Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, is the third feature film from British born, Edgar Wright, director of cult classics, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. It's his first film shot on American soil and with American actors. The movie stars Michael Cera, Anna Kendrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jason Schwarztman, Kiernan Culkin, Ellen Wong, and Aubrey Plaza (Long list, yes, I know, and they may not all be "stars" yet, but whatever). The synopsis of the movie goes like this: Scott Pilgrim, played by Cera, is a 23-year old slacker "in-between" jobs, living in Toronto, playing bass in a rock band, when he comes across the dangerously attractive Ramona Flowers (Winstead). After a first date with her, Scott learns that Ramona has seven evil ex's that he must defeat in order to win her heart(Sounds weird, I know, but give it a chance). The movie is based off of the Oni Press graphic novels, by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It incorporates alot of the themes from these graphic novels into the film, which I really liked.
I have a few criticisms for the movie, firstly, why Kendrick decided to be cast in the film for such a minor role. She's fairly fresh off her Academy Award nomination for, Up in the Air, and she has about 7 minutes of screen time in this one (Very unfortunate). Secondly, Winstead a certifiable "hottie" isn't portrayed well enough in during the trailers to let potential moviegoers know that, that's what side of her they'll be seeing on the big screen (I could barely even tell it was her during trailers due to her pink and blue wigs). Thirdly, the movie's estimated budget according to IMDB was $60 million, which seems very high to me, but considering how many special effects the film has that number doesn't seem too epic. But, honestly what is Universal thinking banking that much money on a movie with the biggest star being Michael Cera? I don't think the fan base for the graphic novels was big enough to justify doing this. Also, I feel that they should have overseen distribution for the movie in Japan, where the movie could and should be a big hit. Instead a company called Toho-Tawa is distributing it.
Criticism aside SPVTW is a clever, fantastically stylized comedy with great performances worth a trip to the theater.
