So there has been a lot of internet geek speak about Scott Pilgrim Vs The World over the last few days. A lot of it has been gushingly positive reviews, with the occasionally naysayer cropping up here and there. Given that the internet is usually full of negativity, I’d say that the fact the reviews, tweets and blogs have been overwhelmingly positive says that the flick’s pretty good.
The world seems to be coming to and end though because the movie failed to make a zillion-billion dollars at the box office in it’s opening weekend, coming in at #5. Already, in typical over-reactionary internet fashion, people are calling it a “flop” and asking “Is this the end of the comic book movie?” If you ask me, for a genre movie about video gaming hipster slackers, I’d say #5 in North America is pretty darn good to be honest.
The King of The Video Gaming Hipster Slackers, Kevin Smith responded to the decrying of the movie’s performance in the way only he can:
“I’ll say this again: before you waste your time reading what folks who had NOTHING to do with a movie you love have to say about it, Recall that these are the same fools who shouted down FIGHT CLUB & called it a failure when it didn’t make bank. They decried FIREFLY and MALLRATS. Mercifully, the pedantic a**holes of this world only get a weekend to carve you up with their long, sharp knives. And the sh*t they say? I can attest to this truth: not even the filmmaker remembers what they write & say. But the work itself? In this case, PILGRIM? It enters Valhalla – where it’s celebrated religiously for the very audience it was intended: whoever it SPEAKS to. 15 yrs later, when I say “Mallrats was a flop…” people say “It was? But I had it on video.” Nobody remembers or cares what it made; all they care about it was it MEANS to them. So embrace & enjoy a movie that was so obviously crafted with insane affection for its audience. Quit worrying about what the dumb kids say.”
Scott Pilgrim isn’t a movie for everyone, the same way that the books weren’t everyone’s cup of tea. But honestly, in the world we live in, is anything everyone’s cup of tea? And wouldn’t the same people that call it a “flop” be the ones that would be calling Edgar Wright a sellout for making a movie that appealed to everyone?
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World will live on the way that Smith’s flicks and Edgar Wright’s other movies have. They will be loved by those that like them, and who cares about the rest? I think that anyone can enjoy Scott Pilgrim the same way that anyone can enjoy the books: By lightening up and realizing that it’s fun storytelling and silly comedy. Just sit back, escape a bit and enjoy!
Oh, and buy the soundtrack. Damn, that’s a good record.
