World AffairsI'm often very cautious of movies that indulge on one particular sensibility. It's not necessarily that I fear I'll get lost in the strict adaptation; it has more to do with a whiff of an arrogant attitude that feels high on its own self indulgent humor and style. I had those concerns earlier this year with a film called Kick-Ass, and while it did carry some of those concerns, it ended up being a fun ride in the end. Last year, there was such a film, and it was Zack Snyder's adaptation of Watchmen. I'll admit that I did have a slight fear with this film, but in the hands of a talented cast and crew, the material manages to escape unscathed.
Based on the very popular graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is an ordinary twentysomething living his relatively banal life in Toronto. He's unemployed, mooching off his stable, gay roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin) and a member of a subpar band called "Sex Bob-Omb." While participating in a lackluster romance with a high schooler, he crosses paths with Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). As his infatuation grows, so does his physical necessity to defeat her seven evil exes before there can even be a cementing of their relationship.
What I generally admire most about Edgar Wright is his enthusiasm behind the camera which gives way to some clever visual gags and an inspired sense of humor. His two big hits, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, are fantastic satires on they're genres that eventually become stable entries in their respective genres. This film is working a little differently, but the capabilities of Wright's tight direction is used to a continuing ultimate effect. He creates a gliding pace for the film, allowing the raw emotions to become swept up in the entire world of the film. The action contains the right tone of standard believability along with hyper-realism to go along with the videogame theme. The script, co-written by Wright and Michael Bacall, is also evidence for clever wit that perpetrates throughout.
The one major fault that Wright brings to the project is one that he brings to every film he works on. As the climax starts to rear its head, the film has a difficult time finding the right note to end on, leading the last fifteen minutes of the movie to feel longer than they actually are. Even though that has been present in his last two films, I would say this film's ending drags on more than any of the others he has worked on. The action is stylishly presented, and damn entertaining, but it eventually gets long in the tooth and present maybe one beat too many before the resolution of the film. Still, Wright handles the material pretty well, and the positives he brings far outweigh the sparse negatives.
The elephant in the room for me was Michael Cera, and given his recent performances, I was worried that his predictable character types would diminish the character. Maybe he actually delivers in an engaging character, or maybe the pace is just quick enough not to notice the annoying nuances of a Cera performance, but whatever the case, he actually comes off quite likable in the role of Scott and feels capable to carry the emotional weight. Winstead also pulls her part to bring the right amount of humor and emotion toward her character as well. The supporting cast is full of enjoyable glows, chief among them being Culkin, whose Wallace brims with sassy charm and heartfelt cynicism. The evil exes range from the likes of Brandon Routh to Jason Schwartzman, and even though they're a dime a dozen, they add enough charm to make an imprint in the crowded cast.
I can't aspire to the notion that this is a "perfect film," as it gets into some slow spots every once in a while, and has difficulty wrapping up its finale, but on the whole, it's a very entertaining film. The tone is exuberant, the pace is blissfully quick, and the cast is a joy to watch. Edgar Wright tried to have some indulgence in this film, but fortunately he left out the smug self-awareness attitude and included something for every kind of audience to enjoy. It would seem to me that Wright needs to tell Zack Snyder how to do a successful adaption that is faithful to its source material.
B+
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