At the insistence of my brother, I finally watched Scott Pilgrim yesterday. Much like Sucker Punch, it’s a hit-and-miss for me. The movie’s manic ADHD-pace really irked me in the beginning, but I slowly got into the groove of things. My brother explained (since he’s watched it before) that it’s meant to feel like you’re reading a comic book, and some of the framing, shots, and visual effects (speed lines, expression bursts, chapter headings, etc.) is certainly reminiscent of the medium.
The storyline, again like Sucker Punch, got pretty repetitive. If you haven’t heard the premise, our hero protagonist Scott Pilgrim is in love with a serial hair-colour changer named Ramona. Unfortunately, he happens to be dating a 17 year-old Catholic schoolgirl named Ellen Wong, and this love triangle forms one of the major plot points. Anyway, in order to win the heart of Ramona, he has to battle her seven exes in increasingly ridiculous duels of death.
By the time he reached the fourth ex, they simply introduced the last three in one scene. In fact, two of them fight Scott at the same time by virtue of the fact they’re twins. Which makes me wonder how possible it was for Ramona to date both at the same time unless it was a mutual agreement or she was two-timing them.
Anyway, the repetitive nature of the challenges (although each is unique in their own way) kind of makes it difficult to establish a three-act structure. There’s a secondary plot arc of Scott’s band competing in a battle-of-the-bands championship, but this just merely sets us up for the twist before the grand finale.
I also get a ‘hipster vibe’ from this movie. Generation Y kids are probably gonna love the film’s constant use of American teenspeak and the Looney-Tunes style violence. The Generation X folks would dig the retro game and computer visual and sound effects (I recognised the old Apple bootup sound as a handphone message alert at one point), as well as the liberal characters (there are two gay characters in this story, one of whom is Scott’s roommate who disturbing invites his many lovers into their shared bed). Baby Boomers and film critics would most likely be scratching their heads and saying a phrase that rhymes with ‘butt fur truck.’
I personally enjoyed the meta-references and ‘breaking of the fourth wall’. It feels like a Quentin Tarantino movie meets a wushu epic written by a 15-year old video game nerd. The message at the end of the movie of self-respect before loving others is also powerful and wonderfully executed.
I didn’t like how aloof Ramona’s character was, and how she dismisses Scott’s questioning of her fidelity or her commitment to the relationship. In my opinion, Scott would’ve had a better and more loyal girlfriend in Ellen, if only she wasn’t such an insecure ‘clinger’. Scott himself is endearing and neurotic like much of Michael Cera’s characters. You want this guy to win and get the girl.
But Kieran Culkin steals the show as Scott’s gay roommate. His self-effacing humour and constant advice-dispensing makes his character very empathetic rather than the standard ‘sissy’ homosexual stereotype. Also look out for Chris Evans as a celebrity actor who apparently had fake trailers featuring him used as promotional footage for the film.
The score’s a mix of electronica and video game beeps and boops, interspersed with Scott’s band performances. The rock numbers are awful, both from a lyrical and melodic perspective, but I think this was intentional to parody melodramatic and melancholic teenage music.
Overall, Scott is a visually-inventive and aurally-daring show. People below 25, comic book fans, and video-game enthusiasts will get a kick out of this. Anyone else will probably be thoroughly confused by the restless pacing and over-the-top fight sequences. As I’ve said, I was extremely annoyed with how the film gives very little ‘breathing room’ and time for contemplation or pensivity; characters walk in and out of scenes with no establishing shots, the screen splits more often than an episode of 24, characters mumble their lines at the machine-gun speed of an SMS message… I had a hard time keeping up. By the time I was halfway through, my brain was on autopilot and my eyes were glazed over. Younger folks who have stronger multitasking capabilities and probably lack the patience to sit through any pre-80s movie can stay with the plot better than I did.
Rating: 3 out of 5 ‘1-Ups’