THIS WEEK’S MOVIE REC
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
2010 • PG-13 • 1h 52mins
Here’s the plot. Scott lives in Toronto and plays guitar in an okay band. He’s dating a high schooler, Knives Chau, which seems like a bad idea to everyone but Scott and Knives. He meets Amazon delivery person Ramona Flowers, immediately becoming interested in her and disinterested in Knives. It’s not great. Scott’s band plays in a battle of the bands. They’re interrupted mid-song when Scott must battle the first of Ramona’s seven evil exes. She cryptically warned him earlier, but not in ways a fair-minded person would count. Scott faces seven bad exes and the bad inside himself to win Ramona.
Hoo boy, this cast. You’ve got Michael Cera (Superbad). Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane). Kieran Culkin (Succession). Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect). Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Rec). Jason Schwartzman (every Wes Anderson movie). Chris Evans (Captain America). Brie Larson (Captain Marvel). That’s not even all of the names you’d know. Everybody’s here.
Scott Pilgrim was not a hit. Made $49M against a budge of at least $60M. I didn’t hear about it until it hit DVD. Watched it three times in one week. Over time, it’s become a cult classic, but in 2010, Universal didn’t seem to know how to market it. To be fair, it’d be a tricky sell even now. The world wasn’t ready. And it’s very much it’s own weird vision of a movie too. Paradoxically, you have to see it to understand why you’d like it enough to see it.
Michael Cera was transitioning to adult roles in 2010. Didn’t really work then, still hasn’t now. It’s The Matthew Broderick Syndrome: Looking like a youth, even far after youth. Cera had Arrested Development in his rearview mirror, had just made hits Superbad, Juno and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Then a few bellyflops in a row where he’s miscast in broad comedies. In this? He’s perfect. A character struggling to bridge kidhood and adulthood may be his sweet spot.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also perfect. She projects grit and an interior life like few others. She made great projects before this, and great ones after. Winstead is in my top ten list of working actors today. Even in bad stuff, she’s always good.
NOTES
It’s based on graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley.
Cera shares the screen with Mae Whitman, reuniting the Arrested Development costars.
Director Edgar Wright would make Baby Driver about a decade later, proving he had at least one more musical movie in him.
EW got the cast back together for a ten-year reunion last year.
The band’s name, Sex Bob-omb, tells you everything. Video games, relationships, violence.