tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36331360.post4541271483398803602..comments2023-10-12T05:09:46.380-04:00Comments on Guilty Displeasures: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour is decidedly notneilshyminskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14745442660488961314noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36331360.post-71918426086274511192010-10-16T22:02:53.709-04:002010-10-16T22:02:53.709-04:00You ever notice how it's called "Scott Pi...You ever notice how it's called "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World?"<br /><br />Did you ever notice how Scott Pilgrim vs. The World plays like an actual video game?<br /><br />You ever notice how despite the significant change Scott Pilgrim has made as a character his love affair with video gaming continues to persist?<br /><br />So If Scott's Pilgrim's world was an actual video game, what would it mean if Scott Pilgrim outgrew video games?<br /><br />What if he can't? <br /><br />There's something else going on in Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36331360.post-31977507559745836082010-07-25T09:20:18.871-04:002010-07-25T09:20:18.871-04:00James wrote: 'People relapse, but they also do...James wrote: 'People relapse, but they also don't "level up", get flaming heart-swords representing the power of love or books promising they'll "Get It Together" and trumpeting Their "Finest Hour"s. It hardly seems fair for his backslides to be so "realistic" when his progress never has been - maybe that's the point, but if so it's not a very satisfying one to read.'<br /><br />Yeah, the titles and power-ups seem to serve as substitutes for actual character growth, which is lazy. I guess that the defense would be that they're only symbols, and he has to do something to earn the power of love or whatever. But I'm not sure that he actually *does* earn them, based on what's in the books.<br /><br />And I totally agree on the topic of the backslides seeming so much more realistic - and bereft of magic. I guess consistency is too much to ask for?neilshyminskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14745442660488961314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36331360.post-52420339555479814492010-07-25T05:03:22.621-04:002010-07-25T05:03:22.621-04:00I wasn't expecting to, but I agree with you on...I wasn't expecting to, but I agree with you on damn near everything, Neil.<br /><br />Like Geoff, I managed to squeeze some enjoyment out, and I'll always have a deep affection for the series, but I did way too many "really?!"s reading this one.<br /><br />"In real-life, people don't grow linearly - we change, we regress, we grow, we relapse. But books aren't beholden to these requirements, and most would be horrifically boring if they were." Exactly. I couldn't believe such a large chunk of this last book was spent beating the "Scott's an idiot (read: arsehole)" drum, AGAIN. It reminded me of this line from your Spider-Man 3 review: "How many movies will we have to sit through before Aunt May finally gets it into Peter's head that Ben Parker wouldn't have wanted him to be irresponsible/isolated/vengeful/so dense?" People relapse, but they also don't "level up", get flaming heart-swords representing the power of love or books promising they'll "Get It Together" and trumpeting Their "Finest Hour"s. It hardly seems fair for his backslides to be so "realistic" when his progress never has been - maybe that's the point, but if so it's not a very satisfying one to read. I've always forgiven Scott for the harm he's wrought out of genuine ineptitude (relatable!), but his following (the newly idiotic) Wallace's advice was just inane.<br /><br />Speaking of which: One of the "Scott's an idiot" sub-jokes that's grown throughout the series is his self-obsession, to the point of not-knowing what any other characters are up to. It's repeated here, only: we don't get to see what any other characters are up to! Everybody just gets one-page/one-joke/one-note wrap-ups, because... we absolutely need to spend as many pages as possible seeing Scott be a dick, again? (Re-reading the series in anticipation for the last book, I noticed the "Kim still loves Scott" thread more than before, to the point where I thought it might be where the story goes -- that's dismissed out of hand, in a scene that feels almost like a middle finger to any hypothetical "Skim Pinegrim" fan subculture [that surely exists].)<br /><br />The other thing that the book spends most of its time on is the Epic final confrontation with Gideon. I haven't had a problem with the transition to more and more fantasy in previous volumes, but you and Dan are right that it overwhelms everything here. Personally, I really enjoyed how all the Ex-boyfriend fights in volumes 2-5 were deliberately undercut, and I think this book would've been much better served by further anticlimax in that regard. Certainly the Final Volume aspect is going to mount some pressure/expectation, but is it too cynical to feel the presence of the movie here?<br /><br />I think you're right that the movie is well placed to do some things better than they turned out in the book(s), but I also can't help but think that Scott's new hair and Gideon's (hitherto unrevealed? Right?) age were decisions made to accommodate Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzmann. I also - and god, I feel like kind of a dick myself for begrudging O'Malley wanting his books to look better - but I much preferred his charmingly wobbly brush-renditions of buildings, over the slickly art-assisted ones in this volume.<br /><br />Um, that's all I got. Speaking of things better served by concision(!)Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14740669500899738381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36331360.post-80855670214065432202010-07-23T21:38:13.585-04:002010-07-23T21:38:13.585-04:00I hadn't thought of that, but you're right...I hadn't thought of that, but you're right - it's a wholly appropriate choice, given how disappointing the reveal at the end of the each was.neilshyminskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14745442660488961314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36331360.post-14388824871804158332010-07-23T15:59:41.465-04:002010-07-23T15:59:41.465-04:00Well said.
I laughed though when I read your line...Well said.<br /><br />I laughed though when I read your line complaining about Ramona no longer being mysterious because she spent her time watching the X-Files. Is there any show more apt in that it plays at high mystery but mostly failed to deliver (as I understand it, know what people have complained about the show).<br /><br />-Dan S.dschonbehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04459722690434474229noreply@blogger.com