By Matt Clyburn
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World should really be titled, “Scott Pilgrim vs. Seven Evil Exes.” After some pondering, though, I decided that the title is telling. It ultimately shows us the real battle here – not one between our quirky Canadian hero and a slew of bizarre characters from his love interest’s past – but one between the creative minds behind Scott Pilgrim and the world of the flagging film industry.
The film (and I don’t use the term film lightly) thrusts us into a ‘comic book and video game’ world of gravity-defying physics and butt-kicking action. As far from a fan of video games and comic books as one can get, I was amused by the references to this late 80’s/early 90’s dream world. Even the references that I didn’t understand made me laugh because the script and visual effects burst with countless dimensions of wit and originality.
Detractors of the film will dislike it because they found themselves walking out of the theater scratching their heads. If you can’t submit to the preconditions of this fantasy world early on in the film, then you will hate this movie. If you go to an amusement park and don’t want to take your little brother or sister on the teacups because you think you’re too grown-up, you’ll hate that too. But sometimes it’s best to just sit down and enjoy the ride.
As a language aficionado (and admittedly, a grammar Nazi), I often criticize classmates that err in the creation of proper sentences. I am eternally frustrated by misplaced or misguided punctuation, especially when these blunders can often alter the very story they are trying to tell. In Scott Pilgrim, we are retold a story we’ve heard many times before, but the style and flare of the punctuation truly bring a brand new world to life. The creative minds behind Scott Pilgrim offer an irreverent rebellion against today’s status quo in Hollywood.
