An anime-loving gamer's wet dream. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a wonderful, fun, and ultimately, entertaining ride that no self-respecting moviephile should miss. Quirky, fresh and really well done, this film takes the audience for a walk in 22-year old Scott's mundane life, living in a basement apartment with his gay best friend (they sleep in the same bed--adorably true to life, it proves that the days of artificial machisimo are on the wane thanks to GenMe!). Scott and friends are part of a local Toronto band called the Sex-Bob-Bombs--I mean, this movie just kept getting better and better...and then we meet Scott's 17-year old Chinese Catholic school girlfriend named Knives--who ends up taking a speedy trip through Campbell's hero's cycle and coming out master of two worlds. Girls rock in this movie, and that's quite a departure from the usual tween-teen garbage that follow 150-200 year old storyline templates for each gender...and we're walking, we're walking....
The cast has amazing people like Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman and fellow native Bostonian, Chris Evans. The movie is based on the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel from Bryan Lee O'Malley. Brit-director Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz honed the audience's gaze on this one, too--the man's got a talent for the parodic, what can I say, except...Linda Hutcheon anyone? Right. But back to our scheduled program:
Yup, you'll love the nebbish-like, bass-guitar playing, and all around typical 22-year old's fight for the love of a girl who changes her hair color every week or so--and in order for him to capture her heart, he must fight her seven evil ex-es...not ex-boyfriends, because yes, there's an evil ex-girlfriend in there, too!!! Loving it....
Though this $60-million film didn't recoup its original budget in theatres, it really should have. I just think the world isn't quite ready for Scott Pilgrim. Hey, Monty Python's Holy Grail didn't catch audiences for 25 years! Today, it's more than a cult classic...it's a classic-classic. There's even a Broadway musical based on the film!
Best guess: In much less than 25 years (I'd give it 10...tops) ,Scott Pilgrim vs. the World will be just like Holy Grail--college professors will teach it in the classroom as a way to explore the cultural history of the early 21st century; theorists will write whole books about its genius; and of course, there will eventually be a Broadway musical, too....it's the white whale of the new millenium. Like Melville's Moby Dick--which took audiences 70 years after Melville's death to recognize it as THE great American novel--Scott Pilgrim will just as assuredly be recognized for it's greatness...but thanks to technology, the wait will be much shorter than 70 years....
On the Housel-scale, I give it a 10/10. It's a MUST-SEE on the Housel hit list of great 21st century films...which also includes movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Waitress, Feast of Love, Grindhouse, Adventureland, Kick-Ass, and Machete.
Until next time...I'll see you at the movies!