I dislike most things Michael Cera is in sans Superbad and Arrested Development. I think Scott Pilgrim was fine
You're still saying the same thing tho: that him being an asshole through most of the film means you don't like it when he redeems himself. As if they are a requisite number of steps or amount of time that a character has to go through before finding redemption. You're not saying "the film portrays it as if redeemed himself but actually he didn't because he's still bad" which makes sense as a critique
He is still bad and his redemption wasn't earned, hence why I said "his redemption at the end feels out of place and turned me off from the film." I guess I should have said bluntly "Scott is still bad," but I didn't think I needed to put it into terms that simply. I'm not saying the movie is irresponsible, I just don't think it's very good.
I don't remember that movie at all, lol. I remember seeing it in theaters and then nothing else. A guy turns into coins? Anna Kendrick is in it, right?
I personally don't really care for making too big a deal out of time when it comes to redemption. Not that it can't be a factor that affects other aspects, particularly when it comes to reconciliation, forgiveness, etc. But, if someone explicitly understands & articulates how they were wrong, works to set things right as much as is in their power, & behaves differently going forward, they really don't need to set a timer to count down when the redemption is done cooking. And, conversely, if someone doesn't get it & react appropriately, the time doesn't really heal all wounds. Which, that's in terms of real life, more or less. Other considerations come into play when you're talking storytelling. In this particular case, I do think Marx & Rec was right when pointing out the whole showing the bad version of making things right, kinda dying, getting a second chance, explicitly articulating how he hurt people, etc., thing.
I'm not convinced that he changed. He died and then apologized, but that was out of necessity. He did what he had to in order to get what he wanted. I don't see any growth in that. Which is fine. I enjoy rooting for the villain at times.
The phrasing that we’d cancel him was silly, but I can understand an argument that the redemption didn’t feel earned for you
but this just describes most redemption arcs. Of course they act out of necessity, because the point they’re getting to in the plot necessitates their growth But I think what you're saying is it doesn't feel like his redemption is dramatized on a character level, where you see him coming to terms with himself, but is relying more on the plot mechanics. Which makes sense. I think it works in the movie, I re-watched it a couple years ago, but can understand that outlook since the movie was shooting before the final book was out and rewrote its ending based on the ending of the books. So I can understand where you're coming from
Well I disagree that he apologized out of some selfish/necessary goal. Like a video game, it took him literally dying to recognize what he was doing wrong and change. He's getting what he "wanted" in that he's acting out self-interest, but I don't think that contradicts with saying he changes. If anything that's how many people *do* grow: by realizing that becoming a better person is beneficial not just for others but themselves as well And also semi-related but I guess I can get that it falls into the same issue as what happens with characters like Scrooge or Darth Vader (just to give the first two major examples that pop into my head lol), where a character redeems themselves at the very last minute so there's no concrete determination of whether they do "grow" or fall back into their bad habits, but that's just a natural limit on all fiction
I have a friend who writes off movies when characters are dicks and I'm like "you're not supposed to like that guy" and I'm not even talking about main characters, side characters. He just get so irritated it ruins his enjoyment and I don't understand it. Some people are shitty and you aren't supposed to sympathize with them. Josh Gad's character in Little Monsters is a perfect example. He's just a piece of shit. Edit: this is not about Scott Pilgrim. The previous conversation just made me think about this
Flawed characters and/or anti-heroes are often some of the most fascinating protagonists. It gets to the heart of humans and their morality more often than having some paragon of justice and virtue as a lead. Going back to the Sopranos conversation, that is what makes the show so fascinating. Tony Soprano is the same guy who will nurture ducks in his pond and order the death of people close to him.