Finally went and saw SCOTT PILGRIM for an impromptu date night, and a few things occurred to me while watching it.
1. I think I might be officially over Michael Cera. His usual schtick undermines his performance here and it’s gotten to the point that I seriously wonder whether he can actually act or if he’s been coasting along on his affected personality all this time. Either way, I think he could benefit from acting classes as it would be nice to see him make an actual choice one of these days.
2. The love interest, Ramona, is shockingly unlikeable, which is sad, b/c she looks like a non-Hollywood-processed woman and her hair is clever. I really, really wanted to like her, and unlike Michael Cera, I don’t think the actor is to blame in this case. She is written rather poorly: she seems to have no agency beyond her apparent and continuous disdain for Scott Pilgrim. I found it hard to root for them. It reminded me that when it comes to romance, conflict is great, but at the end of the day, you’re characters do actually have to like each other. If it’s one-sided, it’s just not going to work.
3. As for the other women, they were all either harpies, who were mostly ignored by the male characters or complete puppets. I can’t eat tons of organic cookies on Weight Watchers, even though they’re made out of much better stuff than the processed stuff. And I’m realizing that indie films aren’t going to do better by their female characters than say, a Judd Apatow movie.
4. Scott Pilgrim is soooo awesome to look at that it made me want to ignore Thoughts #1 and #2 and #3. People make fun of razzle-dazzle, but it can make up for a lot. Also, I enjoyed watching the filmmakers fail BIG. It’s sad when they fail small.
5. In the end, the story had more pizazz than heart, and was so painfully self-conscious, that I found it hard to take seriously. But it did make me want to read the comic book source material for myself, so that’s a win for the author.
Did anyone else see SCOTT PILGRIM? If so, leave thoughts in the comments.