PICK OF THE WEEK
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
This sure-fire, crowd-pleasing, cult film in the making is magical fun. 22 and unemployed, bass guitarist Scott (Michael Cera) is dating Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a high school student much to the ridicule of his band mates (Mark Webber and Allison Pill), gay roommate (Kieran Culkin) and sister (Anna Kendrick). When he falls in love with Ramona (Mary Elizabeth WInstead), however, his world turns from battle of the bands to battle of the exes, as Scott must defeat all of Ramona’s previous lovers (hint: one’s a girl) to win her heart. Directed by Edgar Wright (Shawn of the Dead), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is fleet and funny with delightfully surreal moments sprinkled throughout the film to keep the characters and the viewers off guard. Every sound effect—from the ring of a school bell to the sound of a guitar, to Scott thonking his head again a pole—screaming across the screen in big letters making the graphic novel origins of the story come to life. Likewise, all of the action sequences—from an ersatz Bollywood-style musical moment to a live-action video game—are played in an over-the-top style that is highly enjoyable. Even if the plot is little more than step and repeat as Scott meets an ex, gets his ass kicked, and grapples with his messy personal life that results from his discovery, the deadpan Cera makes his geeky charm appealing. The supporting cast is droll and amusing as are all the pop culture music and movie references. One could easily create a drinking game to play while watching Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but the film is intoxicating enough on its own.
ALSO OPENING
Eat Pray Love
Julia Roberts stars as Elizabeth Gilbert in this adaptation of her bestseller about a recently divorced woman who travels to Italy, India and Indonesia (but not Iceland, Israel or Iran) to find food, spirituality, and sex. The film, directed and co-written by Ryan Murphy (Glee), is a long, pretty travelogue, full of fortune cookie philosophies about needing to change and transform. Liz has great fun eating and eating and eating in Italy. And yet, watching Roberts eat a bowl of pasta, or down a pizza (mystic or otherwise) and then try on “big jeans” yields very little pleasure. Roberts doesn’t transcend her stardom for the role, and it is hard to find empathy for her character. Her internal struggle never feels real. In India, she meets an Indian teenager unhappily engaged to be married and Richard from Texas (Richard Jenkins) who calls Liz “Groceries” and teaches her to forgive herself. Both the supporting stories in this segment are more interesting than Liz’s quest for enlightenment. Finally, in Bali, Liz encounters the charming Felipe (Javier Bardem), who romances her, but also forces her to come to some decision about her life. Eat Pray Love is entertaining enough—the film is set in various beautiful locations so armchair travelers will enjoy the trip—but audiences will never have the epiphanies Liz does.
The Expendables
An all-star action cast—comprised of writer/director Sylvester Stallone, plus Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, and Eric Roberts and others—star in this action film, which features lots of action.
Get Low
Robert Duvall plays a man who is not dead, but stages his own funeral.
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, Rebel
A documentary about the playboy who founded the Playboy empire.
Life During Wartime
Todd Solondz’ sequel of sorts to (or is it a remake of?) his earlier film Happiness presents an entirely new cast playing the characters from that 1998 film. Life During Wartime is an uncomfortable, deadpan black comedy full of awkward moments—some of them funny, most of them embarrassing. Rigorously formal, this airless film has various family members interacting and looking for some release—in the form of love, in the form of forgiveness—from the ghosts haunting them. Trish (Alison Janney) is falling in love with Harvey (Michael Lerner), who may be her romantic salvation given that her husband Bill (Ciarán Hinds) was a pedophile who is now being released from jail. She’s coping with a medicated young daughter and a son Timmy (Dylan Riley Snyder) on the cusp of his bar mitzvah. Meanwhile, Joy (Shirley Henderson) is taking a break from her relationship with Allen (Michael Kenneth Williams), but is still troubled by her former flame Andy (Paul Reubens) who visits her from beyond the grave. Solondz often attempts to be an ironist and a dramatist in the same scene, and his strategy never quite pays off. When Bill’s college age son Billy (Chris Marquette) gets into a contest with his friends to see whose parents are the most screwed up, audiences understand why Billy lies about his dad and does not want to play. In the next scene, his father Bill pays Billy a visit but the awkward encounter feels forced. Likewise, when Joy leaves an impassioned voice mail for Allen, the scene’s punchline does not feel like the sucker punch it’s supposed to. Solondz has an aesthetic that can be appreciated, but despite some acidly funny and squirm inducing moments, Life During Wartime is a static film that viewers—like Billy among his college friends—just may not want to play along.
AroundPhilly Staff
