While Edgar Wright’s blissfully entertaining “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” gets rightfully noticed for its narrative-pushing approach, Bryan Lee O’Malley’s source material is sometimes overlooked. And even as much as I loved the film, I still haven’t gotten around to the text, and I would imagine that might be the case for some of you as well. So how exactly does the film compare to the original six-volume series? Pretty well, according to Cinefix.
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The latest edition of “What’s the Difference” reveals that although they both have their notable differences, Wright’s film and O’Malley’s graphic novels actually compliment one another. The general story frame is pretty much the same, with our titular plucky Canadian 20-something Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) having to muster up the courage to fight off the seven evil exes of his wannabe-girlfriend Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in order to win her love and affection. But where the action takes place over the course of a week in Wright’s adaptation, O’Malley’s original novels have the plot happening throughout the span of one year. And with the film’s plot squarely focused on Scott earning Ramona’s love, O’Malley’s subplots centered on Sex Bob-omb’s album recording, Scott’s job as a dishwasher, Scott’s family and Kim’s (Alison Pill) living situation don’t make the transition from page-to-screen. When you have to cut down six books into a two-hour film, however, such restraints are understandable.
With a brisk pace that’s almost as fast and tightly edited as the film itself, the newest video essay from Cinefix is a fun and informative 13-minute look at the 2009 film and its counterpart inspiration. It respects both by not pointing out their flaws but rather their differences, noting that neither is better or worse, just a little different. In a day and age where one thing automatically has to be better than the other on the Internet, that’s rather refreshing. Whether you’ve never read the book or flipped through it a thousand times by now, this is a rewarding little comparison video, and one that earns a pretty high score. Check it out below.