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Geek movies come and go but “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is what those movies only wish they could be when they grow up.

Edgar Wright‘s video-game/comic-based fantasy-action-comedy, upon first glance, seems like a lot of things it’s not: A film aimed only at nerds, a film that’s trying to play into too many genres, and another Michael Cera as an awkward teen movie. It’s none of those things. It’s a perfectly finessed movie that anyone can enjoy. I’m not a comic nerd or a video game nerd and I thought it was the best (and funniest) movie I’ve seen this summer.

The story goes something like this: Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is kind of a slacker. He’s in a band and has no where to sleep but in the same bed as his gay roommate.  Then falls for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). She’s a complicated girl. But Scott’s willing to fight for her. Literally. In order to be with Ramona, he has to defeat her seven evil exes (including Chris Evans, Jason Schwartzman and Brandon Routh).

One by one,  Scott takes on the exes in a classic video-game way, earning coins and 1-ups as he defeats them. By the seventh evil ex (Schwartzman) the battle has turned from one of merely love into one of self respect. Scott defeats the final ex and gets the girl. No spoilers there as the movie is based on the series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley. So stop complaining I ruined the ending.

It’s clear that the filmmakers loved this movie. They put their hearts and souls into it. It’s actually quite rare to find a movie that is so well-done you can pick up on that. I did. And the casting was perfect. There could’ve be no other Pilgrim but Cera. And Scott’s bandmates and friends (including Anna Kendrick, Allison Pill and Kieran Culkin) were perfect too. Culkin added a lot of humor as the gay roommate.

See this movie. Seriously. For some reason it only opened in 5th place this weekend. That’s a travesty. Skip “Eat Pray Love” and geek out with Scott Pilgrim.

My Rating: A+

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