Why I Love... the Scott Pilgrim Movie!
Welcome to another edition of the Why I Love column, where I, Eric Ratcliffe, pick something I've read, played, listened to or watched to discuss with you fair readers. In this very special edition of the column we are talking about the movie adaption of Brian Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series. The film is directed by cult favorite director Edgar Wright and stars the always awkward Michael Cera as our lovable lead character.
Right off the bat the movie starts with an 8 bit universal screen, with the globe spinning around and an 8bit soundtrack playing which is incredibly reminiscent of anything you'd play on the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). This became a recurring theme throughout the movie as you are treated to classic game themes and sound clips from everything from Zelda to Super Mario.
The first book is the most heavily adapted into the movie, from the way each character's bio is flashed onto the screen to Scott's dreaming of Ramona, Edgar Wright stays incredibly faithful to the source material as much as possible. Scott's relationships with each of his friends are perfectly intact and I'd say we actually get a bit more Wallace in the movie than we do inside of the books, which is definitely not a bad thing.
The opening before the actual credits roll had to be one of my favorite moments of the movie; Stephen Stills at his awkward best rallying the band together for practice and the song were just awesome. I found my foot tapping and just grinning like an idiot watching a live action Sex Bob-omb performance.
Ramona's entrance into the film was another highlight as I think they really need the mystery of the overall character and her charm. At first you could tell she thought Scott was the oddest person she ever met but soon warms up to him.
For at least the first 20 minutes of the movie nothing really odd happens, we see the comic sound effects as well as hearing the occasional video game music but other than that it seems like a normal movie...until the first ex hits the screen. I talk of course about Mathew Patel who has very weird powers. This also leads us right into the first fight of the movie which is frantic, fast and just beautiful to look at. Apparently the fight choreographers were from the studios of Jackie Chan and Jet Li and it definitely shows. Without spoiling too much of the fight, there is an extremely odd musical moment and some very funny gags.
Each evil ex brings something unique to the table. Chris Evans and Brandon Routh both really stole the movie in my eyes for their entire screen time and Jason Schwartzman just played Gideon too perfectly for his own good. Heck, the movie version of Gideon may just be better than his comic book counterpart. From skateboarding to fights with telekinetic vegans, the movie really outdoes itself in absurdity. But that really is half the charm, seeing this odd world that these characters live in. Heck, Routh has some very Superman like moments through his whole fight as he floats through the air in the Superman pose.
Music plays a key role throughout the movie as the soundtrack is loaded with popular musicians and bands like Plumtree and Beck and Metric. It never feels like the actors aren't actually singing the songs in question and adds a great element into the visuals, even feeding into one of the big boss fights towards the end of the movie.
Casting for the flick is near perfect as each actor and actress brings a unique thing to their character. Anna Kendrick plays the very funny almost know it all sister to Cera's Scott. Alison Pill is a pitch perfect Kim Pine whom I honestly wish had been in more of the movie. And I love Mark Webber's completely self conscious Stephen Stills who seems almost neurotic to an extent. Mary Elizabeth's Ramona was pitch perfect, though very guarded and almost fragile in a way hiding a lot from Scott that unravels as the movie goes a long.
The real highlights of the cast though were Ellen Wong as Knives Chau and Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells. Knives goes through one of the most heartbreaking and yet beautiful journeys through the movie and Wallace steals every single scene he's in.
There is a little bit of fourth wall breaking in the film as in a favorite scene of mine, Scott runs into Julie Powers who swears like a sailor though it's hidden by a black bar that keeps popping up. I don't want to ruin what Scott says but the audience was cracking up through this whole exchange.
This is a movie that visually is on par with the extremely underrated Speed Racer and adaption wise fits right up next to Sin City. Being Edgar Wright's third film, it's like you can't even tell as he's become an incredibly strong filmmaker in his career and you don't even miss Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. Though there is a cameo by the amazing Thomas Jane that you really can't miss.
I really honestly don't care what the box office says as personally this is a film that I loved. Cera turns in a performance that shows that he's finally not just that one note guy that everyone is convinced he is and the supporting cast is truly strong enough to hold a movie of its own. I'll be curious to see if we get some amazing director's cut packed with features that had to be cut from the movie. This is a movie that needs to be watched. If you're a fan of classic gaming, if you love comics, if you enjoy an underdog story about a 20 something slacker realizing just how he needs to grow up or if you just love the absurdity of a live action comic book, this has something for everyone. You should see this, bring your friends and treat yourself to an awesome movie experience that lives up to the hype!
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching DVDs, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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