The American Dream. Part 1- Sideways vs Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

Before  I get into writing this, don't worry, I won't be putting these two films against each other in an awkward attempt to make comparisons and come out with a "winner". To be honest, it sounded good in the title so if you are here to see the winner between these two pictures then you might want to stop reading... now.

First things first, I had seen several clips from Sideways in recent lectures and I'm pretty sure I had seen a fragmented version of the film when I was younger but never seen the film the whole way through so it was nice to get that out the way.

I watched the film on the plane from London to Miami so you could say I wasn't in the mood for a drama about  a journey through California that is enriching and endearing. I've always been a fan of Paul Giamatti, loving him in Cinderella Man and The Illusionist but his portrayal of wannabe writer Miles Raymond is fantastic.

I love the wine subtext throughout the film leading to, arguably, the most poignant scene of the film where Miles unravels himself when talking about his favourite grape with love interest Maya (Virginia Madsen).

This film is timeless, if I were to watch it again in ten years it would have the same impact as the one it gave me ten days ago. I love this type of drama where at the end of the narrative nothing particularly has changed on the surface, Miles continues to be a high school English teacher and best friend Jack ties the knot, however the mindset or attitude to life has monumentally differed. Miles realisation that he will never be an the accomplished writer works because with that loss he gains the companionship of Maya.

Okay. Think Critically.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is a film that I actually saw in the cinema at the time of release and to be honest I didn't enjoy it. It felt cheap, a kop-out. I love Shaun of the Dead and don't have a bad word to say about it but with Scott Pilgrim it just felt desperate.

The casting didn't help. Michael Cera as the lead seemed like a strange choice. I guess Edgar Wright needed  an A-lister to get the film off the ground but the reason I enjoyed Shaun of the Dead so much was because it felt new and very fresh. I had never seen Spaced (I have now) so the directorial style really impressed me. This time around I felt it was too much, I understood that the film was heavily influenced by the old Nintendo 64 games etc but it didn't hide an obvious narrative and cliched love story.

That's what was the most disappointing for me because it just felt forced. Whereas in Sideways Maya and Miles had a clear connection and I was urging them to hook up with Scott Pilgrim, the on screen relationship between Scott and Ramona was poor, I didn't understand how or why they would want to be together. They didn't seem to have anything in common. I guess the narrative was something that couldn't be changed as the film is an adaptation of the Comic book but this film just wasn't for me.


Next up: Beetlejuice, Dracula, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Cheers.

God I wish I had a beard like Paul.