Director: Edgar Wright
Studio: Universal Studios
Copyright: 2011
ASIN: B0041T52S6
Age Level/Interest Age: Grade 9 and up
Genre: Comedy
Viewer’s Annotation: Scott, a pretty average guy, wants to date the awesome Ramona. Unfortunately, he has to defeat her seven evil exes first.
Plot Summary
Scott Pilgrim is a bum. Though he’s in his early twenties, he doesn’t have a job and lives rent-free with a wealthy roommate. He spends much of his time playing in a rock band, Sex Bob-Omb, that’s on the verge of success. At the beginning of the movie he has started dating a high schooler, Knives Chau, because it’s easy. Then he meets the awesome new girl in town, Ramona Flowers. With a little persistence he gets her to go out with him, but soon learns that if they’re going to date he will have to defeat all seven of her evil exes in video game-style combat. At the same time, Sex Bob-Omb is competing in a battle of the bands and Scott is busy avoiding Knives. Among the exes Scott must defeat are an action-movie star, the bass player in Scott’s ex-girlfriend’s famous rock band, and a big shot record label owner. He uses a combination of trickery, skill, and musical prowess in the battles, and later gains the “powers” of love and self-respect by taking responsibility for his actions and committing to his feelings for Ramona.
Critical Evaluation
Scott Pilgrim is a frenetic romp of a movie with a unique visual style, loads of pop culture references, and near-constant laughs. The plot may be thin and nonsensical, but the lightning dialog and video game-style action make it hard to care. The characters are thin, too, but intentionally so—some of them even go by epithets that convey all the information we ever get about them, such as Stephen “The Talent” and Young Neil. Thinness of character is a problem, though, when it comes to the two leads. Scott is supposed to be crazy enough about Ramona to risk his life seven times over, but all we know about her is her looks and her dating history. And why Ramona would like Scott is even more of a mystery—he’s not only a bum, he’s also goofy looking and not particularly nice. The actors can be divided into two groups—those who ham it up (most of the exes and the hilarious Kieran Culkin as Scott’s gay roommate) and those who speak their lines in snarky voices with limited acting involved (notably Michael Cera as Scott, who, though he’s turned down the sweetness here, plays essentially the same character in every one of his movies).
The script is fast-paced and consistently funny, combining sarcasm, puns, and rhyming with absurd situations. In my favorite scene Scott fights an evil ex with “vegan powers” (earned at the “Vegan Academy,” of course). His vegan powers make him too strong for Scott, who tricks him into drinking dairy (by claiming the coffee he’s offering contains only soymilk). This breach brings the “Vegan Police” into fray, and Scott crows in triumph, “You once were a ve-gone, but now you will be gone!”
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Challenge Issues: Sexual and homosexual content, language, mild violence
In the defense file, I will include my library's selection policy, ALA's Library Bill of Rights, ALA's guidelines on free access to libraries for minors (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/freeaccesslibraries.cfm), and ALA's strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips/index.cfm). I will also include my library's reconsideration form, in case challenges to this book cannot be defused with "tea and sympathy." I'll include positive reviews from The New York Times, Christianity Today, Rolling Stone, USA Today, and The Village Voice.
About the Author: N/A
Why is this title included?
This popular, well-reviewed movie is based on a popular series of graphic novels and has a popular young actor as its lead. Its PG-13 rating indicates that it targets high school students.