Film review: For Scott Pilgrim, all the world’s a game

Film review: For Scott Pilgrim, all the world’s a game

Zaynah Akeel

Contributing writer

Seeing the commercial for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, directed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) and released on August 13, one might have assumed we’d already seen all the good parts. Incredibly, this is completely false. Scott Pilgrim really is that awesome for nearly all of its 1 hour and 53 minutes.

23-year-old Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) lives with his witty gay roommate (Kieran Culkan) in Canada, plays in a band, and has a girlfriend (Knives Chau, played by Ellen Wong) – but then he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and throws all that away for her. He discovers, when attacked by an Indian man in a rugby shirt, that in order to date Ramona, he must defeat her seven evil exes.

A videogame inspired deluge ensues, and each defeated ex becomes another “level” that has been beaten on the way to the boss level, the final evil ex.

The artistic style employed in both editing and script, which will put you in mind of the original graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, is thoroughly entertaining throughout.  There’s never a dull moment – they’re all edited out – with the exception perhaps of the strangely-timed fight with the twins, whose powers involve playing keyboards and conjuring dragons, but unfortunately also involves lacking personality. We can overlook this, though.

For those who fail to see the appeal in Michael Cera, or who perhaps feel that he can play no one but Michael Cera, don’t let this stop you from seeing Scott Pilgrim. He really is perfect for the role of awkward, not-sure-what-I’m-doing-here Scott – he’s cute enough to believably have girlfriends, and only a little bit funny to see behind a bass guitar.  Mary Elizabeth Winsted makes for a very acceptable Ramona Flowers, getting the whole unaffected thing down fairly well. Ellen Wong is perfect for the role of Knives Chau, the initially dependent and gushing high-school girlfriend of Scott who gets dumped for Ramona. From this point on, Knives takes on her own kick-ass personality, showcased mainly in the final scene.

Look out for Jason Schwartzman, of Rushmore fame, as evil ex numero seven, and as mentioned Kieran Culkan playing Scott’s gay roommate (with whom Scott shares a bed – adorable). In fact, also watch for Mae Whitman, who played Ann Veal, George Michael’s (played by Cera) girlfriend in Arrested Development.

The creative awesomeness going on draws the audience in so much, that one might be a bit blindsided by the cliché self-discovery twist thrown in at the end of the film. However, the truth is that this ending makes the film applicable to a very wide audience: if anyone is looking for a film to see that both they and their parents might enjoy, try this one. Everyone can relate to the desire to understand oneself, regardless of endless video game and cultural references – right?

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply