Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

When thrown head-first into the comic-book world of Bryan O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, it's natural to feel a little apprehensive. Are those graphics going to come up for every sound effect? Is Pilgrim (Michael Cera) ever going to grown a backbone ? But then a certain charm kicks in, whether it's through Pilgrim's horribly funny one-liners, the dialogue between his bandmates, or a particular brand of magic realism which allows the first of seven evil exes to propose a duel to the death via email.

What ensues is a simple story of boy-meets-girl, boy makes a fool of himself but still convinces girl to come see his awful band play, and subsequently has to defeat her seven evil exes in Arcade fight scenes that would put the makers of Pokemon to shame.

It's rare to find an indie film with such great special effects, let alone one which speaks in precisely the same language as its target audience. By the time we're done watching Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) walking through a door in the night sky, all that apprehension has gone.

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Jenni Ajderian

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