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Review by Steve Friedel

Like a cross between the off-beat characters populating Ghost World (2001), the quirky relationship issues behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), the (surprisingly) socially aware high-schoolers in Charlie Bartlett (2007), and the action-stoked genius of Kill Bill Vols 1 and 2 (2003, 2004), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World — a graphic novel film adaptation — could have been just another smart-arse, angsty-adolescent, off-the-hook musical romance, but HOLY STREET FIGHTER… this is SO much more! And if the fanboy/girl in all of us couldn’t quite embrace the magnitude of this summer’s mega-mind-twister Inception, I think we might have found a worthy replacement for ya.

Michael Cera (Juno) who — like his contemporaries Jay Baruchel (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) and Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland) — has made a mint geeking it out, plays the “not completely geek” title character; the only thing that saves him from Absolute Nerd is the fact that he’s in a garage band (well, that and some OTHER skills I mention shortly). 22-year-old, perpetually bad-hair-day-having Scott is currently linked with bubbly 17-year-old groupie Knives (yes, pronounced exactly the way you think) Chau (TV actress Ellen Wong). Of course, pretty much everybody Scott’s associated with — gay roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin, Igby Goes Down); sister Stacey (Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air); and bandmates Stephen Stills (Mark Webber, Broken Flowers), Young Neil (Johnny Simmons, Jennifer’s Body), and bitter Kim Pine (Alison Pill, Milk) — thinks Scott is just going thru a break-up rebound phase with his new girlfriend. But then comes along purpled-haired beauty Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Live Free Or Die Hard) to completely upset Scott’s perfectly normal life, and this is where the fun really gets goin’. You see, Ramona isn’t without baggage — in the form of seven exes — but Scott’s willing to delve further into her dark, fantastical world (while still surreptitiously maintaining his association with Knives, so he’s no saint). And these are no ordinary exes either; these are seven EVIL exes Scott must conquer to secure Ramona’s affection. So while playing at a small party, thus enters Ex #1 — the diabolically sneering Matthew Patel… and it’s on! What seemed a fairly innocuous set of rapid-fire comedic circumstances transforms itself into a live-action video game duel between the fully-capable martial-artistry Scott displays and the hair-flipping, mean-spirited Matthew in a duel to the death — if you consider “death” as every particle of your body becoming a splash of Canadian coinage (the story’s set in Toronto). There’s even the occasional on-screen digital POWs and BAMs, power-ups for courageous actions and stunts, and awash-in-color-and-lights backdrops. I have to say I had a BIG smile on my face at this point, especially because I had avoided most of the ads and didn’t know quite what to expect. And if your screening will be anything like what I witnessed, they’ll have the bass turned up enough to FEEL the landed punches and kicks (yes, it helps pump up the action).

All of this is going on while Scott and Ramona continue to work thru their tenuous relationship — plus Scott tries to break it off with Knives — as if it were just another ordinary day. But it’s honestly hard for the casual observer to tell if that’s actually the case and what we’re seeing in the “Scott versus” matches is merely an allegorical depiction for how our hyperkinetic hero deals with his inner demons (especially since no one around him seems to realize what a bad-ass their bass-rockin’ friend really is). In spite of that… this is a WHOLE lot of fun, and you can pretty much throw caution to the wind! At times, the movie does indeed drag while waiting for the next adversary to appear; especially near the end where the wear & tear of the high-impact battles gets a little exhausting to watch. But those are not much more than small blips in this quickly-paced, cleverly-constructed adventure. Hell, I’ll say it… it’s a teenager’s dream come true!

The notables among the villains include the ubiquitous Chris Evans (The Losers) heavily hamming it up (as few can) as clueless, super-smug movie star Lucas Lee, giving Scott his first true butt-kicking before meeting his early demise via a skateboard stunt gone wrong; Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman, from Nickelodeon TV’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender”) as a brief “experiment” of Ramona’s; and Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh, Superman Returns) as one of the more powerful exes fueled by his vegan-raging lifestyle (and how he “meats” his end is the stuff great tongue-in-cheek is made of). Scott eventually works his way up the ladder to Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman, Fantastic Mr. Fox), a maniacal music producer and former Ramona flame who basically kidnaps and asserts control over his old girlfriend, and he’s not going quietly as you can imagine. Get ready for a major, epic big-boss beatdown (at least we hope)!

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Review by Gary Murray

To be perfectly frank, watching hundreds of films over a number of years, one gets jaded to the entire process. With sequel after sequel and genre upon genre of sameness, you start to crave anything just a little bit different, challenging, and out of the box. Critics eventually go either for the foreign route or the obtuse route, looking for something that just feels fresh. The latest contender is a wonderful little quirky gem called Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Based on a graphic novel, the story of Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) a Toronto bassist with a broken heart and a new high school girlfriend Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). It is an almost platonic relationship where they haven’t even kissed yet, just play an interactive kung-fu fighting game like those arcade dance games. He’s trying to integrate her both into his life and the band dynamic. The band mates are Kim Pine (Allison Pill), Stephen Stills (Mark Webber) and Young Neil (Johnny Simmons). Everyone knows that Knives is the rebound relationship and that Scott is still is not over his former girlfriend, who has moved on to Montreal and a greater degree of fame.

One night in his dream, Pilgrim sees a rollerblading girl… the perfect woman. At a party he sees Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), his dream vision of dyed hair and attitude. Everyone tells him that she is too cool for him, but he pursues her. The next day he gets an e-mail that says he must fight for Ramona. We soon find out that Ramona has seven evil exes and that in order to win her love, Scott must take on and “defeat” each one of them.

The film is the story of the great lengths one has to go through to find true love. Even though Scott is more of a victim, the play unfurls a darker side to him making him much more of a player than love-sick puppy. Though it may seem that Ramona has a deep-dark past; some of the relationships are little more than long ago flirtations. The film is built along the lines of a video game where Scott earns bonus points and different skills as he travels up the ladder of battling until he gets to the Number One Ex.

Scott Pilgrim is stylized beyond belief, yet there is this certain naive charm. It is also rife with quotable lines that one will be hearing from the kids for years to come. It just jumps across the screen in a blend of 500 Days of Summer and Moulin Rouge. The film mixes techniques and images more in the style of Quentin Tarantino, with cartoons and asides being used to tell a tale. Director Edgar Wright has created a work that will be watched over and over again by the youth, finding deeper meaning in each viewing.

Even though Michael Cera has been playing this same character for years, it does work in the right circumstances. Though he brings nothing new to the role, he does have a certain appeal. Anna Kendrick does a slight variation of her Rocket Science character. Mary Elizabeth Winstead comes across with a sad charm, the victim in breaking hearts, not wanting to hurt anybody but causing destruction in her path. The biggest find is Ellen Wong as the love sick girl in a world of young adults. She pulls laughs and sympathies in the same scenes, putting a true face on heartbreak.

It is rare to see a film that will instantly be a cult classic, the type of flick that the kids will be watching twenty years from now. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is that film, going into that same niche as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Eraserhead and even Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This is one of those ‘cool kids make a movie’ kind of movies, something that will be fondly remembered by a generation.

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