The other day I went and saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe with an excitement that I can only describe as “a boner.” The comics are some of my absolute favorites, hilarious. For example, see the page below:
One of my favorite comic book gags of all time.
That said, there were just a couple things missing from the movie.
What makes Scott Pilgrim such a lovable character is that he is dopey, but happy. In a lot of ways, he’s that Homer Simpson optimist type that is a doofus, but it’s his doofusness that gives him the supernatural ability to be over anything instantly.
But the other thing, the part that really bothered me, was a surprise. It was a surprise because for the first time, I thought I was looking too deeply into a text to find the meaning. Was I? Read on:
1 Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Backstory
Here’s all you really need to know: Scott Pilgrim falls for Ramona. In order to date Ramona, Scott must first defeat her 7 Evil Exes.
2. Scott Pilgrim vs. Metaphor
The great thing about Scott Pilgrim is that it’s really an extended metaphor for dating. When you find someone new, you have to fight off their exes in order to really date them. Granted, this doesn’t usually take the form of a literal fistfight with awesome graphics and power-ups, but it’s true nonetheless. Whatever hold the ex has on your current, you have to break that somehow.
*Spoiler Alert*
In the end of the movie, Scott Pilgrim defeats Ramona’s final evil ex. It was an alright scene and everything, but the thing is, it destroys the metaphor. Because let’s face it, nobody can defeat someone else’s past. Everyone has to do that for themselves, and no amount of love or care can make up for that.
It was really disappointing to me. I felt betrayed. I felt, for the first time, like I was enjoying something and digging for a subtext that wasn’t there.
But, as always, Comics save the day.
It turns out that when the movie was written only 5/6 of the comics were finished. Therefore, the movie followed the comic faithfully EXCEPT for the last portion, in which Scott and Ramona work their own shit out, then beat her final evil ex together.
What did we learn?
We learned that movies based on other media are imitation.
We learned that sometimes nerd get it right, and sometimes they don’t.
We learned that Pete does not have amazing insight into subtext. Well, we didn’t learn that. We pretty much knew that all along.
Scott Pilgrim: Alright movie, but the comic has everything the movie does and more.
