Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Directed by Edgar Wright

I recently went out of town to visit a really good friend. I drove 4 hours, visited my sister in Charlotte and then drove the other 9 up to Philly the next day. I arrived with a serious case of "highway hypnosis" and a bit jittery from all the caffeine I'd consumed.

I called her...no answer. I was parked illegally in South Philly and a wave of anxiety washed over me. Called her a few more times and no answer. I started to worry that something bad had happened to her, I imagined her on her beachcomber bike getting demolished by some cab driver. In vivid detail I could see her laying in a stretcher with some of her teeth knocked out and bloody as hell. Ugh.

She called me and immediatley I ran down the block to where she was not bothering to re-park my car. She opened the door and we grabbed each other and kissed for a long time. Something I'd wanted to do to her for a year.

We spent a lot of time only with each other. I felt a serious rush of energy around her, some good, some bad. What the hell was I doing?

I couldn't answer the question. I was just so glad to be there and see her.

One night we went to the movies in Upper Darby to the 69th St Theatre. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was playing. I'll watch anything Edgar Wright does. I think that man is a genius. He's like an ADD John Landis, filling an insane amount of references and genre points into one tight, little comedy.

This film was awesome. If you grew up in the the 80's or 90's playing video games, watching TV and reading comic books (which I did) I think you'll get a serious kick out of it. The comic book paneling and super quick editing was easier for me to follow than most films, maybe because I have ADD.

The characters to some degree were a little flat (with the exception of Scott and Ramona) but it's a comedy based on a comic book! What do you expect? If you're looking for serious depth in a comic book movie go watch The Dark Knight or A History of Violence. The fight scenes were excellent and the choreography by Brad Allan and Peng Zhang looked straight out of Hong Kong action cinema.

The dialog and joke timing were perfect (and after seeing the film a second time last night I laughed just as hard). It was also fun to see some of the crappy, annoying things musicians have to deal with put up on the big screen and be able to laugh at it.

The romance in the film made me feel a bit sad that my trip would have to end at some point. I'd kick back home with my tail between my legs and throw myself into work and a new project. After drinking too much soda the film ended and we went out to the parking lot and made out for a long time while an Emerson, Lake and Palmer song played on my radio.