2010 directed by Edgar Wright
Scott Pilgrim is the strangest romcom action movie you will ever see. And it works.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010), based on a hit comic series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, follows Scott Pilgrim, a 24 year old bassist, who finds himself falling for Ramona Flowers, an Amazon delivery worker with a guarded past. However, in order to date her, he must first defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends through video game style battles - featuring ninjas, bass-offs, magic, original music, and swords - all while also competing in a battle-of-the-bands for a record deal with the great Gideon Graves. The humor in this movie is also some of my favorite, with an array of quotable lines and memorable scenes that will stay with you forever.
This movie has a fantastic cast of characters. Everyone in the movie is perfectly cast, with big names like Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick, and Brie Larson. Every character is hilarious in their own right, and contributes their own quirks and twists to the story. From Knives, Scott’s previous girlfriend who will get Scott back at any cost, to Kim, the cold drummer who possesses a not-so-secret loathing for Scott, to Wallace, Scott’s more put-together roommate who helps him stay on his feet, every character has something to love. Scott himself is not as much of a protagonist as he seems, and is frankly one of the most flawed in the movie. Through trials, battles, and extra lives, he learns how to better himself for the benefit of those around him.
The movie features some of the best and most eye-popping editing I’ve ever seen. It’s engaging, works well with the movie's themes, and it’s downright hilarious. There are tons of laugh-out-loud moments, whether it’s because of a graphic appearing on screen, a perfect cut, an overlay of a character playing the guitar, or even just an unusual moment of internal narration. This movie has a strange magic throughout, playing off the most bizarre scenes as jokes or just treating abnormal moments as normal in this odd video game world. Since this movie is based on a comic, there are also scenes directly grabbed from the original work, which adds to the movie's unique style and creates picture perfect action sequences.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World is and will continue to be my go-to movie. Despite its strange and rather chaotic premise, it comes together in the best possible way. There are so many famous and quotable scenes that I will carry with me for a long time, the characters are some of my favorites in any media, and the odd editing style is so perfect for this film, I couldn’t imagine it any different. Since its release it continues to be inventive, original, imaginative, and I recommend it to anyone who needs a good laugh.
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