Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Unfortunately, this movie captures what it’s like to date in your 20s.

I’ve seen this movie a thousand times. It’s my favorite Edgar Wright film - funnier than Shaun of the Dead, tighter than Hot Fuzz, more inventive than anything else he’s done. The cast is incredible across the board, stacked with people who were about to become huge. And the Beck soundtrack is one I’ve returned to year after year. It’s permanently lodged in my brain.

I still don’t really know what the ending is trying to say. I’ve read the comic. I watched the Netflix miniseries. I’m still not exactly sure what Scott earns or learns or whether the film thinks he deserves Ramona. It’s one of the most misunderstood movies of all time - people either miss that Scott is kind of the villain of his own story, or they overcorrect and act like the film doesn’t know that. It knows. I think. Mostly.

I see myself in all these characters, unfortunately. Including Scott. I’m not proud of how I acted in my twenties, and this movie captures something painfully accurate about dating during that time - the selfishness, the self-mythology, the way you can hurt people while convinced you’re the hero.

It’s a comedy about being shitty when you’re young. It’s very funny. It’s also a mirror I didn’t always want to look into.

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