‘Pilgrim,’ you caused a lot of trouble

In many ways, Scott Pilgrim is a typical, post-college slacker. He plays in a band. He pines for his ex. He is acutely self-absorbed and sheltered by the cocoon of modern culture he drinks in daily like his beloved Coke Zero. Scott’s life is fairly mundane, too, until he meets Ramona Flowers, an ultra cool magenta-haired pixie that ties his already fey tongue into ever more awkward knots.

Played like a deadpan coquette by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ramona acts as Alice’s white rabbit did and draws Pilgrim deeper into a psychedelic fantasy realm without rules. And when anything can happen, well, it usually does. The film builds like a cartoonishly violent musical, only instead of characters breaking into song when overcome with emotion, they break into highly-choreographed kung fu fights that graft a gamer’s level-based structure onto a more traditional comedic narrative arc.

Scott soon learns that to win Ramona’s heart, he must defeat her six evil exes who may attack at any time.

“We all have baggage,” she tells him.

“Yeah, well my baggage doesn’t try to kill me every five minutes,” he laments.

One of the most oddly sincere coming of age stories ensues as Pilgrim battles his way through one bizarre, revenge-minded ex after another to finally be with Ramona. Chris Evans (this summer’s Captain America) and former Superman Brandon Routh both bring an epic dynamic to their roles and play their hilariously over-the-top with tongue-in-cheek panache.

As Pilgrim’s smart aleck roommate Wallace, Keiran Culkin is cutting and hilarious, and steals several scenes in the movie. Culkin has worked little since his starring role in the underrated Igby Goes Down almost a decade ago. Why isn’t he working more? Is the Father of the Bride cash really that good? Hopefully the buzz he’s gotten from this role will relaunch a solid career for the 28-year-old. He does have three films in the works for 2011, including Movie 43, comedy’s answer to anthology dramas like Paris, je T’aime and New York, I Love You.

With Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, director Edgar Wright was able to lampoon the tired zombie and buddy cop genres while also breathing glorious new life into them. With Scott Pilgrim, he does the same for the indie rom-com by bringing to screen the child-like whimsy and razor-sharp hipster biting satire of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s popular graphic novel series. From indie rockers and fanboys to skaters, groupies and pious vegans, no one escapes ridicule. Not even Seinfeld, as the pop culture riffs and references come fast and furious, though thankfully never in a cheesy or annoying way. The story never stops to wink at the audience. It merely skates or kung fu flips by.

If you’re like me and never really read comic books or graphic novels and you haven’t played a videogame since you were a teenager, don’t let that dissuade you from this fascinating pop art remix cloaked as a teen comedy. You will be bowled over by just how abundantly creative and surprising—not to mention laugh ought loud funny—Scott Pilgrim can be. 1 UP!