Love the avatar/personal text, Rusty.
I re-read all the books over the past week and it's one of my favourite bits, and they didn't even use it in the film!
its pretty much exactly him in every other film, plus some video game fight scenes and acerbic captions.
I'd disagree strongly with that, he's completely different to from Superbad or Arrested Development. Scott isn't hilariously awkward or shy, he's basically a lovable idiot, doesn't Ramona say a number of times thats she with him because she wants something 'simple'? Cera has always played the smart/nerdy kid who's uncomfortable in his own skin whereas Scott is confident and full of energy but doesn't even know how stupid or horrible to other people he is. I was initially sceptical about him as Scott, but I was happily surprised by his performance here, he nails every facet of the character, the clueless nature, the nervous energy and his great comic timing really sells the one-liners. He was even convincing as an action star, the stuntman fight and the sword battle at the end actually had me convinced he could take on all these people and win.
I find the general hatred towards him a little bizarre to be honest, I know he's played samey characters but he's done that in what, three films and a tv show over nearly a decade? Why does no-one complain of Bruce Willis or Bill Murray playing the same role over and over? He's not even overbearingly aggressive with his gags like Jack Black, he's so innocuous...meh.
Anyway, the film is fantastic, I really love it and I want to see it again immediately. The real star of this film is of course, Edgar Wright and his editing. The film was an absolute cavalcade of editing tricks that kept impressing as the film went on, the split screen use to evoke the feel of streetfighter games, the inclusion of O'Malley's drawings, the onscreen text, the musical cues, and transitions to bring to mind the feeling of a comic book and it all just flowed perfectly. It's bandied about a bit but I genuinely believe that this is something that's never been seen before, sure he is heavily influenced by videogames, manga, movies etc but bringing it all together with so much energy and momentum, without it being a total mess, condensing over a 1000 pages worth of material and making every character stand out is the work of a very gifted filmaker. I can see why this isn't a massive hit because of this, it's almost exhausting the amount of stuff going on at the same time but it's never incomprehensible and the material will only really appeal (and make sense to?) to a very small demographic.
It has so many great little jokes and I'm sure this will be very rewarding on repeat viewings. It's amazing how many characters are in this and yet they all get moments to shine and a few people like Wallace Wells, Kim Pine and Young Neil very nearly steal the film. Then there's the Seinfeld gag, and the Vegan Police, and everything that Chris Evans says, and how Mark Webber is an absolutely perfect Stephen Stills look and act-alike from the comics, and the fact that someone dies by orgasm and who knew Brandon Routh was so funny?
I've seen some complaints that the film is all hype and bluster with no heart or emotion but I think we get a fair bit of that and it's also the whole point of the story - it's built on the idea of a guy trying to get over his girlfriend's past transgressions, which in turn reflect his own (Envy, Kim and Knives). As he gets over her past ("Scott earned the POWER OF LOVE!"), he gets over his own ("Scott earned the POWER OF SELF RESPECT!") and finds that there is something in his life worth working towards with Ramona once he get's over her baggage (the ex's). There are constant references to doorways, through time and space and everything else, which Scott uses at the end to move out of his manchild period and into full-blown adulthood. A little simple perhaps but it's still very true.
Can't wait to see it again.
