Hi, Justin here.
The generation that I come from has had a ridiculously hard time being defined. As a 20-something now, I have watched the media for generations trying to peg us. Are we the Digital Generation? Generation Y? The 9/11 Generation? The War on Terror Generation? The Surveillance Generation? It's surprisingly much more difficult than with the previous Gen-Xers previously, the Me-Generation, or the Boomers. I'm sure there will be a label soon enough.
As hard as it is to define us, it is just as difficult to categorize or define Scott Pilgrim vs. The World to someone outside of whatever it is we are. I'm a big fan of the comic series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, and I think this was probably the best comics-to-movie adaptation that has come out. I have always maintained that Scott Pilgrim is important for speaking to my generation in a way that is honest, meaningful, and while full of the things we love, does not pander to us. Pilgrim is full of video game jokes that anyone from my demographic will instantly get. Early in the movie, a quick melody from Zelda elicited a Pavlovian chuckle. There's one scene that lovingly homages Seinfeld, a series that I watched every day after school from High School through College. The way that Wright/Malley capture the ludicrousness of the indie-rock set also very familiar, as Knives Chau says, “I didn't even know good music existed until 2 months ago!”
But beyond the pop-culture in jokes, Scott Pilgrim speaks to our generational values in a way other movies have not. Scott's roommate Wallace is gay, and while it is used primarily for comic effect, it is never a big deal or something that is played as a negative. Most people I know around my age don't care about other peoples' sexual orientation at all. One character is bi-curious, I would argue that at no time in American history has sexuality been as fluid as it is now. The movie has anti-corporate sentiment in how it relates to music, and like all of Wright's work, pop-culture is shown as a key way in which we define ourselves.
I hope that Scott Pilgrim finds the audience it speaks to eventually, but I'm sure that if this doesn't completely die in the theater, then the most we can hope for is a few screens in each city showing it for the rest of the summer. It's a great movie, and one that I'm sure I'll come back to time and again. It's not a stretch to imagine myself showing this to children 20 years from now on my dusty old PS3 to explain to them what the heady days of the early twenty-teens were like.
The same night, I also went to see The Expendables, AKA the number 2 most anticipated movie by me this summer behind Pilgrim. I've been trying to get pumped up for this by watching some vintage 80's action on Netflix last weekend. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of movies I hadn't seen which starred members of the ensemble Expendables cast. On Vern's recommendation, we watched Best of the Best and Best of the Best 2. I disagree with him saying that 2 was better though... 1 was much much better, and genuinely affecting in the end in a very cheesy way. We also caught Rocky IV which featured both Stallone and Lundgren. It's a great movie when watched with a certain post-action movie narrative in mind.
The Expendables is a lot of fun. But I wouldn't call it a post-action movie crazy-time experience like the most excellent Rambo (2008). Instead, The Expendables has all of the 80's action movie elements played exactly for what they are. The most comprehensible comparison I can offer is that The Expendables is like listening to a band play a jazz standard. There is a very specific structure it must have in how it starts and ends and the order in which the soloists take turns. The melody is familiar and the soloists only have so much room to work with during their solos. However, there is still room for improvisation. Also, lots of stuff gets blown up at the end.
The cast is the best part of the movie. It's fun watching these guys all work together, and to see how the fights are paired up. Lundgren vs. Li gives us the tallest vs. the shortest and Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Randy Couture gives us a fantasy WWE vs. MMA match-up. I only wish Eric Roberts had brought some of his karate skills to a fight as well, though he does OK as the villainous suit. I found myself watching him in particular and thinking that if I were a newly minted Caribbean drug lord that even if I was trying to look all imperial and intimidating that I would probably still wear shorts. But that's beside the point, just like this movie is. There's nothing meaningful to be said here, there's no post-macho examination of male friendship, just a big dumb 80's action movie. I don't think I've ever wanted a sequel so bad. Also, I hope there's a VHS release of this.
Walking out of the theater, Miranda said she didn't like it as much as she thought she would have. I suggested that the only elements missing from this were time and nostalgia.