Some films tell stories. Some films show us characters. Some films build worlds. Some films do all of that. This summer, I have seen three films twice in the theater: Toy Story 3, Inception, and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Each film is such an all-encompassing experience I wanted to revisit them in the proper context. While Inception may have a weaker story and characters than the other two, all three offer a majestic world to fall into, a feeling to let wash over you and transport you in the way all great films do.
Scott Pilgrim brings to mind Kick-Ass, not because of their shared comic book origin but because both films are on rails, flying through their two hours. Director Edgar Wright packs more into Pilgrim’s two hours than James Cameron could dream in any length of Avatar. The movie is a cotton-candy kick to the brain, a pure delight and treasure that may sag a little but never lets up.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World tells us exactly what we’re in for: Scott Pilgrim’s fight against real life/adulthood. The film is one-sided with a delightfully sly wink. Wright has said many times we’re watching Scott’s movie version of his life so we see everything filtered through him. The film, like the comics, relies on a climactic shift in point of view. The hero’s journey for Scott is not “defeating” the evil exes (emotional baggage physically manifested through the prism of games and comics) but instead finally viewing life from someone else’s eyes. He learns empathy and gains some self-awareness (or self-actualization/respect as I believe the film puts it). Scott’s enemy is (like all 20-somethings, particularly Americans, per the NYT) himself, his own self-absorption, his arrested development, which again manifests itself physically, this time in the form of Nega Scott.
But Scott has grown and won when instead of striking down Nega Scott he understands and relates to him. The earlier battles with the seven evil exes were “merely” Scott and Ramona working through Ramona’s personal history, Scott coming to grips with who has come before and Ramona coming to grips with what she’s done (a similar concept to Chasing Amy). It was that uncomfortable conversation of “history” that all couples have, and breaks many couples up, told in perhaps the most entertaining way yet. Instead of “defeating” Knives or Kim though, Scott finally apologizes to both of them, owns up to the mistakes he made. While it may be somewhat anticlimactic visually, it works perfectly on an emotional level.
Gideon Graves - the main baddie - controls Scott’s would-be girlfriend Ramona with a computer chip, the physical manifestation of her attraction and desire for Gideon. She remains connected to him in a tangled web of hate, lies, lust, and desire for acceptance, much like many an ex. Scott shows her what she may be worth, that she may not be the “bitch” who dumps the guy but instead vulnerable, i.e. not a robot. Ramona has surprisingly little screen time, but Mary Elizabeth Winstead brings so much to the role that she feels real, feels complete.
It’s difficult in satire not to become the thing you’re satirizing (looking at you, Hostel). Edgar Wright deftly avoids this pratfall with subtle self-awareness and instead offers up a monumental comment on this generation, on this place and time.
Now if you’ll excuse me, Fantasy Football is about to start and I just got an e-mail about Tila Tequila developments. (This started as a response to Kevin at GiTM, where he touches on issues a lot of people have with the film. All I can say is, I can think of no better final villain than Jason Schwartzman.)
