them if he hopes to continue his relationship with Ramona.
I've always hated quirky, indie romantic comedies mostly because they often carry a sense of superiority over the audience's head. Pretending they'll be the next big thing once the audience catches a glimpse of their genius, without really knowing their audience. Scott Pilgrim is infinitely smarter than that, keeping the target audience in on the jokes, but aware that they won't really care if some things aren't explained. Why is everyone basically a superpowered anime/video game character? Who cares, it's just more fun that way.
All of the actors have done bang-up jobs in the film. Everyone is funny, everyone understands their character, and no one is trying to upstage anyone else. Even Michael Cera, who I have despised for years and years, was absolutely hysterical in the film. The trailers might say otherwise, but he isn't doing a copy/paste job of ALL his other performances (well, not really, anyway). The scene-stealers, however, are Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman as two of the evil exes. We haven't seen too much of Brandon Routh since Superman Returns, but I get the feeling every now and again that he should do more comedy, seeing as he has probably the best comedic timing of anyone in the film (and that's saying a lot). Jason Schwartzman does a fantastic job as the final evil ex, pulling all strings and generally being a pretentious asshole, performing a great balancing act being genuinely intimidating while also being extremely light-hearted.
Now, with all that being said, the person who is truly pulling all the strings is Edgar Wright. Mr. Wright has the personal distinction to me of having Directed my favorite film of all time (Hot Fuzz!), so yeah, I'm a little biased to like him. But I think I can honestly say that Edgar Wright might be the greatest comedy director of all time. Now I know what you're thinking: "You just think that because you REALLY like his movies." Well yeah, but think about this: how many comedies have you seen where you can instantly remember who directed it? How many comedy directors really have their own visual style? How many comedy directors aren't willing to leave the power of the film solely in the hands of the performers? I'm not talking about Directors who have dabbled in both comedy and drama like the Coen Brothers or Dramadies like Wes Anderson, I mean Directors who have only ever worked in straight up comedy (as Edgar Wright has). Seriously, comedy directors have been taking a backseat to the star performers since before the Marx Brothers. Apatow does it, Reitman does it, and John Landis did it. Edgar Wright knew that he had an opportunity to go completely nuts with this film, and it shows. This film simply could not have been put in the hands of a different director. Edgar Wright has had his own distinct style ever since he was doing Spaced (a TV series of all things) and is now instantly recognizable.
Oh, and it's based on a comic book by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Yeah, I actually read the entire series before I saw this film, and while I loved the comics, I honestly feel the story works a whole lot better as a film (at least an Edgar Wright film). The comic seemed to drag on and on, and while you do get to know the characters a whole lot better in the comics, the truth is there isn't a whole lot to them. You know who they are the moment they say their first line. That's not to say that they are shallow characters, but a lot is shown simply through the performances. They're all still a lot of fun to watch.
Unfortunately, I don't think this film is for everyone. It has a very particular audience in mind, so much so that most people over the age of 40 (and possibly, under the age of maybe 15) may forever be a little alienated. A lot of the movie draws upon nostalgia to create a new, unique experience. But if you didn't live the right childhood, you might be out of the loop.
Still, it's a supremely well made film, and everyone in on it will be along for the ride.
Production Value: 9.5
Entertainment Value: 10
Overall: 9.75
It's hard for me to not be a little bit biased with this film. I knew I was going to love it the moment the Universal logo came up (I mean that literally, once you see it you'll know what I mean). I always try to be objective with reviews, but then again, you can never be completely objective with "art." Video games, music, and general pop culture bounce all over the place in this film. So much so that you may need to watch it several times to get everything. Good things it's one of the most purely enjoyable films of the year.
Scott Pilgrim is an average twenty-something loser Bass player in an average indie band called Sex Bob-omb (Mario references, yay!) who proceeds to make a mess of his personal life. He is currently dating a high-schooler but quickly falls for the girl of his dreams (literally) Ramona Flowers. They begin dating, but Ramona comes with a bit of a catch: she has 7 evil exes(!?) who plan to kill Scott. He must fight and defeat all seven of them if he hopes to continue his relationship with Ramona.
I've always hated quirky, indie romantic comedies mostly because they often carry a sense of superiority over the audience's head. Pretending they'll be the next big thing once the audience catches a glimpse of their genius, without really knowing their audience. Scott Pilgrim is infinitely smarter than that, keeping the target audience in on the jokes, but aware that they won't really care if some things aren't explained. Why is everyone basically a superpowered anime/video game character? Who cares, it's just more fun that way.
All of the actors have done bang-up jobs in the film. Everyone is funny, everyone understands their character, and no one is trying to upstage anyone else. Even Michael Cera, who I have despised for years and years, was absolutely hysterical in the film. The trailers might say otherwise, but he isn't doing a copy/paste job of ALL his other performances (well, not really, anyway). The scene-stealers, however, are Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman as two of the evil exes. We haven't seen too much of Brandon Routh since Superman Returns, but I get the feeling every now and again that he should do more comedy, seeing as he has probably the best comedic timing of anyone in the film (and that's saying a lot). Jason Schwartzman does a fantastic job as the final evil ex, pulling all strings and generally being a pretentious asshole, performing a great balancing act being genuinely intimidating while also being extremely light-hearted.
Now, with all that being said, the person who is truly pulling all the strings is Edgar Wright. Mr. Wright has the personal distinction to me of having Directed my favorite film of all time (Hot Fuzz!), so yeah, I'm a little biased to like him. But I think I can honestly say that Edgar Wright might be the greatest comedy director of all time. Now I know what you're thinking: "You just think that because you REALLY like his movies." Well yeah, but think about this: how many comedies have you seen where you can instantly remember who directed it? How many comedy directors really have their own visual style? How many comedy directors aren't willing to leave the power of the film solely in the hands of the performers? I'm not talking about Directors who have dabbled in both comedy and drama like the Coen Brothers or Dramadies like Wes Anderson, I mean Directors who have only ever worked in straight up comedy (as Edgar Wright has). Seriously, comedy directors have been taking a backseat to the star performers since before the Marx Brothers. Apatow does it, Reitman does it, and John Landis did it. Edgar Wright knew that he had an opportunity to go completely nuts with this film, and it shows. This film simply could not have been put in the hands of a different director. Edgar Wright has had his own distinct style ever since he was doing Spaced (a TV series of all things) and is now instantly recognizable.
Oh, and it's based on a comic book by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Yeah, I actually read the entire series before I saw this film, and while I loved the comics, I honestly feel the story works a whole lot better as a film (at least an Edgar Wright film). The comic seemed to drag on and on, and while you do get to know the characters a whole lot better in the comics, the truth is there isn't a whole lot to them. You know who they are the moment they say their first line. That's not to say that they are shallow characters, but a lot is shown simply through the performances. They're all still a lot of fun to watch.
Unfortunately, I don't think this film is for everyone. It has a very particular audience in mind, so much so that most people over the age of 40 (and possibly, under the age of maybe 15) may forever be a little alienated. A lot of the movie draws upon nostalgia to create a new, unique experience. But if you didn't live the right childhood, you might be out of the loop.
Still, it's a supremely well made film, and everyone in on it will be along for the ride.
Production Value: 9.5
Entertainment Value: 10
Overall: 9.75
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