In Toronto, Canada, twenty-something slacker Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) plays bass guitar in garage band Sex Bob-Omb with his friends, vocalist Stephen Stills (Mark Webber) and Kim Pine (Alison Pill). Looking on are Scott's girlfriend Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) and Sex Bob-Omb's biggest fan, the simple but (thus wisely) quiet "Young" Neil Nordegraf (Johnny Simmons). He lives with his sardonic gay roommate Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin). When Scott suddenly meets dreamy Amazon delivery girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Scott automatically wants to date her, and they soon do. But when he then encounters her spiteful ex-boyfriend Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), Ramona tells him that if they are to date, he must meet and defeat her seven evil exes: Patel, Hollywood action hero Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), superpowered vegan Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman) from when Ramona was bicurious, twins Kyle and Ken Katayanagi (Shota and Keita Saito), and Internet entrepreneur Gideon "G-Man" Graves (Jason Schwartzman). Now whether he likes it or not, Scott must man up if he wants to level up and achieve true love.
Based on Brian Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim comic book series (and O'Malley clearly loves alliterative names), Edgar Wright, making his Hollywood debut after breaking through in the UK with 2004's Shaun of the Dead and 2007's Hot Fuzz, and co-writer Michael Bacall bring it to the screen with all the immediacy and unabashed lack of subtlety that I just relish in an action comedy like this. I can understand how come would say it tries too hard to be hip, but I think it gets away with that thanks to its thorough sincerity, thick-skinnedness and rollicking pace. Wright's approach shows he took to this material like a child with a new toy, albeit one who's eager to share it around. His direction is especially vibrant and charming in how he consciously uses varying, bright colours for each character and scene which also helps to emphasise the discrepancies there without being jarring. He also offers a Tim Burtonesque, video game spin on the Universal studio logo, which sets the tone perfectly. Sharp editing and photography (the latter by Bill Pope, who previously lensed the Matrix trilogy) increases the suspense and energy even more, particularly in the Scott vs. Lucas fight. The screenplay provides non-stop laughs but also keenly observed and relatably layered characters.
And the cast all bring them to life very entertainingly. Cera often frustrates me by so frequently playing neurotic young nerds but here he shows solid balance as the simultaneously determined yet uncertain yet blunt protagonist, the stunningly attractive Winstead infuses Ramona with an assertive affection that fits like a glove, as do Pill, Simmons and Schwartzman in their own unique ways. But for me, stealing the show is unquestionably Kieran Culkin, who serves provocative and borderline misanthropic remarks with blisteringly funny results. I think with just this performance he shows more talent than his brothers ever have combined.
I won't tell you who wins in the story of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. But artistically, it wins, and when you watch it, you will.
I won't tell you who wins in the story of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. But artistically, it wins, and when you watch it, you will.
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