The first decade of the new millennium was often called the Decade of the Geek, as comic book and fantasy films became the blockbuster tent poles of every summer movie season. But despite the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in bringing J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbits and Spider-Man to life, it is hard to imagine any movie could ever be more tailor-made for the Church of the Geek than “Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.”
In a way, “Scott Pilgrim” could be seen as a thank-you note to the Holy Council of Fanboys who have served as Hollywood’s hype machine ever since the inception of the Internet. Based on the comic series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, “Scott Pilgrim” is a celebration of geek pastimes such as video games, indie music, ninjas and, most importantly, irreverent humor.
The central premise itself is a splendid exercise in playful absurdity. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a twenty-something slacker from Toronto, one day finds the literal girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), only to discover there is one very big catch: In order to date Ramona, Scott must first defeat an alliance of Ramona’s seven evil exes led by the mysterious Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman). Scott’s entire quest to defeat the League of Evil Exes plays out like a video game adventure, complete with extra lives, power-ups and bosses that explode into coins.
For the most part, director Edgar Wright is able to strike just the right surreal tone throughout “Scott Pilgrim.” Much like he did in “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” Wright proves able to effortlessly combine action and comedy without sacrificing the quality of either element. In addition, despite a few awkwardly staged sequences such as Scott’s battle with evil ex number two, Lucas Lee (an inspired but tragically underused Chris Evans), Wright and co-screenwriter Michael Bacall managed to make the film feel surprisingly cohesive given the fact that it is based on six volumes of a comic book and is naturally segmented by its evil ex battles.
The film earns more credit through the vivid fantasy reality it creates. While its Toronto setting sadly never plays much of a factor—“Scott Pilgrim” could have just as easily been set in Chicago, Minneapolis or Saskatoon, Saskatchewan—the comic and video game visuals mesh well with the adolescent hipster community of which Scott and his friends are a part. Power meters and point values pop up in almost every scene, and each one feels as organic as an Italian plumber crushing the skull of a bipedal tortoise.
However, despite the brilliantly realized world and storyline surrounding its main character, “Scott Pilgrim” suffers from the mishandling of that very title role. Cera has been unfairly maligned recently for his lack of range, even though that isn’t much of a problem if an actor sticks to certain roles. But the character of Scott Pilgrim calls for something more than Cera’s meek persona, and unfortunately that is all Cera is able to bring to this film. At one point, Scott is described as a “lady-killer wannabe jerk-jerk,” but Cera never makes that description believable. Scott needed to be a bit more spazzy and a lot more energetic, but Cera plays him instead as listless and lifeless.
On top of Cera’s poor characterization of Scott, the former George Michael Bluth just does not seem comfortable in his numerous fight scenes. It is telling that the best battle in the movie is a duel between Ramona and her “sexy phase” evil ex Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman) that barely involves Scott at all. Wright maps out the battle sequences with as much creativity and ingenuity as he can, particularly in an anthropomorphized battle of the bands amp fight, but without a proper lead each sequence is always one piece away from perfection.
But even with Cera’s poor performance, “Scott Pilgrim” still brings a lot to the table. Without a doubt it is one of the most unique film going experiences in recent memory. The screenplay is whip-smart and chock full of references, dropping everything from the “Legend of Zelda” theme to a scene filmed just like an episode of “Seinfeld.” It is also strangely beautiful to look at; much in the same way a cheese sculpture at the state fair has a certain kind of beauty. But thanks to the poor casting decision at its center, “Scott Pilgrim” always feels one level away from the perfect score it could have achieved. If only it had chosen a different playable character.