SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD By Gary Murray Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Alison Pill, Anna Kendrick and Ellen Wong Written by Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright Directed by Edgar Wright MPAA Rating PG-13 Running time approx. 2 hrs Selig Film Rating FULL PRICE 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, one starts 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 he still is not over his former girlfriend, who has moved on to Montreal and a greater degree of fame. One night in his dream, he 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 the love of Ramona, Scott must take on and defeat each one of them. The film is of the great lengths one has to go through to find true love. Even though Scott 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 blends 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, Eraser-head and 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.
