An interesting take on the rite of manhood.

Rating: 6/10 (23 November 2013)

I describe this movie as a love story for geeks. While it was amusing, and different, there is really little to set this movie apart from the standard, run of the mill, Hollywood love story. I know many people will disagree with me on this one, but this movie is actually very ho-hum, and is certainly not of the same standard as his previous movies (such as Hot Fuzz). Still, this movie is different and does have a number of elements that impress me. Oh, this movie is also based on a series of graphic novels.
To say that Scott Pilgrim is a loser is an understatement. He is the bass player in a fairly ordinary band (sex ba-omb) and at the beginning of the movie is dating a high school girl (Knives Chow), which is emphasised. Obviously this emphasis is because he very quickly meets the girl of his dreams (which is more true than not because he dreams of her the day before he meets her). He lives in a bunker on the other side of the road from where he grew up and shares his bed with a homosexual (though is not gay himself, much to his housemate's disappointment). However, when he meets Ramona Flowers he decides that he must start dating her, and does everything in his power to make that happen. However, she has seven evil exes which are determined to control her future, and that future does not include Scott Pilgrim, so Scott must defeat these exes to win her heart.
Scott Pilgrim is a very allegorical movie. Scott does not come across as actually being a warrior type, yet when he confronts the evil exes he becomes a very capable warrior, video game style. I mention this because the film runs like a video game. Whenever he defeats an ex, he gets points and the ex bursts into a pile of coins. As the movie progresses, the points get higher and the coins become substantially more, in line with the exes getting progressively tougher. However, more importantly, it is a film about how Scott goes from being a boy to being a man, and it is through his desire to have a relationship with Ramona that he is forced to become a man. This is key right at the end when Scott gains the 'power of self-respect'. No longer does he measure himself based on other people but rather on his accepting himself for who he is. Self-respect is not necessarily gained through 'fighting your enemy for yourself' but rather the realisation that you are not doing what you are doing for somebody else, or to impress somebody else, but rather you are doing it for yourself.
Obviously self-respect is a very nebulous concept and can be very individualistic in many cases. I do things for my brother, but does that mean I lack self-respect? Not necessarily. I do things for my brother because I love my brother and know that if I do not do them, then it is unlikely anybody else will do it. Do I grumble about it? I try not to because I know that my brother is totally dependent on other people. However, self-respect is something that is very hard to come by. I remember talking to a pastor about it once, and to be honest, I disagreed with his line of reasoning. He talked about it as accepting oneself for who one is, however it did not sit right for me because once again the concept was self focused and individualistic. If I was a creep and accepted the fact that I was a creep and continued to be a creep then that is not a good thing.
However I viewed it more likely as God-respect. God loves us and accepts us despite what we have done in the past. There is no being a good person to get into God's books because none of us are able to do enough to impress God. God accepts us as we are, usually in our total weakness. However, by accepting God, he gives us the power to turn our lives around and become better people. I know because that has happened to me.