Lost in Translation? What the Scott Pilgrim Movie Missed
Edgar Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's indie comics stayed close to the source material, but what was lost in translation?
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By Sal Basile August 26, 2010 |
The Gilded Palace of Flying Burritos
Appears In: Vol. 2
Context: Scott tells the story of his last job, which was at the Gilded Palace of Flying Burritos. He got to wear a nudie suit and eat his favorite food for free. The place closed down after a week and he lost his job.
Why It Was Left Out: Michael Cera is shown as a broke slacker. No mention of his past jobs, future jobs, or how he pays for anything is ever explained in Wright’s adaptation.
Joseph
Appears In: Vol. 2
Context: Hollie’s gay roommate Joseph comes to Lee’s Palace in hope of catching a glimpse of Todd, whom he has a crush on.
Why It Was Left Out: No No-Account Video means no Hollie, which means no Joseph.
Save Point
Appears In: Vol. 3
Context: After Envy performs she invites Scott and the gang backstage to hang with the cool kids. Before Scott has a chance to save Envy pulls him in the back. Always save before a boss battle. Always!
Why It Was Left Out: It was a great reference in the book and quite comical, but in Wright’s one-hundred-punch-per-minute adaptation, there might not have been time for Scott to miss saving his game... err... life.
Lynette Guycott's Shenanigans
Appears In: Vol. 3
Context: During Scott and Co.’s awkward silence backstage, Knives Chau offends Envy. Envy gives Lynette the go ahead and she extends her bionic arm across the room to punch Knives.
Why It Was Left Out: Lynette’s shenanigans were combined into Todd’s character in the movie (ie: hitting Knives, incorrigible, etc.). Keeping the action mostly between Scott and the evil ex’s was probably an attempt to keep new fans less confused.
Envy Flashbacks
Appears In: Vol. 3
Context: Certain events remind Scott of a simpler time, like when Envy was known as Natalie, she was a nerd just like him, and she actually liked Scott. These flashbacks happen throughout Vol. 3 and show the transformation of sweet Natalie into sour Envy.
Why It Was Left Out: Flashbacks were used carefully in Edgar Wright’s film, like with the replaying of level 7 at the end; Wright might not have wanted to take the audience out of the flow too often. Most flashbacks were used to dive deeper into Scott’s character and not others.
Mobile
Appears In: Vol. 3
Context: Wallace mentions he has a new boy toy, which is definitely not his “boyfriend,” and tells Scott he’s psychic. Wallace shows off a new move Mobile taught him which allows him to focus his energy around his body and dry him off from the rain.
Why It Was Left Out: While in the books everyone seemed to have amazing powers, Wright focused mainly on showing the extraordinary abilities of a select few characters while keeping other characters unfazed by the clearly outlandish action. Scott, Ramona, the evil exes, and very briefly Knives were the focus of the movie.
Honest Ed’s
Appears In: Vol. 3
Context: Seeing as how Todd was much overpowered, Envy devised a plan for their battle. Make it through Honest Ed’s alive without using psychic abilities. Honest Ed’s, a huge department store, apparently had so many crazy deals it caused shoppers to go mad. Todd proceeds to blow up Honest Ed’s, causing Envy to think of a new way for them to fight.
Why It Was Left Out: Wright wanted to end Envy’s storyline with Todd’s defeat. Including Honest Ed’s would have resulted in extended Envy screen time and possibly including her in the ending, which Wright steered away from.
Using Wallace’s Credit Card
Appears In: Vol. 3
Context: In the books, Wallace seemed to have an abundance of money and Scott was the poor slacker. The roommates had an “understanding” which Ramona described as Wallace understanding that Scott’s a freeloader.
Why It Was Left Out: Wright seemed to make both Wallace and Scott poor in the film. While not equally poor, Wallace gave off the sense that he couldn’t make the spontaneous decisions that he did in the book (ie: leaving whether or not they renewed the lease up to Scott) in the movie.
Todd Cheats On Envy
Appears In: Vol. 3
Context: Envy describes him as a "kind, sensitive, caring, thoughtful, talented, kind, and pure-hearted" guy. But then Todd totally makes out with Lynette when Envy isn't looking. Later they even do it.
Why It Was Left Out: Lynette wasn’t fleshed out enough in the film to make this scene make sense, and many of her lines and actions were given to Todd to increase the intensity of Scott’s battle with him.
Ramona Gives Scott a Haircut
Appears In: Vol. 3
Context: Ramona shows up at Scott’s place with a new hairdo. Scott, in need of a haircut, complains. Ramona cuts his hair.
Why It Was Left Out: The ongoing gag of Scott’s hair insecurities was used up until the final frame of the movie. That was too valuable to lose.
