Books vs. Movies
In this podcast we set out to answer the age old question: is the book really always better than the movie?
Books vs. Movies
Ep. 27 Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley vs. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Can a film adaptation ever truly capture the essence of its source material? Join me, Lluvia, as I candidly share my thoughts on the beloved Scott Pilgrim graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley and their 2010 film adaptation, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Despite the film's cult status among my friends, I offer a different perspective, discussing the expansive narrative of the six graphic novels and the inherent challenges of condensing such a detailed story into a two-hour movie. We'll explore Scott's relationships and personal growth in the graphic novels, and acknowledge some elements that haven't aged well over time.
Ever wondered how Scott's battles with Evil Exes Todd Ingram and Roxy Richter differ between the graphic novels and the film? This episode dives into the key differences, from Scott's relationship with Envy Adams to the unique twists in Todd and Roxy's showdowns. The graphic novels present a richer context with more complex subplots, such as Knives' dad seeking revenge and the iconic "power of love" moment with Ramona. We'll also compare Ramona’s journey of self-improvement and the evolution of the band Sex Bob-Omb, highlighting the more nuanced character development in the graphic novels versus the film.
As I reflect on my evolving opinions about the Scott Pilgrim series, I note how the graphic novels have improved over time, in contrast to the film’s perceived shortcomings. Despite an all-star cast, the film is seen as lacking in character depth and overall impact. For those seeking a fresh perspective, I recommend the animated miniseries, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, filled with engaging Easter eggs and featuring the return of the original film's actors. Lastly, I preview our next discussion on A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley and its film adaptation, Lion. Don't miss it!
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Welcome to Books vs Movies, the podcast where I set out to answer the age-old question is a book really always better than the movie? I'm Yuvia, an actress and book lover based out of New York City, and today I will be talking about the Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels by Brian Lee O'Malley and its 2010 adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Hi everyone, so I have a lot to talk about today and I think it makes sense. I mean, I'm talking about a series of six graphic novels and obviously there's going to be a lot of changes, because you're not going to be able to fit every single thing that happens in every single one of those graphic novels into the movie. So, that being said, there are a lot of differences, and so I'm going to go ahead and get started, and I do want to say I this episode might get a lot of hate, because I myself hate the movie Scott Pilgrim versus the world. I said it. I know it's very beloved. Most of my friends love it, like they love this movie. They ride or die for this movie. They go hard for this movie, and I never understood why. I watched it with them several times because when it came out like, they loved it and they wanted to watch it all the time and I did and I just I kept my feelings to myself because they loved it and I didn't. You know they loved it and I didn't want to take that joy away from them of watching it. But it's been long enough. It's been 14 years since the movie came out. Friends that are listening to this. I think it's time. You know I really do not like this movie, so why would I review this Good question.
Speaker 1:So I watched Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, which is the TV animated series that came out in 2023. And I was kind of just curious about it. I wasn really do not want to talk about the movie. I was like you know what I feel, like I need to challenge myself and watch the movie and you know I'm gonna have to talk about things that I don't like on this podcast. I feel like sometimes, and I feel like I also need to talk about more popular things, because some of the stuff I've talked about isn't so well known. So you know, I want to make sure I'm expanding my reach here. But yeah, so I was like you know what, I'm going to challenge myself, I'm going to watch it. See how I feel about it, and so let's get into it. Have my feelings towards this movie changed? We'll find out. How did I feel about the graphic novels? We'll find out. So let's get started. So the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels it's a series of six graphic novels. The first one was published in 2004 and the last one was published in 2010, the same year that the film came out. So, yeah, it took a span of six years for all six graphic novels to be published and released out into the world.
Speaker 1:The graphic novels follow Scott Pilgrim as he navigates life. He's in a band. He's a bass player for the Sex Bob-Ombz. He dated the drummer of the Sex Bob-Ombz when they were in high school, but now he's currently dating Knives Chow, who is 17 and in high school herself at the moment. Then he meets Ramona Flowers and he is instantly smitten by her and he wants to be with her. So they do eventually get together. But in order to be with Ramona and have that happy ending that he so wants to have with her, he needs to fight her seven evil exes, and that's what he sets out to do. Each graphic novel is dedicated to different aspects of the relationship, as well as actually not just the relationship. It focuses on different aspects of Scott's life in general His relationship with Ramona, his relationship with Knives, his relationship with his friends and trying to find a job and all you know things that any 23-year-old 22 slash 23 year old would need to go through.
Speaker 1:Scott Pilgrim versus the world is the 2010 adaptation of the graphic novels and it follows a young man who must defeat his new girlfriend seven evil exes in order to win her heart. And yeah, I mean it sounds like it's pretty faithful and it's actually quite different. And, like I said, a lot of this. I can understand why the differences were made, because obviously, each to include every single detail, that's, in every single graphic novel, would have made this. Like you know, this movie is already about two hours long and they fit in six graphic novels into this two hour long movie. Yeah, there's a lot in here and the graphic novel there's, even though there's seven evil exes. There are six graphic novels because one graphic novel so two of the seven evil exes are twins, so he does fight the twins at the same time, so that takes place in graphic novel number five. So then number six focuses on evil X number seven. So let's get into it.
Speaker 1:I think this is definitely going to beat out after we collided. In terms of length, I feel like this is going to be my longest episode. We'll see if I'm right, but I have a feeling, because I'm just looking at my notes, like I even showed Orlando my notes yesterday and I was like these are my notes for Scott Pilgrim versus the notes for every other book that I've reviewed, and he just like turned around in shock because it's it's a lot of notes. So anyway, let's get into it.
Speaker 1:I will say there are some things that did not age as well, and I'm definitely not one of those people that believes in like canceling something that hasn't aged well, anything like that. There are some things that are like overtly offensive and should definitely be canceled. And then there's some things that are like that is definitely a reflection of its time and that's all it is. We know better now. We don't need to cancel something from the past. So I do want to say that there are definitely some things that did not age as well, and one of them is the fact that Scott Pilgrim is a 23-year-old in the movie. He's 22 in the graphic novels, but he does eventually turn 23 through the course of the series.
Speaker 1:This is a 20-something-year-old man dating a 17-year-old high school school girl. It is uncomfortable in the graphic novel, don't get me wrong, but the film, oh my goodness the film. But like re-watching it, me and Orlando were just like this is really icky. And especially like the way that not only Scott but like his friends talk about this 17 year old girl and whether or not they've, like, had sex already. It's like you guys, why are like none of you calling him out? And like.
Speaker 1:This movie came out when I was 19 years old, so even as like watching it back then, like I was like, oh yeah, he's 23, dating a high school student. Like I did not think anything of it. But now, 14 years later, like I was just like this is really uncomfortable. I don't like this and I don't like the way they're talking about this 17 year old girl and what she and her 23 year old boyfriend have done together. Like this is so gross. It was really uncomfortable watching it. So that was something that it is uncomfortable in the graphic novels, but like the film, definitely like amps. That feeling of like this is really icky. I don't. We should, we should. Can we drop this subject Like this is not okay for a man of this age to be dating this little high school girl. So anyway, that was just really uncomfortable, but I will say so.
Speaker 1:The way I handled this was obviously because the library did not have like the big edition with all the graphic novels in it. Like it didn't have that edition, I had to read each graphic novel individually. So the way I tackled this was I would read one of the graphic novels and then just watch the part of the film that corresponded to that graphic novel. So the first hour of the film is dedicated to graphic novels one and two and I want to say out of that hour, the majority is graphic novel number one, which makes sense because we need most of what's found in graphic novel number one since it is a lot of setup and backstory that we need to meet these characters. So a good chunk of that hour is dedicated to just the first graphic novel and then, like I want to say, it's like 45 minutes of the first hour is graphic novel number one, and then the last 15 minutes of that hour are graphic novel number two, and then I will say the ones I get like then on it happens so fast.
Speaker 1:It's just like the battle and then it's over, which is, I think, one of the reasons why I didn't like this film. Like it just got so repetitive to me. It's like, okay, we get it, you have to fight seven evil likes boyfriends. Like we get it, move on. But anyway, so yeah. So, like I was literally timing it, graphic novel number three took up 10 minutes of the film. Graphic novel number four and number five each took five minutes of screen time and then the last, however many, remaining runtime of that is graphic novel number seven. So yeah, like graphic novels three, four and five, but especially four and five, just get like completely forgotten, like you don't remember them. They don't exist, pretty much.
Speaker 1:So anyway, just wanted to say that scott's ex-girlfriend, who is mb adams we end up finding out that she's dating ramona's evil ex number three. But anyway, in the film it's revealed pretty early on that she's his ex-girlfriend. And the graphic novels we don't like she's hinted at, people are keep like mentioning like oh, scott's evil ex, scott's evil ex, but she's his ex-girlfriend. In the graphic novels we don't like she's hinted at, people keep like mentioning like oh, scott's evil ex, scott's evil ex, but she's not revealed until the very end of graphic novel number two. It's one of those like that's how it ends. It's like one of those like did you miss me? Kind of moments. And he's like, oh my gosh, it's you. And we see like, yeah, she's revealed very early on in the film as to his ex-girlfriend is, but it takes a little bit more time in the graphic novels to reveal who she is.
Speaker 1:And again, because I think the so, in the first graphic novel and in the film ex-boyfriend number one, he sends Scott a notice saying we're Ramona's seven evil exes. We're going to fight you and blah, blah, blah, I will be the first one you fight all of that. And it's very interesting because, obviously, since the first graphic novel came out, all the way back in 2004, scott receives this notice from Matthew Patel that's the name of the first evil ex. He, matthew Patel, sends Scott a letter, like a handwritten letter sent through snail mail that Scott opens up and he's like, oh, this is so boring. So by the time Matthew Patel shows up and he's like, what do you mean? You didn't read my letter. Scott was like but anyway, it's so funny that the film came out in 2010. And so they updated it that instead of snail mail, scott received this letter through email. It was just something that I noticed because it's like wow, what a difference six years make. Six years ago Scott received this letter via snail mail and six years later he's getting it via email.
Speaker 1:And again, like the pacing of the film is just so fast. Again, because it makes sense, there's a certain amount of things that they can squeeze in during the runtime, like they have to keep it within a certain runtime, so like it's just so fast, and the books obviously within a certain runtime. So like it's just so fast. And the books obviously are a lot slower, it takes longer to develop things, and the film it's just like wham bam, boom bang, but like it's just so fast, like it moves so much faster. So I'm going to move pretty quickly. As I said, there's just too much to talk about. Too many events that happen in the graphic novels that don't happen in the film again makes sense. As to why there is a lot cut.
Speaker 1:The focus is just on the battles. But in graphic novel number two, when he fights Ramona's evil, ex number two, lucas Lee, he fights just Lucas Lee. In the film he actually fights Lucas Lee's stunt doubles first before he fights Lucas Lee. It's one of those things that that probably happened to make because these fights are already going so fast. It was just to really expand on the fight and make it a little bit longer, because they could afford to do that. I guess because, like, fights with number fours and number five and six are just so, so limited. But yeah, so he actually fights Lucas Lee's stunt doubles in the film, but he does not fight them in the graphic novels. But, fun fact, those are apparently Chris Evans's real stunt doubles that Michael Cera fights in the film. So that's I don't know. I thought that was interesting.
Speaker 1:So after he fights Lucas Lee in the film, evil X number four appears to Scott and is like I challenge you to a fight. And then they don't actually fight because she's number four. So, but she makes an appearance, so we see who Evil X number four is before we get to the fight with Evil X number three. In the graphic novel it is not revealed who Evil X number four is until her corresponding book. So that was interesting, that one. I wasn't quite sure why that change was made, especially because she says like, oh, we're gonna fight, but then they end up not fighting anyway, since she's number four and he has to fight number three before he fights number four. So I don't know. That was just something that I was like why are we introducing her already? Is it it just to throw us off? I don't know, but that one was kind of just like interesting.
Speaker 1:And then so once we get to Envy Adams and Evil X, number three again, the graphic novel focuses a lot more on Scott's relationship with Envy and how that really really took a toll on him. It's hinted at in the film but it doesn't go into as much detail as it does in the graphic novel. So in the film, but it doesn't go into as much detail as it does in the graphic novel. So in the film she actually invites them to be the opening act, but in the Graphic novels they just kind of show up to watch the show. Like she does invite them personally to watch the show, but then she asks them backstage and that's where the battle happens. But there are.
Speaker 1:This is kind of when all like the major, major changes between the graphic novels and the film started happening. So there's actually a line that Todd, who's evil ex number three, says and he says I'm not afraid to hit a girl, I'm a rock star. So at this point, you know, knives is a 17 year old girl. Scott is dating Ramona and she's still, like, really infatuated with him. So she keeps hanging out with him and his group, which is another thing that I was like why are all of you, like 20 something year olds, still allowing this 17 year old girl to hang out with you? That's just weird. But anyway, so he says Todd says I'm not afraid to hit a girl, I'm a rock star. And he does, in fact hit knives so hard that it like knocks the highlights out of her hair because she's kind of being annoying.
Speaker 1:Essentially and in the graphic novel, it's Lynette who is the drummer of the band that punches knives, and that's mainly because it turns out that Todd is cheating on Envy with Lynette. So there's this whole thing. The way he is defeated in the film is that Scott gives him coffee with half and half in it. So Todd is vegan and he drinks this coffee with half and half and he doesn't realize it has half and half, and then the vegan police show up and take away his vegan card or his vegan powers, because in this universe if you're vegan, you have, like telekinetic powers. So the vegan police show up and take away his telekinetic powers. In the graphic novel, todd is actually knowingly eating meat, or at least he's knowingly consuming food that isn't vegan. So he calls himself vegan but he's not actually vegan. And then that's when the vegan police show up.
Speaker 1:And it's interesting because in the graphic novel the way Scott gets over Envy, his ex, is that Envy and Ramona actually fight each other. This fight does not happen in the film. Scott Pilgrim just fights evil ex number three. But in the graphic novel Envy and Ramona actually have a fight and the way that Ramona defeats Envy is there's a way that if you touch Envy in the back of her knees, it makes her go weak in the knees and it is essentially a very orgasmic feeling for her. So Ramona does this knee touch to the back of Envy's knees and she's able to defeat Envy using that trick.
Speaker 1:If you're a fan of the film, you will notice that I just described how Evil X number four is defeated. So yeah, in the film, since there is no fight between Envy and Ramona, they passed Envy's weakness onto Evil X number four. So Ramona is the one that's like do this to Evil X number three and it'll make her melt and that's how Scottott defeats evil x number four. So, yeah, the that was. I think it's just a really funny weakness and I feel like the filmmakers wanted a way to keep that in. But since there's no fight between envy and ramona, they switched that weakness over to evil x number four. But yeah, I was reading this and I was like wait a minute, that's not how we defeat Roxy. So Roxy is Evil X number four. So how does Scott defeat Roxy, since it's not through the power of the weak knees?
Speaker 1:So in graphic novel number four, knives' dad is actually out to kill Scott because of the way he treated his daughter and it's his daughter's first boyfriend and you know just a lot of like over protective dad kind of reasons. So the big fight is does still involve roxy, but there's another big fight that involves knives's dad, who's out to get revenge on scott for everything that's happened between him and his daughter. So as he's trying to kill scott, scott like just pushes Roxy into the battle, and so Roxy and Ise's dad start fighting and meanwhile Scott was like what do I do? Like how do I defeat this person? So yeah, scott is having this conversation with Ramona, kind of just like what do I do? And Roxy calls him out for not like fighting her himself and Ramona is like you're kind of like weak. And so Scott's like I'm not weak and this is actually the first time in the graphic novels that he tells Ramona that he loves her. So he says he loves Ramona and earns a power of love which manifests itself into a sword and he fights Roxy. He actually cuts her in half. And it's silly, fun graphic novel. So it's not like bloody or gory in any way, but he fights, he cuts her in half and that's how Roxy is actually defeated in the graphic novel. So yeah, it's really interesting because the change they made there in the film at this point he hasn't told Ramona that he loves her or he's not in lesbians with her, as he says. So yes, he does not defeat Roxy through the power of love. The power of love comes into play later during his fight with Gideon, but in the graphic novel this is the first time that he says that he loves Ramona and he uses the power of love to defeat evil ex number four. And it also makes sense why he's able to say he loves Ramona at this point. As I said, the film just happened. So fast I wouldn't say the film happens. It's got to be like a matter of days or hours actually. So of course he's not going to be in love with Ramona. He's infatuated with her, yes, but he's not like in love with her at that point. But the graphic novels take place over a course of a year. So by the time he fights Evil Ex Number Four like he's been with Ramona for a few months. So he probably does legitimately feel love for her.
Speaker 1:In the graphic novel Scott actually fights Evil X's number five and six, the twins. He fights them twice. In the film he only fights them once. As I said, fight with Roxy, and the fight with the twins only take up five minutes of screen time each. So we're really trucking along here on the film. But in the graphic novel he does fight the twins twice. Once he fights them at a party that Julie is throwing. Julie becomes the party house, to the point where she and her roommates have so many parties that people are kind of getting bored of all the parties happening at her place. So the first time he fights the twins it's at one of the parties. I think it's like a Day of the Dead party actually. So they fight him at this party. He loses, obviously, so he has to fight them again and then the second time he fights them specifically to be able to remain in a relationship with Ramona. In the film, as I said, this entire sequence of the twins takes a whopping five minutes. He meets them, they have a battle of the bands, so they fight against each other, battle of the bands style, and Scott ends up beating the twins at this battle of the bands.
Speaker 1:So again, because the graphic novels take place over the course of a year, by the time we get to graphic novel number five, scott has moved out of Wallace. Wallace is his gay roommate, played in the film by Karen Culkin. So he and Wallace live together in a tiny little studio apartment. Everything belongs to Wallace, everything, like the bed, the furniture, everything belongs to Wallace. He lives in this tiny little studio with Wallace, to Wallace. He lives in this tiny little studio with Wallace. But in the graphic novels there actually reaches a point where Wallace is like I found a bigger place and I'm moving into it and I don't think you can afford the rent and I also, I love you, but I kind of don't want you to move in with me. And Scott is like that's fine, I think I want to move in with Ramona. And Wallace is like great, I was hoping you would say that. And Scott and Ramona actually end up moving in together and have their own little apartment.
Speaker 1:So yeah, throughout the year that Scott and Ramona have been together, ramona actually starts growing out her hair. It gets pretty long and she has a conversation. At this point, like I said, knives has been hanging around Scott and his friends for a while, even though she and Scott are no longer together. So again it's like why are you guys allowing this little 17-year-old girl to hang out with you guys? She can't do any of the stuff you guys are doing because she's not of age, but okay. But she continues hanging out with his friend group and at one point, like she's pretty much over Scott at this point, but not completely. But she reaches a point where she talks to Ramona and she says oh, I'm not mad at you anymore for taking Scott away from me.
Speaker 1:And so in the film, nive, like before Scott fights evil ex number seven, nive shows up and starts fighting Ramona and she says, like you took him away from me, you stole, you cheated. And ramon is kind of just like or you made him cheat on me or whatever. And then ramon is like you cheated on me. And he's like, no, I cheated on her with you. And ramon is like is there a difference? And then that's kind of the end of it, like there's really no, like that's it, there's no consequences. She says that and it doesn't affect her in any shape or form.
Speaker 1:In the graphic, as she's having this conversation with Knives, she finds out that Scott was with the two of them at the same time, so he cheated on them. And she takes this really, really hard. And at one point, while they're in bed, you know, she asks him like did you cheat on me with Knives? And that's when he says no, I cheated on Knives with you. And she takes that really, really hard. Scott, scott is like whatever, he's half asleep. So he like knocks back down. He doesn't realize that this is like haunting Ramona. So she actually goes into the bathroom and cuts her hair short again, the short hair that is kind of Ramona's signature. And when Scott wakes up, like she's sitting with her short hair in bed and he's like what's going on? And she says I don't think this is gonna work out. And she like disappears into the, the ether and scott was like what do you mean? And that's how it ends with her breaking up with him.
Speaker 1:And then the graphic novel picks up where that left. So he's ramona has disappeared. No one knows where she is. So he's going through this really difficult breakup and he's taking it really really hard because he really really really loved Ramona. And so we see in the first couple of pages that he's not coping very well and little by little he starts finding ways to get up out of bed and move on from her. Little by little they do break up in the film. But in the film she breaks up with him because she can't be away from Gideon. She breaks up with him because she essentially goes back to Gideon.
Speaker 1:So in the graphic novels throughout this series, starting around graphic novel number four, joseph, who is the lead guitarist and one of the singers for the Sex Bob-Omb, he meets up with Kim's roommate. So Kim has a roommate and this roommate is like, oh, I know how to record an album. And he's like, great, we're going to record an album. And he becomes obsessed with recording this album that the Sex Bob-Omb stopped practicing and again this happens over a course of several months. So it reaches a point where it's like what's going on with the band? And he's like we're recording right now and it's like, but we're not doing anything else other than focusing on this album. So it reaches a point where Kim is like I think I know what I want to do and I want to move back home to like with my parents. So she initially lived in Toronto with Scott and the rest of the people from Sex Bob-Omb in Toronto with Scott and the rest of the people from Sex Bob-Omb, but then she moved away and then she came back. So she wants to leave and go home with her parents and she actually does this. So by the time we get to graphic novel number six, kim isn't really around anymore. She's moved back and Sex Bob-Omb, by the time we get to graphic novel number six, is pretty much non-existent.
Speaker 1:So in the film, obviously, like, scott realizes that Gideon offers the Sex Bob-Omb's a record deal and they take it Everyone except for Scott. Scott's like no, like you took Ramona for me. And then young Neil steps in and replaces Scott as the bassist. But this does not happen. There is a new band that forms by the end of the graphic novel. It's no longer the Sex boboms or the sex bobom or sex bobom whatever. But yes, the sex bobom as a whole, as a band, still has a important role to play during the battle against gideon graves, who's evil x number seven in the film, but in the graphic novel sex bobom actually is no more by the point Scott comes to fight this guy. So Gideon opens up this huge club and since he just signed Sex Bob-omb, sex Bob-omb is like the inaugural show. In the film it's the inaugural, like opening band, but in the graphic novel, since Sex Bob-omb is actually no longer existent, it's an NB Adams show. It's an NB Adams show, he's the inaugural opening night show for this venue. That Gideon is opening is actually an NB Adams solo project. So she is signed to Gideon Grades' label and so she's the opening show for the site club.
Speaker 1:And yeah, so by the time this happens, scott hasn't seen Ramona in a few weeks, maybe even a few months or a couple of months. It's not really clear. We just see, like the passage of time, like I said, through his grief of the relationship being over and then him slowly picking up the pieces and putting his life back together after this very devastating breakup and he, like, moves out from the apartment he shared with Ramona and he moves into his own place. So, yeah, the Ramona ends up appearing when Scott battles Gideon Graves, because there's like rumors floating around that Ramona and Gideon have reunited and are a couple again. And this is, as I said, the case in the film.
Speaker 1:But in the graphic novel that's not what happens. She actually disappears to kind of go work on herself a little bit and kind of just realize what she wants, who she wants to be as a person. And when she comes back it's like I want to be with you, scott, and I'm gonna help you fight gideon. And, like I said, in the film there's a battle between scott and gideon and there's a battle between knives and scott no, uh, knives and ramona. But by the time this final graphic novel rolls around, knives is completely over Scott. So she does not get into a big fight with Ramona. And I wish that this had been kept for the film, because in the graphic novel once Ramona is like I worked on myself and I know what I want, and she and Scott essentially get back together right before the battle with Gideon.
Speaker 1:She's the one that teams up with Scott to fight against Gideon. In the film it's Knives and Scott that team up to fight against Gideon, which I'm just like you reduced Ramona's role so much for Knives and I get it like it's a much shorter time span between in the film than there is in the graphic novels. But I like that. Scott and ramona are the ones that fight gideon together because it just makes more sense. Like knives has no reason to fight gideon other than you know. Scott apologizes and said you're not mad at ramona, you're mad at me for breaking up with you and cheating on you and all this stuff. And knives is like you're right, so I'm gonna team up with you and help you fight Gideon so you can be with Ramona. I just liked so much more that in the graphic novel it's Scott and Ramona team up and fight this guy together.
Speaker 1:In the graphic novel Ramona actually dies. Gideon kills her during his first battle against Scott and Ramona, and so Scott. There's this bit in which Scott does die again in the graphic novel and in the film during his battle with Gideon, and it's during this that he meets Ramona in the ether and they talk and he says I can't believe you broke up with me to be with this guy. What's great about this guy? And Ramona says he has a whip getting into my head and Scott's like, oh well, okay. And she's like, no, I mean, I literally mean he has a whip getting into my head and she turns around and there's like a microchip that essentially makes I guess you could say it's like mind control, like Gideon, like this makes it so that Gideon can kind of control her, like he doesn't physically control her, but you know he can control how she feels. So he keeps making her feelings towards him come back. So she's unable to like get over him. And so it's during this conversation, the ether, that Scott comes back to life. So he uses the power of love and Gideon kills him and then, as he's having this conversation with Ramona, she says I think you're fighting for me, but you should be fighting for someone else and it kind of rewinds me. Go back to Scott walking into the club and all of that, and then he pulls out once he gets to the second fight with Gideon, it's Scott earned power, self-respect, and he pulls out a sort of self-respect as opposed to the sort of love. And Scott still has one life token that he earned earlier in the film. So that's how he comes back.
Speaker 1:But this change also really really bugged me because in the film after Ramona dies, scott is like I'm gonna figure out a way to bring you back to life and he goes into her purse and her purse takes him into her mind, where Gideon is in there and all like the different versions of Ramona are in there and he's like controlling the different aspects of Ramona. And the way I interpreted that maybe this is not what Brian Lee O'Malley intended when he wrote this, but the way I interpreted it was it wasn't literal mind control the way it is in the film, with that little microchip that Gideon inside her mind, is the toxicity that you can have with someone in a relationship and having been in a similar relationship myself, I'm like it's one of those things that's like you know this person is bad for you and you shouldn't be with them anymore, but you also kind of can't help. They find ways to hook you back in each and every time and that's kind of how I interpreted the skidian inside of ramona's head where it's like this relationship that she doesn't want to be in anymore, but he finds a way to. So ramona reinvents himself as expressed by the different ramonas in her mind. So there's like different phases of ramona's life and those are the.
Speaker 1:No matter how much she changes and herself and grows as a person, gideon finds a way to lure her back in, and that's the way it is sometimes in a toxic relationship, until you find the strength within yourself to break that cycle. And that's kind of what happens in this situation. So Scott goes in. He does fight Gideon a little bit in Ramona's mind, but ultimately it's the different facets of Ramona that team up and defeat the Gideon in her mind and reflecting the breaking of the cycle and that's what brings her back to life. And she and Scott team up and defeat the Gideon in her mind and reflecting the breaking of the cycle and that's what brings her back to life. And she and Scott team up after this and together defeat Gideon.
Speaker 1:As I said, in the film Scott defeats Gideon by himself, through the power of self-respect. And then Gideon, after he's dead in the film, he releases Negus Scott and says can you defeat yourself? And so Scott has to fight Negus Scott, but he ends up befriending Nega Scott and Ramona walks away and says like I can't do this. I just hurt people all the time. And Knives is the one that says go be with Ramona, like you fought to be with her this whole time, like go be reunited with her, it's okay. And then Scott walks away and he whole holds hands with Ramona and they're together happily ever after. So, yes, those are like the big, big changes that I have time to talk about myself between the graphic novels and the film adaptation. Oh boy, so yeah, like I said, that change especially really bugged me and, like I said, maybe this was not the graphic novelist's intention, with having to head into Ramona's mind and seeing Gideon in there as the mind control.
Speaker 1:I really did not like this change in the film because when you're in a relationship like that, you don't need a microchip implanted in you to keep coming back to that person. It's a cycle that you have to learn how to break yourself and I loved the imagery of Ramona reaching that point and being able to do just that, to finally be with the person that she wants to be. And she learned that through that break that she and Scott Knives had a bigger role in the film than she does in the graphic novels. In the graphic novels. She's still important, but she's definitely a lot more like.
Speaker 1:I hate Ramona, like I have so much beef with her because she stole my boyfriend from me, which makes sense. She is a 17-year-old kid and 17-year-olds think that way, unfortunately, so that made perfect sense. What I really really liked about the graphic novels is that each major character grew, which is not something that really happens in the film. Like, yes, knives grows after Scott apologizes to her. But I hate, I really really do not like the fact that Knives is the one that fights Gideon with Scott because there's no reason for her. I understand that she needed that closure from Scotton with Scott because there's no reason for her. Like, I understand that she needed that closure from Scott in the film because she hasn't gotten it at this point. She has gotten it in the graphic novels by the time he fights Gideon, but she hasn't gotten it in the film.
Speaker 1:But I wish that they I don't know, I wish that they had kept Ramona being the one in the final battle with Gideon, and especially because we see that little microchip break during the battle. There's like this explosion that like causes her to fall down the stairs and the microchip breaks and that's how she's able to break out of Gideon's mind control. Again, don't like that. It was a microchip in the film, like I wish they had really kept it the way it is in the graphic novel, because I really appreciated the symbolism of that or what I interpreted that symbolism to be. I just feel like it's a lot more powerful to have Ramona like if that's what that microchip represented in the film At the end of the day, like it breaks and she doesn't join the fight. It's still Knives and Scott doing the fighting and Scott is the one that delivers the final blow. So yeah, scott grows a little bit, I guess. In the film he earns the power of self-respect, which is like great, I guess, but there is not the level of growth that there is in the graphic novels. So I think it's pretty obvious that you can tell my feelings for this film have not changed. I still really really do not like this film and this will probably be the last time I watch it, unless I go over to one of my friends house that really loves this film and they want to watch it, I will continue letting them like what they like and I will sit there and watch it or be on my phone, but me myself. This is the last time I am watching this film and I'm glad this is the last time I have to sit through this because I still really, really do not like it.
Speaker 1:I will say I had a hard time getting into the graphic novels myself. I felt like all the characters were awful and unlikable in graphic novel number one. I did not like any of them. I didn't like Ramona. I didn't like Scott Knives. I had a little bit of sympathy towards just because she's again a 17-year-old kid and the way she was thinking made sense with the way high school kids think. But like all of them, I was the main group of characters. I did not like them. I did not care for any of them. I hated them. I was like what did I do to myself? This is going to be absolute torture.
Speaker 1:And then as the graphic novels went on, I found myself liking it a little bit more. As each graphic novel passed, the story got better and better and better for me and at the end of the day I truly appreciate the growth that all the characters I love that Knives matured from this little 17-year-old kid that was upset at the woman who took her boyfriend away and realizing I don't need you, scott, I have the bright future ahead of me and the peace that comes with that. And Scott, you know he's still not my favorite character, I will admit. But he does go through this growth after most of his growth comes in that last novel when he does really still want Ramona and he can be with her now in a mature, more healthy way than what it was before, where it was more just infatuation and legitimate love but he still had a lot of growing up to do.
Speaker 1:And Ramona, how it hurts me what they did to her in the film, because in the film she is a stereotypical manic pixie dream girl, just there to lift up Scott, not go through any major journey of her own. So if you're not familiar with what a manic pixie dream girl is, it's essentially a young woman in usually films that is kind of quirky, kind of eccentric, likeona, and they don't do anything. They're usually one-dimensional, like Ramona in the film, and they're just there to provide support. Usually it's the love interest, but it can be a non-love interest. It's just the protagonist or she's there to help him grow as a person but she herself does not get anything in return. She's just there to be quirky and provide support to the protagonist. That's it.
Speaker 1:That's Ramona to a team in the film, and I hate that because she goes through this beautiful journey on her own where she doesn't go back to Gideon. Yes, in the film it's explained that she's going back to Gideon because of mind control. In the book she breaks up with Scott and she disappears and she does not go back to Gideon. She goes off on her own to discover what she wants. She realizes what she wants and that person she thinks what she wants is Gideon. But instead of reuniting with him, she goes off on her own and discovers that it's not Gideon that she wants, it's in fact Scott. So she goes through her own emotional journey to the point where she teams up with Scott to fight this guy that has been haunting her ever since they first started dating, because he is a toxic person that she just cannot let go. And she realizes she doesn't want that anymore. She wants to be with someone who treats her right, and she does that.
Speaker 1:And even though Scott does go into her mind and helps a little bit, ultimately it's the old versions of Ramona that say we're done with you, we don't want you in here anymore and they break that cycle and I just, like I said, I relate to that so, so much. And for them to do Ramona dirty like that and just make her a stereotypical, manic, pixie dream girl in the film is just like like Ramona in the film is so boring. She, like I remember all my straight guy friends had crushes on Mary Elizabeth Winstead. As Ramona, okay, and she is very, very pretty. Can you tell me what she does other than be pretty and hot? Nothing, really. She doesn't do anything in the film other than be Scott's love interest, and that really I hate that they did that to Ramona. Ramona deserves better. Ramona deserves better and you know what? Okay, I think that's why I liked the animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, because Ramona is the focus, she's actually the protagonist of the animated series, despite having the Scott Pilgrim name. She's the protagonist and it makes up for what they did to her in the film. So the winner is clearly the graphic novels.
Speaker 1:I did not think I was going to like them, especially after reading the first one. I did not like the first graphic novel at all. I didn't really like the second one and then the third one was okay and it just got better and better and better. Until now I can say you know what? I didn't mind it. I would read the graphic novel again. Why not? I had a good time. There was funny lines, there's funny moments and the characters show genuine growth, something that does not happen in the film.
Speaker 1:I rated the film two and a half stars. The graphic novels got an average rating of 3.5 stars. So yeah, so it's an average rating of 3.5 stars for the graphic novel film 2.5. I still think you can skip it. I still don't see what the big deal is. However, if you like it, you enjoy it. It's a comfort watch. Keep enjoying it. This is just my opinion. I am not here to tell you to stop watching it. This is more like, if you haven't seen it, you've been curious about checking it out. I don't know, maybe you will like it.
Speaker 1:I would personally recommend the graphic novels and the animated miniseries Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I will say I did enjoy the little Easter eggs in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. For example, they're making a film called Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, which is actually the name of the first graphic novel, and Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life is essentially Scott Pilgrim versus the world, like they're making the movie that exists in the real world and it is directed by Edgar Wrong, which is a play on Edgar Wright, who is the actual director for Scott Pilgrim versus the world. And the really cool thing about the animated series is that they actually got all the original actors to voice the characters. So Michael Cera is back as Scott Pilgrim, mary Elizabeth Winstead, all of that. I say this film is a skip, a thousand million times percent.
Speaker 1:My opinion of this film has not changed. This was my first time watching it in about 11 or 12 years, so it had plenty of time to maybe grow on me in that time. It hasn't. Still don't like the film. I was telling Orlando that after I read the first graphic novel I was like Scott Pilgrim is the worst. He's so unlikable. And so Orlando was like oh so they cast Michael Cera accurately. Michael Cera, if you're listening to this, I have no issue with you. I know Michael Cera is actually kind of like very hated. It seems like I don't know why. I personally don't have any issues with him. I feel like he fit the character pretty well. I mean, mary Elizabeth Winstead is good for what she's given but, like I said, she's not given much. Ramona Flowers really sucks in the film Justice for Ramona.
Speaker 1:I mean it's an all-star cast. A lot of these cast members went on to become bigger stars than they were at the time that they were cast. So, like Kieran Culkin, anna Kendrick, aubrey Plaza yeah, they're okay, I guess, but yeah they're not. I mean there's nothing really that they're fine. But I mean Kieran Culkin is funny, everyone is fine, but nothing like that.
Speaker 1:I don't know, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all. So I'm just going to leave it at that. And it has nothing to do with the actors' performances. I just really don't like the material. Okay. So I do want to make a correction because earlier I said Joseph is the drummer and not the drummer. It's the guitarist, slash singer of Sex Bob-Omb. It's not Joseph, it's Stephen Stills. Stephen Stills is the singer, slash guitarist of Sex Bob-Omb. He hooks up with Joseph to make this album. In the graphic novel I remembered there was a Joseph. I don't know why Joseph. I think it because it's just Joseph and that's why the name came to me. But I just wanted to make that correction. Stephen, it's actually Stephen Stills who is the guitarist, slash singer of Sex Bob-Omb and Joseph is the one that helps make Sex Bob-Omb's first album. But yeah, that's it for this episode of Books vs Movies.
Speaker 1:I hope you enjoyed it and I apologize to any Scott Pilgrim fans out there. Just remember that these are my opinions. You're allowed to like it and I would hope I don't have to say that disclaimer. If you're a friend of mine, you should know that you're still allowed to like it. But you know, sometimes people just take this so personally and are like how dare you not like this thing that I like? That means you don't like me and it's like I never said anything about you. I just said I don't like this thing that you like. So anyway. So just want to say, if you like it, if you love Scott Pilgrim the film, keep enjoying it. I will. I will stick to watching the animated series and reading the graphic novel.
Speaker 1:This episode of Books vs Movies was edited, recorded, everything done by me. It would really mean a lot to me if you would help me grow my audience by leaving a rating and a review and sharing it with your friends. Let them know that this podcast exists and I will talk to you next time. Next time I will be talking about A Long Way home, by saru briarley and it's 2016 adaptation lion, starring dev patel and nicole kidman, directed by garth davis. See you next time.