"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and "Dinner for Schmucks"

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - Back in April I opened my review of "Kick-Ass" by saying that it was a difficult film for me to review, in part because it was so unlike anything I'd ever seen. Well now "Kick-Ass" has a companion. It's nowhere near as profane (f-words are bleeped and accompanied by black bars in this movie), the violence is decidedly less brutal (instead of being soaked with blood the dead simply explode into coins), and it's decidedly less morally ambiguous. Still, this is one seriously ambitious and unique film aimed at a generation that grew up on comic books and video games.
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a 22 year old bass player for a Toronto band named Sex Bob-Omb, he has a gay roommate named Wallace (Kieran Culkin), and Scott is dating a 17 year old girl named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). In spite of his professed innocence ("We almost held hands once but then she got too embarrassed"), Scott's dating of Knives is meant with judgment from everyone in his life, particularly his gossipy sister Stacey (Anna Kendrick). This doesn't stop he and Knives from enjoying their time together, playing interactive video games at the local arcade. Despite his complete lack of money or potential for going seemingly anywhere with his band, Scott feels quite content. Until he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, "Live Free or Die Hard"). Instantly smitten, Scott knows what he must do. Order a package from Amazon (Ramona's employer) in hopes that she'll deliver it so that he may ask her out. He'll get around to breaking up with Knives eventually. The thought of actually doing it just makes him queasy right now.
Scott's nerdiness and insecurity around Ramona actually wins her over because she's glad to finally be dating a nice guy. What Scott quickly learns though is just how different he really is from Ramona's exes. When a battle of the bands is invaded by Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), the first of her "seven evil exes," Scott's commitment to Ramona is put to the test. Once Matthew is dispatched, Ramona explains to Scott that in order for them to continue dating he may have to "defeat" all seven. In the words of so many video games, "Fight."
From the Universal logo at the film's beginning, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is a movie that aims to please video game nerds. Being one himself, Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead" and 2007 Bob Award Best Picture winner "Hot Fuzz") is the perfect director for this. But you don't have to be one to love this film. I know that because I wasn't. My nerdiness was always invested more into movies and television. Video games were just something fun to do every once in awhile. Wright wants all geeks to enjoy this movie and at least for me, he most definitely succeeded.
Based on a series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, the screenplay by Wright and Michael Bacall is sharp and funny, with Wright's direction keeping the film on the fly. The appearance on the screen of words you would normally see flashing across fighting games doesn't end up being gimmicky but feels perfectly natural.
The cast obviously knew exactly what Wright was after as well. Cera, doing what he does best, is an unconventional action hero to be sure, but that's just what this movie needs. Winstead does well to not try to make Ramona more likeable than she should be. She is likeable, but she's also maddening and we fully understand Scott's frustrations with her. With his dry delivery, Culkin almost walks away with the movie and the rest of the cast provide wonderful touches throughout. Most notable are Ramona's evil exes, particularly Chris Evans, an absolutely hilarious Brandon Routh ("Superman Returns") as an ex with vegan powers, and playing the most evil ex of all, Jason Schwartzman.
"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is the must see movie of the moment for geeks everywhere. I think what makes it a real achievement is what I realized near the film's end. You know how when you go to a friend's house and they're in the middle of a game that they're not quite ready to pause yet? You're starving so all you want to do is get to Taco Bell. And it's a nice day outside on top of it. Let's get out of here! But you wait and wait and remember just how boring it is to watch someone else play a video game. For the first time in history watching a video game you're not playing is an absolute blast. Well done, Edgar Wright. 9/10.

Dinner for Schmucks - Most comedies fall into one of three categories. There are the very funny, the hit and miss, and the aggressively unfunny. The thing about the aggressively unfunny ones are that not only do you not laugh, you feel a bit irritated, maybe even a little angry at their constant attempts to make you laugh that completely miss.
The most interesting thing about "Dinner for Schmucks" is that it's an anomaly. It doesn't fall into any of the three categories. I don't really recall laughing at anything particularly, but not because it's unfunny. I didn't groan or roll my eyes at a gag that fell flat. Other than occasionally causing me to smile just a little bit and at one point become very uncomfortable, "Dinner for Schmucks" didn't make me feel much of anything. It's just sort of there to look at. It will be the perfect movie to have on your TV while you pay your bills, read magazine articles, or talk to people on the phone. You kind of want to see some bits here and there but you really can just ignore it if you want to.
Based on the French comedy "The Dinner Game," this is the story of an eager company man named Tim (Paul Rudd). With a coveted position having just opened, Tim's making a strong move for it. He impresses his boss (Bruce Greenwood) by telling him he's in talks with a very wealthy Swiss businessman (David Walliams). The promotion is his if he can just do one more thing. Every month the boss hosts a dinner with the other top men in the company. Each man brings a guest. Someone "extraordinary." Extraordinarily stupid. At the end of the night one guest is bestowed with a trophy, whose true meaning is only understood to the men from the company. It's the prize for the biggest idiot.
Tim is very uncomfortable with this but he desperately wants that promotion. When he quite literally runs into Barry (Steve Carell) the day before the dinner and sees that Barry would be the perfect guest, Tim can't help but invite him. Tim's girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) is infuriated by the very idea of the dinner and storms out of their apartment. The rest of the film involves Tim's attempts to win Julie back, get the promotion, and Barry's disastrous attempts to help him do both, with the dinner itself acting as the film's finale.
Rudd is one of the best comic actors working today. Always relateable as the straight man, he delivers a solid performance here. Carell meanwhile is sweet, well meaning, and incredibly annoying. It's a bit like Bill Murray in "What About Bob?" except the results of his actions are decidedly different and Bob was actually a pretty smart guy in the end. Eager to help and with a constant smile on his face, Barry unwittingly creates a nightmare for Tim that could destroy his relationship with Julie as well as his job. Along the way we meet a highly eccentric artist (Jemain Clement, "Flight of the Conchords") and Barry's manipulative boss Therman (Zach Galifianakis), who give Barry a run for his money in the schmuck department.
In terms of the casting and the premise, this movie really ought to be a comic slam dunk. But it never really gets going. The setup seems to take ages and in spite of the best efforts of the actors it never becomes truly funny. The script by David Guion and David Handelman seems content to just play it safe and not really approach something really funny, subtly or uproariously. It's just kind of pleasant and director Jay Roach ("Austin Powers," "Meet the Parents") just rolls along with it.
The character I really wanted to see more of didn't arrive until the dinner. As a blind swordsman, Chris O'Dowd ("The IT Crowd") seemed worthy of a little more screen time because he seemed to be creating a pretty interesting character there. With a script that really went for it, he, like every other character in "Dinner for Schmucks," could have been brilliantly funny.
While clearly not aggressively unfunny, "Dinner for Schmucks" could have been great if it had just been aggressive at all. As it is, it will do just fine as you glance at it on your TV screen while you figure out what to eat for dinner. 6/10.