THIS COULD ACTUALLY BE “THE” FUTURE : “SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD”

I love “feel good” movies. Come on, admit it, we all do. Sometimes, you just need it – you don’t have the mental energy or the enthusiasm to take on something heavy and / or depressing. But the trouble I find with feel good movies is that they tend to be a little too… You know… Light. I mean, finding an actual good quality film that will give you a barrel of laughs and make you feel brilliant is in fact no mean feat. Just think about it, you’ll see what I mean… This is why I say that Scott Pilgrim might JUST be the future on that count alone. Excellent quality, brilliant actors and a hilarious movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. You’ll feel light and warm and bubbly at the end – plus the stomach cramps from laughing. No kidding folks, I am in LOVE with this movie! I mean, I loved Michael Cera anyway – you probably had that one figured. Kieran Culkin I was curious about – like a lot of people of my generation I was crazy about Macauly his older brother (shame he burnt himself out eh? I reckon he could have been great… Oh well he might do a comeback I suppose but we’ll probably never know…). Mary Elisabeth Winstead, our female lead, I had never heard of but oh well… The director? Edgar Wright, director of such British classics as Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the dead (and if you’ve never heard of them fear not; reviews are coming your way VERY soon). I should now get on to what I’m actually raving about, right? Right. Here’s the story.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a normal 22 year-old living in Canada. He is in a band, he lives with his gay roommate (and landlord)Wallace has a pretty average life. His love life,however, is complicated (does that sound familiar or what?). Ever since his BIG ex dumped him, he has been unable to get his love life back in gear. There is progress though; he can just about get himself to date 17 year-olds. But then Ramona breezes into his life. She is mysterious, charismatic and beautiful; Scott doesn’t stand a chance so to speak. Even better, his feelings seem to be mutual. There is, however, one problem. To get to date Ramona, Scott must defeat her seven evil exes in battle. For the quiet and mild mannered Pilgrim, this is going to be interesting…

Ok, I will not go into great detail and give the “game” away. But you may have gathered from that short summary that the film has quite a few “fantastic” elements. First, there are the special effects. Dear God, the film has some of the best / cutest special effects you EVER saw. Then there is the editing. Very quick, very funny, VERY witty. It was pretty much the same story in Hot Fuzz if you saw that one. I mean, it’s fast but not like Magnolia where your head starts to churn after a while. Still, the editing is so damn clever it has an actual presence in the film along with the special effects. You’ll get what I mean when you watch it. (Yes, even if you’re not sure what editing is….)
This film has two very obvious aims, to amuse and entertain; boy do they succeed – down to the smallest touches and details (AGAIN for those of us who saw Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz). And naturally, no opportunity at getting a laugh is missed as far as the characters are concerned either; these are some of the funniest characters I have ever seen on the big screen. The straight faced and sarcastic Wallace as portrayed by Kieran Culkin was by far my favorite. (I seem to have a “thing” for side characters this week). Scott’s 17 year-old girlfriend Knives Chau – priceless. One might of course (quite rightly) say that Michael Cera is getting slightly typecast. This part is almost identical to Nick in Nick and Nora’s infinite playlist. The two films, however, could not be further apart stylistically. And besides, Cera is so damn good at the part anyway; it won’t do anyone any harm to see him do it a second time… This film is worth it…

(P.S. You may need basic knowledge of video games to “get” one of the plot twists, have someone like that handy if you don’t. It’s not rocket science either however, I mean even I figured it out without help and I’m computer-game illiterate… )