I was introduced to Edgar Wright many years ago with the discovery of a bootleg copy of a British horror film, ‘Shaun of the Dead.’ Being first on the block to see it, I had the pleasure of sharing it with friends and family. Well, I tried to have the pleasure, but my first public display of the movie I spelled it “Sean of The dead” and the DVD-R hung about 30 minutes into the showing. I wasn’t a huge fan of ‘Hot Fuzz,’ but strongly enjoyed his pre-Shaun TV outing ‘Spaced,’ a show I had to casually put on one night just to get my girlfriend to watch it. (She’d thought, based on the name, it was going to be some sci-fi dude show, and had vetoed it many times previously.)
Prior to the advance screening I attended of ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,’ I had only read the first two trades of the series. I’ll admit that this genre is not high on my must-read list, but I was entertained by what I read. Also not on my list of “favourite things?” Michael Cera.
Let me be clear. I hate Michael Cera. Someone I know who is pregnant jokingly suggest to me they name their unborn baby “Michael Cera,” and I responded they should name it “Abortion.”
I have hated him in every movie I have seen him in, and every trailer I’ve watched of his films I did not see (I’m looking at you ‘Nick and Nora!’) The only body of work of his I can watch without getting angry is ‘Arrested Development,’ as, at that time, his oft-duplicated awkward teen role was original, and not yet a calling card.
Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim does not change my opinion of him, but (deep breath), I thought he was great in the role. Having just started the comic, I didn’t have any expectations to be dashed by the film version, or the auto-blasphemy that some diehard haters of adaptations adopt prematurely. He fit the shoes properly, walking the walk and talking the talk. Full credit given.
Scott Pilgrim is chock-full of visual eye candy from start to finish. The laws of physics take a back seat allowing real-world rules to be thrown out the window. As an avid gamer, I was fully entertained by the many homages to various titles. Street Fighter, Soul Calibur, Rock Band and it’s ilk are all represented. More subtle are some music cues and sound effects from classic 8bit games, and the fact that when Scott defeats an evil ex, they shatter into piles of coins, an allusion to Super Mario Bros. and others.
Mixed in with all the flash bang CGI of Scott Pilgrim are the small signature moves of Edgar Wright’s style, with many throwback references, be it visual or audio, to classic video games, comics and movies. Watching any of Wright’s previous fare with their own ocular and aural references to pulp culture media, it’s clear he was born to make this film.
In parting, I find myself these days giving the most credit to a movie, TV show, comic or video game that shows me something I haven’t seen before in the medium. Watching this movie, as my brain processed sights in front of me that I had never experienced, I caught myself often just smiling ear to ear in pure enjoyment. That, for me, makes Scott Pilgrim not just your traditional comic book movie, and this is a good, nay, a great thing.
