First Time Watch: February 19, 2018
“When I’m around you, I kind of feel like I’m on drugs. Not that I do drugs. Unless you do drugs, in which case I do them all the time. All of them.”
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, released in 2010, tells the story of a young man, named Scott Pilgrim, as he becomes infatuated with a young woman, Ramona Flowers, who is new to town. But before they can become boyfriend and girlfriend, Scott must defeat Ramona’s seven evil exes. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has been a movie I have wanted to see for a while now, and I must say, this film did not disappoint.
Scott, played by quirky Michael Cera, is a lovable loser, who often finds himself in non-ideal situations, while also finding himself heartbroken. Scott often wears his heart on his sleeve while being completely transparent through his various relationships. Though confident in his current relationship with Knives, a young high school girl, he begins to fall head over heels for Ramona. With Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) he turns into complete moosh, not being able to compose himself for a simple introductory conversation. As for Ramona, her recent move to Toronto is driven in part by her need to forget everything from her past, including her past relationships. She’s a quiet soul with a rather dry sense of humor. After meeting Scott, Ramona believes she has found a “nice guy” to date. As Scott begins his battle with the exes, his endurence in finishing each one is humorous. But as Scott is forced to fight her evil exes, Ramona’s past is brought back with a vengeance.
The cast of this movie is amazing. Can I say that the young cast is bordering A list level? Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but I can’t believe the caliber of acting in this film. It’s easy to make a comedy, and for it to fall flat on its face. But for Scott Pilgrim, each line is delivered with such wit and sarcasm. 
Each character, especially our Scott, has their own moment to shine in the film. But Scott’s roommate, Wallace, played by Kieran Culkin, has the majority of these snarky one-liners. Everything that Wallace says drips with pure sarcasm, but also has a little bit of compassion. However, it was Ramona’s repeated sarcasm that really made me laugh. Her character doesn’t say much throughout the film, and as I said earlier, her humor is a little dry. There is a scene between Ramona and another character who wants to suddenly fight her. Ramona says to the character, “are you kidding me?” Her dry humor and sarcasm, along with everything happening in the film, adds for a hilarious scene.
Scott Pilgrim is a wonderful and crazy comedy, but I can easily see it not being for everyone. No matter how much you love Edgar Wright’s previous comedies. Scott Pilgrim is eccentric in its storytelling and can have some people feeling less than amused. As for me, I really enjoyed watching this, although the trailers have worried me for several years. I guess it goes to show that you should never judge a movie by its trailer. Wright does a fantastic job, as always, in creating a world that takes on an anime/comic book feel with a lot of video game influences to sprinkle throughout. Although I am a bit ashamed that it took me so long to see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, I will pleasantly suggest this film to anyone who asks.
Thanks for checking out February’s My Crazy Film Journey movies. If you would like to check out my previous MCFJ movie Punch-Drunk Love, click here. If you guys are interested in following me on this journey, I suggest you follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Letterboxd for my first thoughts for next month’s movies. And if you’re really interested, come back and check out my reviews for March’s movies as I sit down to watch The Big Lebowski and L.A. Confidential for the first time.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Chris Evans, and Brie Larson
Rating:
Little Movie Reviews 