I think I get the movie. I'm just not nearly as charmed by it as a lot of people are. The over-stylized video game elements are funny for a little while but I don't think they mine enough humor out of them to justify a feature film. I think maybe that would have worked better if the movie started playing it pretty straight and incorporated the video game elements more gradually, climaxing in a fever pitch at the end. Edgar Wright showed a much defter hand at that sort of intricate pacing in Hot Fuzz & Shaun of the Dead.
I think I personally would have preferred four or five evil ex-boyfriends rather than seven. I think the fight sequences, while visually imaginative, became a little repetitive after a while. Not all of the evil ex-boyfriends were even that remotely interesting. For example, Chris Evans deserved more screen-time than what he got, but I understand a part of the premise implies that these villainous characters are only allowed a certain amount of screen-time. It was just a little tedious after a while.
I think had the film primarily relied on those video game elements to justify a feature film, it definitely would have floundered but fortunately there were so many more interesting elements at play simultaneously (witty supporting characters, quirky visual flourishes, pop culture references, hilarious dialogue) that it all kind of meshed together rather seamlessly in my opinion. Even when I was finding the video game elements redundant, there were still other components at play to distract me momentarily and still keep me entertained.
I think the movie also suffers from uncompelling leads. We've talked about Michael Cera already.
People rightfully complain about Michael Cera playing the exact same character in every film, but here I felt there were some nuanced differences. He was actually tolerable, at least for me, even though I've never quite had the problem with Cera that most do. I think he found a balance at being clueless and sincere that actually worked. Plus, he has shown much more confidence, as part of the characterization, than we've ever seen from any of Cera's previous portrayals. He was also able to make me at the very least still resonate and care for him even when he was being unlikeable. I think that's the beauty of a flawed character -- to have unsavory attributes but to still be endearing in the end.
I also don't think the character of Ramona Flowers quite works. While Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a lovely actress, the character often comes across as so frigid & lifeless that I really have to wonder why any of these men think that she's worth the effort.
I think it was more to due with her being mysterious and aloof and that appealed to Scott at the very least. I think a part of Ramona's appeal was deliberately superficial, as a lot of young romance is. It's either purely aesthetics or something unexplainable that draws people to each other, at least when you're young. I think Scott couldn't even properly explain why he had fallen for her, and that played into the innocence and stupidity of youth that the film was going for in my opinion.
Not that Knives is any more compelling. She's funny as a one-note stupid teenager but has nothing beyond that. She makes Michael Cera look like the deep, nuanced one.
I didn't really care for the Knives character but I thought she was mildly tolerable. She had a sort of innocent, adorable quality that was somewhat endearing. At least she was sincere, and Ellen Wong who played her imbued her with enough genuine sincerity to make her at least tolerable and even empathetic.
I also didn't think any of the evil exes were particularly interesting or funny, except for Brandon Routh as a psychokinetic vegan.
Like I said, the film needed more Chris Evans. Brandon Routh was also a stand-out. How humorous that the best of the evil ex-boyfriends are superheroes.
What makes this movie watchable for me is the rock-solid supporting cast. I kinda wish that the movie had been about Kim & Wallace instead.
Even had the leads been different (which I think was intentional for them to be the way they were) you would still need a good supporting cast to round out the big players. I think in the context of young narcissistic hipsters and that sort of youth culture, there's usually the good-looking ones that are a little lifeless, devoid of actual personality, and sort of there because they are clueless and attractive.
Then you have the much more substantial group of friends like Kieran Culkin as Wallace and Johnny Simmons as Young Neil that add depth and uniqueness to the group. I guess I'm just basing this off of my own social dynamics, but I thought the whole friendship dynamics of the film felt true and genuine to me.
