SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD

Overall Impression – Visually exhausting and dramatically repetitive.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? – Scott Pilgrim.

What’s he trying to accomplish? – Professional: Defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil ex’s. Personal: Learn how to be a good friend to his band mates and the girls who like him.  Private: Learn the true meaning of love.

Who’s trying to stop him? – Ultimately, Gideon Graves who put together the League of Evil Ex’s.

What happens if he fails? – Ramona is enslaved to Gideon and Scott dies.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan – Scott isn’t really an orphan at all.  He is part of a not-terrible band, he has an adoring girlfriend, and there are people who legitimately care for him.  At worst, you could say that he’s an orphan because he’s a slacker-nerd, but nobody seems to mind that about him.

Wanderer – After dreaming about and then actually meeting Ramona, Scott tries to figure out how to win her heart, only to discover that she’s got seven evil ex’s that he has to defeat.

Warrior – Scott becomes a warrior from his first encounter, early in act 2.  He doesn’t even have to learn any skills, because he has Matrix-like fighting ability that comes out of no where.

Martyr – Scott is willing to give up his life to save Ramona, however Scott’s former girlfriend makes even more of a sacrifice, giving up Scott so he can be with Ramona.

AND, IN THE END…

Back at the end of March, I posted this entry after seeing the trailer for SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, where I declared that this was “my next favorite movie.”  I was wrong.

The movie had a lot going for it: terrific director, retro-video game sensibility, cult graphic-novel status…how could I not love it?  Well, I didn’t and based on the 10.5 million dollars it made opening weekend, many didn’t either.  Expectations were high, reality was low.

I think that several missteps undo SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD.  Firstly, the story is repetitive.  Once someone says that your hero has to defeat seven people, all the audience can do is sit back and wait for the battles.  Everything else feels like filler.  And even though the level of difficulty increases like a video game player working through progressively harder levels, ultimately you know that everything will lead to the Big Boss level.  And sadly, many of the battles end through what the filmmakers want us to believe is Scott Pilgrim’s resourcefulness, but actually just feels like scriptwriting that is trying to be too clever by half.

Next, we’re told that the main character grows as a person (even to the point of earning bonuses at the climax), but it’s all tell and no show.  We don’t see that growth and don’t really care that much, especially because we don’t really want him to end up with the mercurial and possibly psychotic Ramona.  The unfortunately named Knives Chau, his adoring present girlfriend, is a lot more stable and loving.

Finally, the main character is played by Michael Cera who plays Michael Cera and has been playing Michael Cera since his ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT days.   I’m personally suffering from CFS (Cera Fatigue Syndrome).   You know what you’re going get with him in the lead and that’s what is delivered — nothing more interesting or developed.

It’s not that the movie doesn’t offer up any joy.  It’s got an infectious energy and makes a noble attempt at cracking the conundrum of how to present graphic novel format visually in a film, but ultimately it falls flat and just left me exhausted.

I think the movie’s failing can be boiled down to a main character nobody cares much about, going on a journey we don’t understand, pursuing a goal we don’t support.

— Jeffrey Alan Schechter

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