The Power Failure of Scott Pilgrim
My hopes for electricity upon my return to the abode turned out to be unfulfilled. When lazy-t and I got to my apartment after the movie, the place was as dark as it had been when I left it that morning. Ah, well, said I. We did not record Spoiler Alert as a result.
This power outage has shown me something about myself, and I haven't yet decided if it's a good thing or a bad thing. As much as I hate a situation that's beyond anyone's control, rather than hem and haw, jumping up and down screaming like a two-year-old in the midst of a temper tantrum, I just kind of shrug my shoulders and say, "It'll happen when it happens."
On the one hand, I'd like to think that's a very zen outlook on life. I know things go wrong in the world, and I know that many times I behave as though there is stress involved. (This is particularly at work, where things are NOT outside anyone's control -- just mine.) Sometimes, though, it just doesn't seem worth getting worked up about. If I had hemmed, hawed, and jumped up and down screaming on Tuesday night when the lights went out, would that behavior have changed anything? Nope. In fact, if anything, it would have made me even more tired than I already was and added to my blood pressure issues. I can't climb up the power pole and fix the electricity issue, and thanks to Tropical Depression Hermine, I'm sure ours wasn't the only power issue to be fixed. (You wouldn't know it from where I was sitting on the bus yesterday morning, though -- there were lights everywhere -- except in my apartment building.)
This leads to the other side of the "zen" coin. By calmly accepting the situation and not hurling expletives everywhere, am I simply setting myself up as being someone people can just walk all over? The kind of person that just takes anything life hands him and doesn't fight back against injustice? My stubborn side says no -- this was not a case of injustice... just power failure. However, this "zen" thing happens in all kinds of places -- the grocery store, restaurants, amusement parks... anywhere there's waiting or a line... where the P word is required. Yes, that P word is "patience."
I dunno. I'm far from happy that it took more than 24 hours to fix a blown transformer. I'm pretty sure my ice cream sandwiches melted and will taste awful in their re-frozen form. But the power did come back (at 1:20am). No one (to my knowledge) was hurt -- just inconvenienced.
What's there to be upset about, really? I mean other than the ice cream sandwiches. Those can be replaced.
I mentioned going to a movie yesterday -- that movie turned out to be Scott Pilgrim vs the World. There is a major divide on the intarwebs about this movie, brought to my attention in the context of its poor box office performance. The nerds of the world cry foul and say that Pilgrim is the greatest movie since Casablanca. They talk about the unfairness that crappy movies like Transformers 2 make a gajillion dollars but a "genuinely good" movie gets tossed aside like so much intellectual detritus. They were certain that the positive intarwebs buzz would skyrocket the revenue in its second week... and when that didn't happen they called the rest of us philistines.
Some have blamed the marketing department for underplaying the video game aspect. Some said the trailers focused too much on the love story angle or the action angle or... whatever. Others claim the release date they chose was death for the film because it opened against The Expendables and Eat Pray Love. Macho men would see the former, and the women would flock to the latter -- where did Pilgrim fit in? Still others blame some other aspect of the Hollywood machine for whatever other crimes they imagine have been committed against this Movie Sent From God™.
Whatever.
The other camp says the movie sucks and that's why it tanked at the theater. That Universal put so much money into marketing because they knew it was a bad movie (like Transformers 2) hoping the nerds of the world would talk their parents (since they don't have girlfriends) into going with them. They say Michael Cera can't act and couldn't open a package of ramen noodles, let alone a movie. That the film had limited (at best) appeal; contrary to the success of the Spider-Man, Batman, and X-Men franchises, comic book movies that only appeal to nerds are doomed to fail.
And both sides are right.
I enjoyed Pilgrim -- but then, I've never denied being a geek. (Yes, I used the term "nerd" above, but go with me on this one.) I thought the video game tropes were fun, and elements of the movie made me giggle, chuckle, and even guffaw in a place or two. The fight sequences were fantastic. Cera's stunt double did some amazing work, and there seemed to even be nod or two involving an Evil Ex's "other film role".
But the movie isn't all that great -- at least, not to the extent the geeks or nerds or even dorks of the world would have you believe. Fun, yes. Great? Not at all. There is a limited appeal here, from fans of the original comic books (which I am NOT one, nor will I likely ever read them because the art style is not to my liking) and perhaps from video game fans. Those who believe Michael Cera can do no wrong may also enjoy the movie, because he's in every single scene.
Cera plays the same character in every movie he's in. He has shown absolutely no range in his career. Admittedly, I have not seen Youth in Revolt, which some claim he shows some semblance of depth. The trailer for the movie begs to differ. (I intend to see it at some point.) Apparently the people who fell in love with him in his Arrested Development, Juno, and Superbad days have finally realized that he's kind of a young Kevin Costner in that regard. And I like Cera, because in spite of his lack of depth on screen, he has kind of a nerdy charm that's fun to watch.
Let's face it. Scott Pilgrim is campy fun, but it's not "The Best Movie EVAR™" -- not even close. So both camps need to come down from their holy pedestals and admit the One Great Truth of the world:
Their opinions.... just don't matter.