Scott Pilgrim

by Wayne Markley

Before you read this blog, I must point out that it will have spoilers about both the Scott Pilgrim movie and the books. If you have not read the books or seen the movie, you might not want to read this blog yet. Wait a week or so till after you have read the books or seen the movie. Also, I am not the target audience for this film. It is aimed at 20/30’s something’s. That said, let’s have a look at the Scott Pilgrim event. If you are not aware, Scott Pilgrim is a six-volume graphic novel series from Oni Press about a slacker who lives in Toronto and is dating a high school girl until he meets Ramona Flowers, the girl of his dreams. The big problem is he must first defeat Ramona’s seven evil ex’s before he can be with her. Add to this his mix of eccentric friends, his ex-girlfriend who he is still not over him, and some odd metaphysical events, and it makes for a fun story.

Scott Pilgrim 1

The film does an amazing job of following the books. It does not include everything in the books, but if you have read the books, you will have a very good idea where the movie is going. The movie is able to capture all the charm of the books and the quirkiness of the storytelling. Within the movie there are brief animated segments that are directly from the graphic novels. I do not know if Scott Pilgrim’s creator, Bryan Lee O’Malley, did the animation segments, but they are clearly modeled line for line from O’Malley’s art. As an aside, stay still the very end of the movie for a cute little animation segment. The actors are all perfectly cast to match the comic characters and the film itself is a mix of humor, drama, kung-fu, video games, and most of all, comic books. It is very colorful and has a very quick pace that makes the movie chug. It also features some very cool transitions from scene to scene. I do not think it will be the summer’s biggest movie, but I do think it will do well with the target audience and will, over time, become a cult favorite.

The highest praise I can give this film is it truly feels like the comic, more so than almost any other comic book based movie I have seen. Of course, this movie does not attempt to be a serious story like Iron Man or the Dark Knight, taking everything at face value as if it was reality. Scott Pilgrim the comic and the movie are both more of an escapist fantasy with elements we all can relate to, such as if you are dating one person and someone you think is better comes along, what do you do? It also reflects the sensibilities of director and co-screenwriter (Edgar Wright) who also co-wrote/directed Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the very funny sitcom Spaced.

Scott Pilgrim 3

Personally, I really liked the six graphic novels by O’Malley. They have a very strong manga influence and truly captures a piece of life that I think we all go through at one point, both in relationships and in what we are doing with our lives, or in Scott’s case, not doing. The graphic novels do spend more time on the “metaphysical”/science fiction aspects of Ramona’s abilities and it also fleshes out the characters more. To be honest, the movie does an amazing job of condensing all the background of the characters in the books into one or two scenes so the viewer feels as if they know Scott, Wallace, Knives, Ramona, etc.

I am sure it will come as no surprise that I would recommend both the six graphic novels and the movie. I think the movie is far more accessible to more people that the comics would be. Both the movie and the graphic novels are very funny and extremely creative. If you are looking for a fun movie that will make you laugh this weekend, see Scott Pilgrim. If you want a great read that is unlike any superhero stuff you might normally read, well, for that matter, unlike any other comic, try the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. As always, everything written in this blog is my opinion and do not reflect the opinions of Westfield or its employees. And the $5000 Universal paid me did not have any impact on my review. (Just kidding).

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