Scott Pilgrim, World, Etc.

You know what the big fad in Scott Pilgrim reviews are? Giving some sort of a rundown of your nerd cred, or lack thereof. Maybe it's a little unfair that some reviewers are dismissing the film based on the type of eternal heavenly audience that is going to be seeing this movie, but it's not like the movie is welcoming your average moviegoer with open arms. This isn't like your average summer comic book film that at least pretends to pander to your grandmother with a wacky rundown of the plot or having Stan Lee stare around to make you feel safe. Scott Pilgrim kind of hates you, Mom.

That's all I'm going to say regarding some subjective review of the audience FOR NOW. I do think it's important to note that I've read all but the last volume of the printed Scott Pilgrim series, and I haven't read the last one because the Wikipedia summary of it sounded fucking awful (I'm not going to spoil it except to say the strength of the series lay in the cutsey intermeshing of the banal with the fantastical, and in the last volume it looks like O'Malley went FUCK THAT MAKE IT LIKE A REAL VIDEO GAME), so yes.

The strength of the film version of Scott Pilgrim, and its fundamental difference from the print version, is probably that I don't really have to bother explaining the plot of the film. Wright clearly doesn't care about the niceties of the plot, but just wants to fuck with fight scenes and wacky pop-ups that are like a 14-year-old's (who has never been on the internet) introduction to post-modernism. This meshes most closely with the first volume, which clearly had no idea of what was going on but had more fun with a myriad of strange in-jokes and video game references. The movie sort of follows the second and third volumes, "sort of follows" code for "basically just include the fights from those volumes." After that, where the comic gradually disintegrated into a bizarre soap opera of itself, Wright just ignores all that retarded emotional subtext and just has Scott Orgasm a Girl to Death.

(I've seen more than a few posts from nerds saying that it would have been better if the film had been split into two parts, which mystifies me. Honestly, I wish I'd never read the comic and just seen the film, as it's a far better product than the original, and lengthening it by a few hours would have allowed all the stupid emotional shit to drip in. And besides, haven't you people seen Wright's other stuff? I love the man, but he is -terrible- at those kinds of scenes. OH NO MOM NO MOM.)

If anything, the film really is worth seeing just for the cinematic trickery, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm sure there are movies that would have accomplished the feat better with the budget Wright had, but currently I can't think of any movies with the same sort of literal kinetic flair as here. In other words, imagine that Speed Racer abomination if it had been made by someone with an eye for what the kids like besides trenchcoats. Oh yeah, and most of the performers are pretty good and the soundtrack didn't make me want to kill myself!

Did you notice I said "most?" Eh-yes.

Now, I'm not some horrible movie snob. I know that Cera occupies a certain sphere of movie hyperlink that, once implanted, will more likely than not attract a certain folk who otherwise would not see the movie. But Jesus Christ, I am so sick of him. He is a horrible man who while I do not wish ill toward due to his passive luck in Hollywood being happy in him having the same fucking role over and over and OVER, I also hope something happens that stops making him some ersatz indie darling.

The worst part is that there were better choices here, even if you look at obvious actors. Was Jospeh Gordon-Levitt too busy or something? Fuck, even Zac Efron (I WATCHED SEVENTEEN AGAIN AND FUCK YOU IT WAS KIND OF FUNNY) would have been a better Scott substitute. Again, the movie wasn't totally ruined by Cera's perpetual puberty machine, but part of my brain was constantly muttering about how after I read the first volume, I remarked to myself ,"GEE I WONDER IF MICHAEL CERA WILL GET THIS ROLE" I don't want to get all deeply critical about a fucking fake manga, but the Scott in the comic generally had something of a backbone conflicting with his laziness. Cera's Scott is just an enormous whiny pussy, and part of me suspects that certain omissions and changes to the plot were Wright's attempt to rebalance the story around this new re-characterization of the protagonist.

So, yes. I liked the movie, albeit as a distraction from the crushing conga line life, even moreso than the comic.

Other random musings, some vaguely spoilery:

1) HOW IS M. NIGHT STILL ABLE TO GET MOVIES. I also am not understanding that for a movie about a demon on an elevator, he did not call it HELLIVATOR. Oh wait, I do know, M. Night is a humorless prick who still thinks people take him seriously.

2) Am I the only one who was a little unnerved how Wright focused on Wallace's promiscuity? The comics certainly contained their fair share of references, but the movie possibly had more HEY LOOK THE GAY GUY IS KIND OF A SLUTTY SLUT. Still, it's better than how gay people are treated in most movies of this type (that being a magical creature that solves all problems of the heteros).

3) Possibly the only good thing at having Cera as the main character: Ann Veal as the evil lesbian ex-girlfriend.