Sitting here separating socks from a load of whites, I am thinking of another load of whites (with a few Asians thrown in for good measure): crazy Canadian 20 somethings doing their crazy Canadian 20 something thing in the new Edgar Wright film "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World".
I took in a solo late night screening this past Wednesday at the local plex, Fandango ticket print out and wife's permission slip in tow. Since I know nothing of the graphic novel on which the film is based, I looked forward to experiencing this new (to me) pop culture phenomenon through the very delicious visual wizardry that Mr. Wright brings to all his films. [For those not familiar with Edgar Wright's previous work, he is the force behind the cult hits: "Shawn of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz", two very recent additions in my top 100 films of all time.] The Wright stuff is a combination of "fish out of water" character driven plots, fast & tight story driven edits and oh so witty dialogue that make for a reel to final reel rollercoaster ride of a cinematic experience. The Facebook buzz from former students was positive. I was psyched to see it.
Too bad I did see it. [Cue "The Price is Right" Losing Horns musical sting.]
That may be a bit unfair. However, of the three Wright films mentioned, "Scott Pilgrim" is the least right. The biggest wrong, with many more venial cinematic sins committed, in this story is precisely that--the story. So unoriginal and so one-dimensional. "Dear Mr Wright, give us something with at least as many dimensions as the primary comic source, puh-leeeze!" Truthfully? It was "an unepic of unepic unepicness". For those not in the know you can read my slanted encapsulation of the story or scroll down and view the trailer, your choice:
Scott Pilgrim, bass player 'ordinaire' in a Toronto-based grunge(?) band, falls for a goth-esque, bore me type beauty he spots at club appearances. All's fair in love and video war games except that poor Scott, in order to successfully win the barely beating heart of said vamp princess, must face her seven Exes...not ex-boyfriends...Exes in a fight to the death. (It would seem that dopey Scott (played by Michael Cera of Michael Cera fame) is the only one who doesn't know what she's referring to when she continues to correct him by saying "Exes"...wink wink!) The conflicts, whether they be between bands, between the real and the 'sort-of-like' unreal or simply between boy and girl are the center of this cinematic summer romp. The battle between Scott and the Exes--the defining and rising action in the movie--escalate in the usual Hollywood movie fight sequence style, complete with thematically appropriate comic book stylings and video game flair. In the end, bad guys die (Ca-CHING!), young love reigns supreme (Oooh la la) and kids buy the Playstation version of the movie game at local retail stores (more Ca-CHING!).
The problem with all of this is plain and simple: boredom, with a capital 'S' for 'Snoozer Alert'. We've been there and we've done all that. Unfortunately I've seen this movie before, albeit as individual scenes appearing in previous movie releases. Claims of this movie's landscape as being "unfamiliar", as A.O. Scott describes in his review of the movie are sadly ill-informed. Comic book genre movies are all over the place. Stylistic groundbreakers range from "Tank Girl" (ho hum) to Ang Lee's "The Hulk" (moderate) to "American Splendor" (so good). Here's the trailer for this movie inspired by the life and work of the recently deceased Harvey Pekar:
And then there are the art forms on the "lesser" media distribution method. Many television series, "Heroes" comes to mind, push (perhaps too far) the comic book visual genre into something that wishes it was more interactive, more user-driven in nature.
And this brings us to the genre of video game styled movies. Mr. Scott continued in this New York Times movie review that "Scott Pilgrim Vs The World" could be the best video game movie to date. To this I say, "So what!!" Don't get me wrong. I'm all about style, but forgive me mama Gertrude for butchering one of your most famous aphorisms when I plead aloud, "More movies that matter with less computer generated art!!" Since when did style in movies truly supercede good storytelling? That's all this movie was: form over function. Style informs story, not the other way around. That is why, in my humble opinion, "Scott Pilgrim" is an exceptionally well stylized movie...with no story to write home about. There are many, many great moments in the movie, but you know what they say about the sum of the parts...
And love I did, the many little parts that Mr. Wright and his team brought to the screen. Starting with the Universal Studios theme song ala Nintendo 64 bit sound quality at the start of the movie. This was followed up with a rousing (can I use that word to describe the beginning of a movie?) title sequence that employed the techniques of scratch animation--a pseudo-psychadelic feel where animators color/draw directly on the 35mm film leader. This hand drawn animation was accompanied by a high tempo, indy rock style song ala The White Stripes (but credited to the fictional band portrayed in the film). A perfect audio-visual duet...reminiscent of the title sequence of the late '90s Tom Tykwer offering: "Run Lola Run". Here's the trailer for "Lola":
Many other great moments like the "Seinfeld" spoof, complete with scene change baseline riff and accompanying laugh track are fun and mildly amazing, but hardly unfamiliar turf for the movies. Case in point: Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" presents a disturbing domestic scene in the guise of a sitcom, probably patterned after the Fox hit series at the time, "Married With Children". Find it on your own...Warning: Viewer Discretion Is Advised!!
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I could go on and on...and I believe I already have. (Oh if bloggers only had editors!) But let me drop this review, right here right now. Drop it right off the proverbial high school research paper cliff (that is...end it with a thud) and say: "Scott Pilgrim Vs The World" not worth the $11.00 US in theatres. Wait for the DVD. Better yet, borrow the DVD!
BUT!! I truly look forward to future work by Edgar Wright. This young auteur's oeuvre is maturing into a body of work that is something the world of modern cinema desperately needs. So what if he stumbles here and there along the way. Hell, Hitchcock had his "The Trouble With Harry".
To wrap, here's an interview of Edgar Wright on NPR's Fresh Air describing the making of his recent effort. Enjoy and thanks for reading:
(Oh and speaking of wrapping...I just finished separating the whites. I'm missing one sock. Dammit...I'm always missing one sock!!)
-Marty
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