Scott's Generation

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2015)

Scott Pilgrim V. The World
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a young-ish (maybe 23) bassist of an underwhelming garage band, Sex Bomb...err, Sex Bomb-omb...with a lifelong hobby – no OBSESSION – of video games. His life is secure. He is involved in a sexless relationship with a minor: video game enthusiast, Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). And his hard working roommate, Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin) pays for everything, including their apartment.
Pilgrim's life is basically unchallenged till, one evening, he dreams that some mysterious girl is out there. And, a bit later, it turns out that she is! Her name is Ramona Flowers, the American with no money worries, a big apartment, and no significant other hanging around.
Scott sees this as a chance to upgrade his relationship status. Besides, Ramona and he seem to connect. But, the illusion of Ramona's trouble-free availability changes as quickly, and as often as her hair color. Soon, Scott learns that he must overcome Romona's exes...err, SEVEN EVIL EXES...as well as his naïve world view in order to hook up with the girl of his dreams.
But, alas, life is a video game!...so, anything is possible. That naivety thing is tough, though.
This is a touchstone film. It speaks to the generation of the characters it highlights as well as bespeaks of them. (For this article, I'll call them the GENERATION.) It joins other touchstones such as Love Story, Brian's Song, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Clueless...and, much further into the past, Les Quatre Cents Coup. As with the first three of those films, it got very little critical acclaim when it was released. And unlike all of those films, it was a financial dud when it was released, during the middle of the Great Recession. But it garnered much critical mention as time went on from original viewers, as they learned to speak for themselves...as well as many DVD buys.
Scott Pilgrim V. the World was directed by Edgar Wright, the English director of Shawn of the Dead. It's based on the unfinished – at the time of the film's release – graphic novel by Canadian Bryan Lee O'Malley. How much this has to do with O'Malley's personal life, I am uncertain. (But that is a major topic many of the GENERATION debate.) It does seem to be a collaboration between O'Malley and Wright, however. The supporting characters have a lot of substance to them...a substance that isn't present in other Edgar Wright films.
These characters have a Scorsese feel to them. Chris Evan's Lucas Lee, one of the Seven Evil Execs, generates enough interest to have his own film, much less the minor role he plays here. Mark Webber's Stephen Stills, is also a stand out as a supporting character, the leader of the band.
Scott Pilgrim is a drama-edy/fantasy. While Love Story, Brian's Song and Quatre Cents had more social perspective, Scott Pilgrim shares with Clueless the success of replicating the language of the GENERATION. And the video game world that Scott Pilgrim created puts it up there with Ferris Bueller as showing a lifestyle that the GENERATION wants to lead. (The REAL question is if THE GENERATION is caught in the same delusion that Pilgrim is...not if they can IMAGINE their way out of it.)
Of the bunch, I liked Quatre Cents and Clueless the most. But I haven't sat down to watch any of them in sometime. This is the first time that I've seen the Scott Pilgrim in awhile. As with all touchstone films, you need to be in the mood to see it. And, no matter how well it's made, these films always lose their immediacy after the first year.
Strangely enough, two co-workers from the GENERATION had viewed V. The World the same day that I had, and it became the topic of conversation that workday. They had seen it a month prior, too. It's obvious that this film will be the topic for the rest of their lives - as all touchstone films should be.