Have you ever watched a movie, had a very visceral reaction (be it love or hate), and then found yourself coming around so hard that you completely flipped your opinion on the film? I’ve had this happen a few times over the years and these movies tend to be the ones that I find myself being pulled back to, like an industrial strength tractor beam, to a point where I have a hard time not obsessing over them. Of these cinematic 180 degree kickflips, there is one that really sticks out to me, one where my appraisal of the film was so drastically different on the second viewing that it’s made me question my grasp on who I am. I know how hyperbolic that sounds, but it’s a fairly accurate assessment of how I’ve felt in those moments.
The film that comes to mind is Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, a flick that I caught on opening weekend back in August of 2010. Going into that screening I was carrying a lot of cinematic baggage with me. I had already fallen head over heels in love with Edgar Wright’s two previous feature films, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and had devoured the TV series Spaced. On top of that I was at the peak of my cinephile phase of movie-watching, taking in at least one movie per day and was working on making my way through the catalogs of a ton of classic and maverick directors. I was also a pretty big fan of Arrested Development, in particular Michael Cera’s George Michael Bluth, as well as his turns in Superbad, Juno and Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. I was also very fond of the work of Mark Webber (Snow Day), Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore), Chris Evans (he was the best part of the Fantastic Four films), and Aubrey Plaza (Having already dug her April character on Parks and Recreation.) I was well versed in indie comics and 8-bit video games, and was really into a bunch of the artists on the soundtrack (Beck, Frank Black, Dan the Automator, and T. Rex in particular.) Though I hadn’t specifically read the comics the film was based on, I was well aware of their look and vibe and they were on my to-read list. So if I was ever primed and ready to love a film, it was Scott Pilgrim. But I didn’t. In fact, I kind of hated it.
Looking back, it was clear that I went into my first viewing of the film with some very specific expectations because of all the disparate aspects I already loved. It’s like I had a picture in my head of what I thought the film was going to be and it was defined so narrowly that whenever the movie did something novel or weird it felt like it was bumping up against the guardrail in a racing game of my mind. There were so many things that didn’t work for me in that first viewing. The video game references were not as plentiful or overt as I expected, the comedy was awkward and weird (but not in a way I was vibing with), and the music fell flat for an indiscernible reason. It was hammy and over the top, but not in ways that I seemed to enjoy. There were homages to things that felt off and weird (Ducktales and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.) I just didn’t feel like I “got it”, or that maybe it was aimed at someone outside of the audience demographic I was typically a part of. I left the theater sad because I had hyped myself up so much for the possibility of loving the movie that I felt like I’d missed something important. It was very much the same feeling that I had after walking out of my first screening of the Phantom Menace. With both of those films I wanted to immediately revisit them because I felt like I had “watched” them incorrectly, as if that is even possible.
Unlike the Phantom Menace (which I saw in the theater four times in the first two weeks when it was released), I fought the urge to immediately revisit Scott Pilgrim, and instead decided to give it some time to sit at the back of my brain. I ended up letting a few years go by before I decided it was time to give the film another viewing. Wright’s fourth film, The World’s End, was about to hit cinemas (or his fifth if you’re counting Fist Full of Fingers), and I was re-watching Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz in preparation for his Cornetto trilogy to come to an end. So it seemed like the perfect time to dive back into Scott Pilgrim as well. I ordered a copy of the disc through Netflix and like Scott in the film, waited patiently at the door for it to arrive. Well, no, but it makes for a fun visual.
When I popped the disc in my DVD player to queue up the flick, I did something I typically don;t do and I went to the special features first. There was a short behind the scene bit about getting the main actors ready for playing together as a band and I was fascinated to learn that not only did Michael Cera actually play the bass, but the rest of the cast had like no experience playing instruments or singing at all. They basically leaned to play in a matter of a couple weeks and if I remember correctly it’s actually them playing on the soundtrack of the film. This tidbit floored me as it reminded me of one of my favorite underappreciated films, Light of Day. In that flick Michael J. Fox, Michael McKean, Paul J. Harkins and Joan Jett actually played as the Barbusters. They even toured around Ohio to prep for the film. So to find out that the Sex Bob-ombs were actually playing flipped a switch in my mind. When I hit play on the film something pretty amazing happened. From the 8-bit Universal opening to the titled narration over the stark and dreary Canadian sky I was enthralled. Like, not blinking, glued to the edge of my seat, can’t take my eyes off of the film enthralled. Every subtle bit of sarcasm was hitting me perfectly, every witty retort in the tête-à-tête of the friends grilling Scott about his dating a high school girl just landed for me. This one behind-the-scenes detail was all that I needed to shift my perception of the film, and like puzzle pieces falling into place, everything in the film just seemed…perfect.
Michael Cera, Mark Weber, Alison Pill and Johnny Simmons jamming in prep for filming as Sex Bob-omb
This time around I was amazed by the timing, the performances, and the music. It’s like any preconceived notions I had about being invested in the individual parts or the first dreadful watch evaporated and I was watching it for the first time. As I sat alone in my tiny one-bedroom apartment, sitting on an office chair (my only piece of furniture I could sit on in the living room at the time), I was completely blown away. After the credits rolled, I skipped back to the start and watched it a second…er…technically third time. Not only was I a fan of the flick this time around, I thought it was better than Hot Fuzz, which is high praise from me as I adore that movie.
In the decade since the film clicked with me I’ve devoured the original comic series and probably rewatched the film a dozen more times. I’ve tried to analyze what changed for me, I mean it couldn’t have just been the behind the scenes stuff. In the three years between my initial viewings of the film I went through A LOT of crazy life stuff like losing my sister to suicide, losing 150 pounds, watching my mother as she suffered through a second stroke that permanently disabled her left side, and divorcing my first wife. So, just a few little things that I guess completely altered my view of the world and myself in it. But how this stuff would affect my reception of pop culture is odd to me. I really don;t have any solid answers for why my opinion on the film so drastically changed, but as Scott Pilgrim is now one of my all time favorite movies, I’m glad it did.
