"Chicken isn't vegan?"

"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"

A romantic action comedy set in an exaggerated video game world complete with spare lives and cartoon sound effects, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is its own thing, to be sure. Even most films based on actual video games try to gain distance from the looked down upon form, but this film, based on a comic series by Bryan Lee O'Malley and directed by Shaun of the Dead genre buster Edgar Wright, fully embraces the kinetic energy, cheesy dialogue, and stylized action of the gaming world. It brings all these devices and more to the forefront and creates a wonderfully vivid, surreal, play realm in which to set its romantic, explosive, hysterical narrative cocktail.

Michael Cera stars as the film's unlikely titular hero, a heartbroken outsider who plays bass in a ramshackle band called Sex Bob-Omb with a delightfully deadpan Allison Pill and comic foils Johnny Simmons and Mark Webber. His dry-humored, ultra-diminishing roommate, Wallace (Kieran Culkin), painfully lords his superior wealth over the out of work Scott, whom he gleefully points out must even share his bed. In the midst of a somewhat embarrassing fling with high school girl Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), Pilgrim discovers the mysterious and beautiful Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and pursues her in spite of warnings from his nemesis Julie (Aubrey Plaza) and sister Stacey (Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick). Ramona, it turns out, has seven evil exes whom he must defeat in order to successfully date her. These range from a vegan with psychic powers (Brandon Routh) to a movie star with hardcore skating skills (Chris Evans) to a sleazy music exec (Jason Schwartzman) and just about everything in between. All the while, Scott is being haunted by the memory (and reality) of his rock star girlfriend Envy (Brie Larson) and a gnawing sense of unworthiness which plagues his precious little life.

Perhaps its abrasive, fast-paced wit will cast a narrow net but I see no scenario in which Scott Pilgrim vs. the World does not somehow become an honored cult classic in the tradition of Wright's other films. It is, without a doubt, a film of its time. It contains offhand references to Legend of Zelda and "Seinfeld." It moves around in illogical patterns facilitated by narrative flow rather than chronological order. It thinks nothing of having an Indian pirate man fly around with demon women as he throws fireballs in slow motion and sings an original song. In other words, this film will in all likelihood make traditionalists barf. Its charms, though, are ample. It is easily the most entertaining film in a wash of a summer season. Without a doubt, it contains more heartfelt nonsense and adrenaline junkie goodness than any traditional rom-com or action picture all year. And most of all, for every indulged outcry of "They don't make 'em like they used to," there is, of course, the equal and opposite truth that they didn't make 'em like they do now. The Hollywood golden age in all its glory could not create a postmodern whacked out thrill ride such as this. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World makes a serious case for contemporary reflexive funhouse cinema. KO.

Ivan smiles.