The Scott Pilgrim Phenomenon
Article★ Kenzie Gay★ @kenzwrites★ 9 Minutes
This year, I’ve really tried to make an effort to explore new media I haven’t seen or heard before. Just this Summer alone I’ve discovered Dropout TV, a plethora of new movies, the timeless discography that is Jefferson Airplane, and one of the most entertaining yet insightful podcasts I’ve ever enjoyed: The Trypod hosted by Keith Habersberger, Zach Kornfeld, and Rainie Toll of The Try Guys.
During a recent binge of older episodes, specifically in the one titled “Our Experience at Buzzfeed”, a point made by Kornfeld really got me thinking and inspired. Within the episode, he and his co-hosts are discussing art and the pressures, expectations, and burnout that comes with it along with how one even measures success in creative projects. They all discussed how commercial success (the number of streams an album gets, the amount of money a film makes in the box office, etc.) doesn’t always equate to a project’s actual accomplishments and impact. Specifically, Kornfeld referenced the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and that brings us to today’s topic: the movie, its initial box office bomb, and its sudden popularity that came years later. AKA the Scott Pilgrim Phenomenon.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World initially released in August of 2010 and with a budget of between 60-85 million dollars, the film only grossed 51.7 million, labeling it as a huge bomb; a failure in the eyes of the industry. Many critics thought it was funny but too weird, cringey, and niche at the time of its release.
Over the years, however, and specifically between 2019-2020, the film found itself having a huge resurgence amongst Gen Z crowds who may have been too young to appreciate the movie when it was first in theaters. I was part of this demographic and I distinctly remember seeing a clip on Tiktok during quarantine in March of 2020, figuring a new movie beat doom scrolling all day. That night, I nestled down and watched it on my laptop and my life was forever changed. Sitting here now, I still can’t quit understand how the movie flopped so hard in the beginning because it so magnetizing and “cult classic”-y: and there’s three major reasons as to why (in my opinion, of course).
1 - Stacked Cast
The stacked cast is one of the biggest notions of the movie and it’s also a big head-scratcher considering its initial performance that was deemed as poor. It stars Michael Cera, who was already on the up and up for his roles in Superbad (2007) and Juno (2007). Apart from him, the cast was also composed of established actors such as Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Sky High, Final Destination 3), Kieran Culkin (Home Alone, She’s All That, Father of the Bride), Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Not Another Teen Movie), Brie Larson (13 Going on 30, The Gambler), Anna Kendrick (Twilight), Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Fantastic Mr. Fox), Mae Whitman (Parenthood, Tinker Bell), Johnny Simmons (Jennifer’s Body, Evan Almighty), and more. Granted, these people weren’t nearly as big of names as they are now but they should have been enough to draw more people in and to uphold likeability for the film.
Furthermore, each member of the cast embodied their character and well: Cera perfectly portrayed the awkward, childish, nerdy character of Scott Pilgrim. Winstead embraced the calm, cool, and mysterious nature of Ramona Flowers. Culkin did a great job at providing comedic relief through the sassy, blunt, judgmental character of Wallace Wells. Evans depicted the whole yoked up, arrogant facade of Lucas Lee. Brie Larson characterized Envy Adams as a mean, iconic, force. Even actress Ellen Wong who played Knives Chau did an excellent job at bringing the quirky, awkward teenager to life and she wasn’t much of a name in 2010. In fact, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World is considered to be her breakout role.
(from left to right) Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers, Brie Larson as Envy Adams, Chris Evans as Lucas Lee, Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells, and Ellen Wong as Knives Chau
2 - Details, Details, Details
Details are everything to both film buffs and not - especially when a movie is an adaptation of a previous work whether it be a video game, an older film, or in this case, a graphic novel series. The series, which was written by Bryan Lee O’Malley and published throughout 2004-2010, is really a core feeling of the movie, which is ideal since many adaptations/interpretations/remakes miss that aspect because of numerous characteristics such as core events being written out, wrong casting, anticlimactic scenes that don’t translate as well, etc. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World really embraces its preceding book series and all of its nerdy glory - most of which lies in the little easter eggs that go over many people’s heads.
First and foremost, the costume design, hair, makeup, and other physical details are almost exact to the original illustrations. Scott has his signature green shirt, his red bass guitar, his shaggy brown hair, and his semi-ridiculous parka. Ramona has her crossbody bag, spunky-colored hair that ranges from blue to pink, and her navy green jacket. Even with Envy, who is showcased to have a deep red color to her hair in contrast to the platinum blonde the movie has, is still so very obviously Envy Adams and no one else due to her wardrobe down to the jewelry. This goes for less-occurring characters, too, like Gideon, Young Neil, and Kim.
(from left to right) Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, and Envy Adams drawn by author/illustrator Bryan Lee O’Malley
Beyond the characters and their physicality, there’s also another detail and fun fact I keep in my back pocket that I think really explains the amount of dedication and artistry that went into production. If you watch and pay attention closely, you’ll notice that the characters whether it’s Scott or a one-scene role like Matthew Patel barely blink. This is to further convey the atmosphere of a comic book, which contributes to the overall vibe the director and crew worked so hard to build.
Editor's Note - I think it’s extremely cool that two characters are named after members of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Young Neil (Neil Young) and Stephen Stills. That’s not from the film’s writers but from the original author. I just wanted to note that. Also the soundtrack rocks. Thanks.3 - Pure Comedy
For this category, I may as well just write the words “Wallace Wells” and leave it at that. Comedy is a huge aspect of this movie that almost gets glossed over because of people’s immediate instinct to mark it as weird or too specific. The writing is tried and true comedy despite the film’s category as an action/adventure movie and most of this resides within the character of Wallace Wells, whom I mentioned to be played by Kieran Culkin earlier. In a nutshell, the movie uses Wallace as the stereotypical Gay side character meant for comedic relief but it’s done in a tasteful and non harmful way. He is chock full of witty comebacks and commentary that is so quick, it’s almost unbelievable.
One of the best scenes that highlights the stellar comedy writing both within Wallace’s character but also others’ is when Scott fights one of Ramona’s “Evil Exes”, Lucas Lee. From Wallace’s simultaneous priority on Lucas Lee and Scott to Lucas’ satirical “dude bro” aura to Ramona’s impending dread, it’s a great encapsulation on the style and dynamic between characters that’s elevated from humor and it really just grazes the tip of the iceberg.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a classic, hilarious, well rounded movie and there’s no way around that. This phenomenon of it doing a nose dive in the beginning then reaching star-status a decade later is a really great reminder that all of us, especially those in creative fields and positions, need and that is the fact that money and numbers do not define success for projects related to film, music, etc. The impact, the influence, the community, and the gratification it fosters is what matters most and what should determine the level of accomplishment. I hope more people come to this conclusion and, of course, I hope more people hop on the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World train.
