This movie is delightful, and you should see it. Especially if you ever had an NES.

If I have anything bad to say about it, it’s that Michael Cera seems to be getting a little long in the tooth for the role of adorably stammering adolescent. Not that he doesn’t stammer, or isn’t sort of adorable in his awkward way. I’ve heard that he doesn’t possess enough natural swagger to be true to the Scott in the graphic novel. Having never read the book, I’m going to have to defer judgment.

The basic conceit of the film is that to win the heart of his dreamgirl, he must best her seven evil exes in combat that is suspiciously like live-action console gaming. He must do this in the face of an obnoxious roommate, an ill-advised dalliance with a high-schooler and winter in Toronto. Sometimes Scott can’t tell if he’s inside or outside of his head. He accepts supernatural and impossible occurrences the way you accept a late bus. Everyone in Toronto does, apparently.
That these abstractions works on screen is a tribute to the director – SPvtW is very much like watching a slick graphic novel 40 feet wide.

The movie is full of visual inventiveness and wit – the effects are beautiful and funny by turns. I’m not much for heart, but there’s some of that, too. I wasn’t sure what was so awesome about Scott’s crush, but I was reasonably convinced that Scott was sure.

The movie is a trifle, but I walked out of the theater with a smile on my face. If you know me, you know that means see this movie.