In 2010, screen adaptations of comic books weren’t the franchise monoliths they are today. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was still in its nascent stages and superhero flicks were much more self-contained ventures. Against this backdrop came Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim Vs the World, a film that embraced its nerdy roots with zany and idiosyncratic flair. With an animated adaptation about to drop on Netflix, it’s worth revisiting what has made this tale of kick-ass Toronto slackers – which bombed at the box office – such a cultural mainstay.
Based on the comics by Bryan Lee O’Malley, the story follows 22-year-old Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), the bass player of an indie garage band, Sex Bob-Omb. Scott is the epitome of young and dumb, prone to poor choices and navel-gazing. He’s just been dumped by Envy Adams (Brie Larson), who has since become a vampy alt-rock star. His friends and family mock him for dating a teen, Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), who he’s starting to tire of. His mopey existence is rocked when he falls in love with Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an Amazon delivery girl with constantly changing hair à la Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The catch to being with Ramona? Scott must fight each of Ramona’s seven evil exes, led by supervillain record executive Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman).
In some ways, the story has aged poorly. There’s an element of male fantasy: a nerdy screw-up engages in a series of battles with fantastical physical prowess to score a hot girl. But it’s easy to see why the film resonated so strongly with young audiences. Inspired by shonen manga, martial arts flicks and 16-bit video games, the film wears its nerdy influences boldly on its sleeve. Edgar Wright – already a master of sight gags after Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz – is clearly having a blast. He matches the frenetic energy of the source material, using cartoony effects, jump cuts and split screens to create a unique visual language. It’s a dizzying balancing act of genres. A romantic comedy where the words “WKOW!” burst across the screen during balletic combat scenes, which involve skateboarding, magical guitars and veganism-induced strength.
Wright maintains an improvisational, lo-fi sensibility amid the absurd thrills. The film is a time capsule of twentysomething life in Toronto, lingering in daggy sharehouses and dive bars, where characters are rugged up against the wintry harshness.
This extends to the Canadian music scene, which was at the forefront of indie rock at the time. Musicians including Beck, Broken Social Scene and the scratch DJ Kid Koala worked on the soundtrack, and one of the most memorable scenes involves Envy’s sultry rendition of Metric’s Black Sheep. There’s a kinetic battle of the bands sequence, where Sex Bob-Omb are wielding their underdog garage riffs against the slick production of the Katayanagi twins, two electronic DJs whose soundwaves transform into massive sonic dragons. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the film’s enduring charms, where creativity feels cobbled together and high stakes all at once.
And there’s a fantastic ensemble cast, populated by actors including Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick – who have since gone on to fame but were not widely known at the time. One of the joys of rewatching is realising that every performance is unforgettable, from Kieran Culkin’s pre-Roman Roy acerbic jabs to Chris Evans’ parody of action star machismo to Mae Whitman screaming, “I’m bi-furious!”
Winstead remains the standout, despite Ramona embodying the tropes of a manic pixie dream girl. Her guarded and melancholic performance makes the audience root for Ramon and her desire for a normal relationship, with someone who won’t turn into a diabolical evil ex.
Scott Pilgrim Vs the World’s blending of trivial irreverence and its maximalist scale is ultimately what makes it so special. Scott never really gets over himself or learns any real lessons but it’s difficult for me to begrudge him that. In the comics Scott has a meaningful confrontation with Nega Scott, an embodiment of all his unsavoury traits. Here, he’s frozen in a film where nobody has really grown up yet.
But that’s also the fun of it. First love is epic and intense, making art with your friends feels like life-and-death, and new ideas burst to life freely. All those fizzy feelings are worth experiencing, even if you might cringe.
• Scott Pilgrim Vs the World is streaming on Apple TV+ in Australia. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here
