Give 1 Up to “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”!

The cleverly inventive and visually stimulating “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” never lets up for a single minute. It’s the happy “(500) Days of Summer”, with throwback video game music as the film zips and zings its way to the epic battle at the end. It’s hard to know reality from fantasy, as the film blends the two together so well you don’t know what hit you OR Scott Pilgrim!

The film is way more than flashy, video game-centric action. Within the bleeps, pows, and bloops resides a story of love, loss, and the epic struggle to get to first base. Michael Cera stars in the film as, well, Michael Cera. You’ve seen him in Super Bad, Arrested Development, and Nick and Nora’s Horrible Movie. The film opens with Scott Pilgrim dating a high schooler he’s afraid to share any kind of physical intimacy with. (They held hands. Once.) He then meets Ramona, “the woman of his dreams.” That’s when the action kicks into high gear.

Scott must “battle” all of Ramona’s evil exes. It was brilliant! In order for him to win her heart, he has to prove that he’s not a jerk like her past exes (“Boyfriends?” asks Scott. Romana replies, “Exes”.) The interplay between the battleground of the heart and the hand to hand combat found in games like Mortal Kombat and Tekken was amazingly well done. It was well choreographed, inventive, and fun to watch!

Isn’t that the way it is a lot of the times? Guys have to fight into a woman’s heart, often taking a beating in the process. The “pows” and “bams” that flashed onscreen and the glowing weapons that were used exposed the battle that happens in our hearts as we fight in the realm of relationships, beautifully bridging the gap between what happens in our minds and the real world. Sometimes we’re down for the count, and sometimes we need a little “2 player” help. But remember, always use your “1 Up”!