Review: SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD * * * 1/2

If only love was as simple as a video game.

There would be no awkward conversations trying to make a new flame understand your baggage - you'd be able to control the flow of information with buttons under your thumbs. There would be no long strings of dating droughts as all it takes is a few rounds of watching a boss' attack pattern to figure out their rhythm. And even if you went horribly wrong and found that the game was over, you could try it all over again with the drop of a fresh quarter.
As we begin SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, our titular hero (Michael Cera) is a broke bass player dating a high schooler. Why is he dating a doe-eyed worshipper who still has that new-car-smell? Because it's unchallenging, which is precisely Pilgrim's speed. He gets enough challenge by playing in a band that doesn't seem to be going anywhere - with his ex-girlfriend Kim on drums to boot. If that isn't challenging enough, there's also the spectre of another ex-girlfriend looming large in Envy; the lead singer of the hot-as-hell band Clash at Demonhead.

Scott's life is surrounded with complication, thank-you...so the simplicity of teenage worship feels like just what he needs. That is, until he is hit by the fuchsia-haired lightning bolt that is Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

Scott is smitten, and succeeds in weaselling his way into a date with this rollerblading siren. And while her initial standoffishness is thawed by our heros impish charm, there is trouble afoot.

Ramona, you see, has left quite a bit of heartbroken carnage - and they seem a tad displeased that Pilgrim seems poised to awkwardly win her affection. Thus we learn that if Scott Pilgrim wants to have any sort of future with Ramona, he must first defeat her evil exes. All seven of them.


What Edgar Wright does best with this film is capture the sort of frenetic energy and pace that best suits the story. The technique is no fluke, since he already flexed these muscles in HOT FUZZ and SHAUN OF THE DEAD. While the style made those two films a rousing success, Wright's style seems even more suited to PILGRIM since it's being used to encapsulate the near-hyperactivity of video games, rock & roll, comic books and young love. On top of all of those elements, we have the nature of Pilgrim himself; a kid whose brain always seems to be going a mile a minute, but whose guts never seem to find first gear.

With that in mind, it's amusing that aside from his battles, Pilgrim never seems to be at the wheel of his own life. Ramona inspires him, Wallace prods him, his band drags him, and his sister supports him. One has to wonder if Pilgrim would even be able to find matching socks in the morning without these people. For this reason, the casting of these supporting players was wickedly important to how the film would succeed - and indeed the supporting cast is wickedly successful.

Of them all, Kieran Culkin's spin as Wallace stands out, since he taps into the character in a way that turns him into a cool, charismatic, gay Jiminy Crickett. Following right behind him, is Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona. A character like Ramona is tricky, since it dares the actor to play her bitchy or flakey. Happily though, Winstead plays her with a mixed up honesty - sort of like Scott himself, but with balls. We listen to her try to rationalize her past mistakes with a hint of sadness in her eyes, and immediately we understand how it is that her rollerblades are able to melt snowbanks.

What made me most thankful for these characters and performances, is the way it helped draw the spotlight away from Cera, who I fear was miscast as Pilgrim. Not that I have anything against the guy, or what he does, but I'm beginning to believe that Michael Cera can only play Michael Cera. And while the character of Scott Pilgrim might in fact be Cera-esque...he's not quite as wallflowerish as Cera tends to play his characters. The bashfulness he brings to Pilgrim role is good enough - but with a different actor, I believe the part could have been great.

Lead role miscasting aside, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD is truly a fun movie. It plays to the part of our hearts that believes in fighting for love, and the dorky part of our brain that sees comic book bubbles above peoples heads filling in their thoughts. While I worry that it won't resonate as well with people who have never played a video game, I come back to that madcap energy. It assures that even those who wouldn't know master Chief from Sonic the Hedgehog, will crack a smile just keeping up with this twitchy twerp...and watching what he goes through to achieve his twitchy, shoegazing version of true love.

What did you think? Feel free to leave comments with any thoughts or reactions on SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD