Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a deft blend of action, comedy and music based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Michael Cera plays the title character, a slacker musician in an indie rock band who starts dating the girl of his dreams (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), but must defeat her seven evil exes if he wants to win her heart.
Scott’s journey to winning the heart of Ramona involves achieving enough self-awareness, self respect and maturity along the way that he doesn’t become just another evil ex himself. As he fights his way through the “League of Evil Exes,” Scott gets stronger and stronger with each defeat. Newcomer Satya Bhabha was cast as Ramona’s First Evil Ex, Matthew Patel (from her junior high school days), who takes Scott by surprise when he breaks through the ceiling at a club. Cera explains Matthew’s presence at the club: “The First Evil Ex that shows up is Patel, and it’s out of nowhere. You’re just getting used to this world, and everything’s starting to make sense. Then all of a sudden, it all doesn’t make sense at all, and people are flying through the air.”
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World marks the first time that Chris Evans portrays a super-villain. Known for his roles in the action flicks Fantastic Four and The Losers, and as the title superhero in the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger, Evans was happy to mix it up with this part. He was cast to play the ultimate caricature of an action star as Ramona’s Second Evil Ex, the pro-skateboarder turned action hero/ultimate tool: Lucas Lee. Evans discusses his interest in joining the action-comedy: “I get to be big and over-the-top and ridiculous. Lucas is very obnoxious and the character you love to hate.”
While many performers are quick to point out that they tried to do a majority of their own stunts, Evans acknowledges that the film’s outrageous feats
required the expertise of some athletic and unsung heroes: the stunt performers. “I would have no career without stuntmen, based on the movies I’ve made,” he says. “God bless ’em all. They’re crazy. We actually had a stunt where Michael’s stuntman fell from a building eight times over. It looked like it would break me in half, but this guy stood up, brushed himself off and said, ‘Let’s do it again.’”
Next up, Superman himself, Brandon Routh, joined the cast as Ramona’s Third Evil Ex: Todd Ingram. A power vegan who is now dating Envy Adams and plays bass for The Clash at Demonhead, the bleached blonde telekinetic is as arrogant as he is vapid. While Scott knows he can never vanquish Todd through a flurry of side punches and combination of roundhouse kicks, he does believe he can outsmart him.
Though Scott is initially certain that Ramona’s League of Evil Exes only consists of guys whom she’s dated, he gets a lethal surprise when the Fourth Evil Ex, Roxy Richter, shows up and challenges him to a fight to the finish. Spewing invectives and brandishing a lethal chain belt, Roxy’s martial arts skills are as deadly as her vicious tongue. Parenthood’s Mae Whitman (rejoining Cera, her former co-star on television’s Arrested Development) was brought aboard the production as the scorned lover/invisibility-cloaked ex. Much like Ramona’s other exes, Roxy doesn’t feel threatened by Scott’s presence; she just wants to annihilate anyone who tries to date the girl who broke her heart. Whitman explains: “It’s beyond the threat level now. Roxy knows that she’s lost Ramona, but she just can’t stand the thought of it. The most upsetting part for her is when Ramona says, ‘Well, it wasn’t a big deal; it didn’t even count.’ That’s what makes Roxy so angry: her legacy with Ramona gets diminished so quickly.”
Another one of Ramona’s experimental phases is revealed by the arrival of the next exes. Enter Evil Exes No. 5 and No. 6, Kyle and Ken Katayanagi, played by identical twins Keita and Shota Saito. The final puppets in Gideon’s army that Scott must defeat, the Katayanagi brothers are the last battle before Scott alone must confront the most evil of exes. But first, to destroy the twins, Scott and his band, Sex Bob-Omb, go amp versus amp in a battle-of-the-bands fight to the finish. Two bands enter and one band leaves in an epic struggle that pits the Katayanagi’s white dragon avatars against Sex Bob-Omb’s green-eyed yeti.
If Scott can survive his battles with all of these exes, he will advance to the bonus round to meet and fight Gideon Graves, the evil ex who wields the most power over Ramona. Cera describes Gideon: “He’s the evil ex boyfriend behind it all, the one who Scott can’t stand the most, and Jason Schwartzman is fantastic in the role because he is so funny and charming and detestable all at the same time.” It doesn’t help matters that Gideon is interested in signing Sex Bob-Omb to his record label. Schwartzman discusses his manipulative character: “Gideon is so good at being bad because he’s actually kind of likeable. Passive-aggressive…like a mosquito bite. He won’t bother you, but if you start to scratch him, you’re in for a rough night. You might start to bleed. Scott unleashes the dark side of Gideon.”
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is now showing on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.
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