The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Thursday, October 4, 2018 — 5
What even is Michael Cera Day?
Dear Michael Cera,
You may be wondering why the
heck a college student newspaper
in Michigan is dedicating a day to
you in print. Truthfully, Mr. Cera,
I have no freaking clue. What I
do know is that discussing your
filmography brought a zealousness
out of my fatigued staff of writers
that I haven’t seen since Oscar’s
season.
In the sad spread of September
wide
releases
and
mediocre
streaming
specials,
the
film
writers of The Daily were out of
sorts, dejected and depressed by
the outlook of the film industry.
But you, Mr. Cera, you brought
us out from this dark place and
invigorated our creative juices.
You reminded us what we college
journalists and movie snobs love
about your films. We love the nice
guy. You know, the character you
play in each of your films is the
quintessential nice guy. Whether
it be the adorkable, tic-tac-tossing
Paulie Bleecker in “Juno” or baby-
faced Nick from “Nick and Norah’s
Infinite Playlist” or even the boyish
charm of George Michael Bluth
in “Arrested Development,” we
know your honest and realistic
performance of nerds in love won’t
disappoint. We can count on you,
Mr. Cera, to remind us of the kind
of guy we want and need in this
time of toxic masculinity, rampant
sexism and misogyny. You are a
good one, or at least we think so.
Please don’t make us regret this.
You embody the sweet chump
that society tells us will finish last
and probably will, but we keep
rooting for you. You are the vice
president of pasty white dorks
because President Pete Davidson
got more votes than you, by like,
a lot. You are the cousin our mom
tells us we need to bring to prom
even though you go to a different
school and it would be really nice
and maybe there’s a set of air
pods in it for us. Even though we
thought it would be rough, we had
a great time. You sprained your
neck trying to do the worm and
slipped on some punch, but overall,
solid time. You are the one who at
parties stands in the corner and
nods nonchalantly, kind of just
looking around in a way that’s less
creepy and more just odd. And
every time you wave to someone,
they either pretend not to see you
or just ignore you, so you are left
there just sort of waving at nothing.
So you use the hand that’s waving
and scratch your head or start
doing the “Single Ladies” dance
to cover up the fact that no one is
responding to your wave.
So Mr. Cera … can we call you
Michael? Are we on that level yet?
Yeah, we like it better too. Michael,
we just want to say thanks. Thanks
for making films that always make
us a little uncomfortable, but in
a good way, usually. Thanks for
reminding us that sometimes the
nice guy does get the girl. Thanks
for unapologetically being your
awkward, high-pitched, delightful
self: We appreciate you. On this
Michael Cera Day, we honor you.
Happy you day!
Love,
The Daily Film Writers
BECKY PORTMAN
Senior Arts Editor
FOX SEARCHLIGHT
‘Superbad’’s perfect straight-man
Let’s
be
honest,
“Scott
Pilgrim vs. The World” wasn’t
ever going to age gracefully.
As a film, it’s essentially the
embodiment
of
late-2000’s
internet
culture,
from
its
frequent references to retro
video games to its slightly
dated slang to its pink-haired
“Manic
Pixie
Dream
Girl”
love-interest. So yeah, “Scott
Pilgrim” is pretty unapologetic
about what it is, and this can’t
really come as a surprise. I
mean, it’s a movie about a guy
who has to fight a girl’s exes
to be with her. It’s not exactly
going to pass the Bechdel test
with flying colors.
Most films don’t age well.
I don’t think that’s a very
controversial
statement.
So long as a movie is given
time, it will likely find itself
in violation of some now-
unacceptable social norm that
was once the status quo. “Scott
Pilgrim” definitely falls victim
to this phenomenon, flaunting
incredibly
dated
messages
about gender and sexuality.
Ramona
(Mary
Elizabeth
Winstead, “All About Nina”) is
written with little depth and
exists more like an aloof and
quirky accessory to Scott’s
story (Michael Cera, “Arrested
Development”) than a three-
dimensional character with her
own desires and motivations.
At multiple points throughout
the movie, I found myself
thinking, “Why is she with
him?” and found little in the
way of a convincing answer. If
this weren’t enough, the film’s
LGBT characters — like Scott’s
roommate
Wallace
(Kieran
Culkin, “Infinity Baby”) and
Ramona’s ex-girlfriend (Mae
Whitman,
“Duck
Butter”)
—
are
little
more
than
hypersexualized punchlines.
As we’ve established, plenty
of films age poorly and are
still enjoyed today (looking at
you, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”),
but something makes “Scott
Pilgrim” especially graceless.
Let me preface this by saying
that I love video games and
I had fun with the movie’s
use of video game tropes and
references. But here’s the thing
about people who love video
games: Some of them are the
worst. My friends can attest
that I would never be caught
dead referring to myself as
a “gamer,” and with good
reason. A not-so-insignificant
number of 2010’s nerdy, retro-
loving white guys are 2018’s
QAnon,
4chan-esque
red-
pillers
espousing
obscenely
hateful, misogynistic rhetoric.
Of
course,
“Scott
Pilgrim”
couldn’t have known this, but
while watching it one can’t help
but feel that they’re watching
something that contributed to
a toxic internet culture that
normalized
misogyny
and
ignorance.
Despite all of this, “Scott
Pilgrim” director Edgar Wright
(“Baby Driver”) still managed
to do what he set out to do: He
kept me entertained. “Scott
Pilgrim”
is
an
undeniably
impressive
effort
from
a
filmmaking perspective, one
that crackles with energy and
creativity. At this stage in his
career,
Wright
had
proven
himself to be a master of
creating visually compelling
films, and “Scott Pilgrim” is
legitimately a joy to watch. The
fight scenes are impressively
choreographed, the editing is
smart and genre-relevant and
the integration of visual effects
is clever and fun. It would be
very easy for me to write off
“Scott Pilgrim” as yet another
stylish film with little in the
way of compelling characters
and messages.
It would be easy, but it
wouldn’t exactly be honest,
either.
Despite
its
flaws,
“Scott Pilgrim” isn’t just some
heartless slugfest. Scott is a
surprisingly deeper character
than Michael Cera’s typical
man-boy
persona;
he’s
an
awkward jerk, yes, but Cera’s
signature brand of passivity
and low self-esteem makes
him just endearing enough to
root for. His character arc is
both satisfying and believable,
and Wright manages to do the
unthinkable: He actually turns
Michael Cera into kind of a
badass. To stroll into spoiler
territory for a moment, Scott
realizes he must defeat Gideon
(Jason Schwartzman, “Golden
Exits”) — Ramona’s final ex —
not with the power of love, but
with the power of self-respect
during
the
film’s
climax.
It’s a surprisingly touching
moment, and one that sends an
important message: The only
kind of love that can fix your
self-esteem is the kind you give
yourself.
“Scott Pilgrim” falls victim
to a trap that’s essentially
unavoidable for filmmakers:
Culture changes, and what was
once relevant, funny or socially
acceptable can now prove to be
none of those things, and there
are moments of the film that
fail on all three fronts. Like
hanging out with your grandpa
who sometimes says some stuff
he doesn’t mean, there remains
enough at the core of the film
— mostly stemming from Edgar
Wright’s inimitable style and
heart — for the experience to
feel rewarding.
MAX MICHALSKY
Daily Arts Writer
Reappraisal: ‘Scott Pilgrim’ ages poorly, retains its fun
Michael Cera cut his teeth
as George Michael Bluth on
“Arrested
Development,”
acting alongside one of the
best comedic straight men of
his generation, Jason Bateman
(“Ozark”).
By
the
time
“Superbad”
introduced
the
younger actor to mainstream
audiences, it seemed like some
of Bateman’s gift for po-faced
wit had rubbed off on Cera. The
opening credits, which feature
brightly-colored silhouettes of
Cera and co-star Jonah Hill
(“Maniac”)
dancing
in
the
style of a ’70s porn film cement
this: Hill’s dancing is animated
and confident, while Cera’s is
more reserved. On more than
one occasion, Hill stops Cera
to demonstrate how the job is
really done.
It’s an early glimpse into
the relationship that defines
the film. Cera is far from the
buttoned-down
introvert
stereotype that most comedies
would have rendered Evan
as, but he’s still restrained
in comparison to Hill’s Seth
and spends a good deal of
“Superbad,” or at least the
first
half,
reacting
to
his
friend’s insane quest to lose
his virginity. It
would have been
easy to turn the
performance into
a
perpetually
raised
eyebrow
and
shaken
head, but Evan
is so much more
than
that
in
the
same
way
“Superbad” is so
much more than
a typical romp.
In Cera’s hands,
he becomes the
perfect
straight
man
for
the
perfect teen sex
comedy.
Much of what works about
the performance can be traced
to what works about the film
as a whole. It allows him to be
hilarious — “Fuck off, Greg,
it’s soccer. It’s soccer” — but
it also treats Evan as a fully-
formed character, giving Cera
space to portray a believable
emotional struggle. For all
the weird, outlandish crap
that they get into over a single
night, Evan and Seth always
feel like real teenagers with a
real friendship.
They talk like
real
teenagers,
overanalyze
every
social
interaction like
real
teenagers
and do nothing
but try to prove
to
themselves
and
others
that
they’re
adults, like real
teenagers. They
clearly
love
each other even
before they say
it out loud —
a fact that is
never played for
laughs, a rarity even now, over
10 years later — and they’re
wondering what life is going to
be like without each other, just
like teenagers.
When they fall out, it’s
a
genuinely
heartbreaking
scene, and Cera doesn’t pull
his punches. Most of the scene
is Evan rebuking Seth, as the
former wants to mature but
isn’t sure how to reconcile
that with their friendship,
and the latter doesn’t want
to grow up if it means losing
their closeness. By the end of
the movie, both will have been
confronted with the flaws in
their thinking. Seth has to grow
up and own his immaturity
in his interactions with Jules
(Emma Stone, “Maniac”), and
a drunk-out-of-his-mind Evan
must depend on Seth in order
to “escape” the police. Much
of “Superbad” acts as either
a satire or subversion of the
unhealthy ways men express
their masculinity — through
guns, sex, booze or fighting
— but Evan and Seth discover
that the best way to grow up
and “be a man” is to actually
grow the hell up.
And of course, it almost
goes
without
saying
that
“Superbad” is incredibly funny
and Cera is incredibly funny in
it. Much of the humor hasn’t
aged a day, and the scene where
the world was introduced to
the wonder that is McLovin
JEREMIAH VANDERHELM
Daily Arts Writer
If not an advert for life after
love and a belief in the universe
of
second
chances,
“Juno,”
the 2007 epitome of indie, is
a stalwart defender of orange
tic-tac
aphrodisiacs,
color-
safe bleach and the idea that,
to the question of belonging,
there’s not one answer that fits
everyone.
Centered
around
16-and-pregnant
Juno
(Ellen
Page,
“Flatliners”),
Diablo
Cody’s (“Tully”) script aims
at evaluating a few particular
cross-sections
of
modern
(white) American life, pulling
the
poignancy
of
the
film
out of the thin intersections
between
them.
Just
about
every important character in
the film is a part of a romantic
couple, each binary pair mired
with their own setbacks and
emotional deficiencies.
The juxtaposition of these
couples is the heart and soul of
this coming-of-age spectacle,
specifically how one character’s
hoard of life-experience versus
another
character’s
dearth
can change how each of them
responds to a certain situation.
It’s fantastic writing, and for
once a Best Original Screenplay
winner that isn’t masochistically
sad. Now, without reducing
the girl-power of this female-
written, female-starring teen-
pregnancy-flick,
I
want
to
bring to the forefront of the
conversation the men in the
proverbial overly knick-knacked
Minnesota living room.
Cody’s excellence with the
pen can be seen in just these
three
characters
alone,
the
three
father
figures
almost
as different as they could be,
however fundamentally linked.
Juno’s father Mac MacGuff
(J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”) is
on his second of two marriages,
content in his new life, though
inexorably linked to his ruinous
first
attempt.
Mark
Loring
(Jason
Bateman,
“Horrible
Bosses 2”) is a dream-chasing,
middle-aged man who believes
he has not chased his rock-star
aspirations far enough. Feeling
unfit for the suburbs, he comes
to question all that had brought
him there in the first place.
And at the head of this paternal
Cerberus, the most biologically
potent of AP chem students, the
cross-country runner batting
1000 from downtown, gold-
shorts Paulie Bleeker (Michael
Cera, “Superbad”) himself — a
geeky high-school junior who
must deal with the fact that he’s
impregnated his gregarious best
friend (and that he’s also in love
with her).
Cera plays the most pivotal
role of the three fathers in the
movie. Complete with all the
awkward,
endearing
charm
he has brought throughout his
career, Cera plays Page’s more
timid opposite — the more
reserved, simpler one of the
two, whose wholesome honesty
with Juno is able to bring her
back around in the end. Cera has
played these types of characters
before — his style as an actor is
the perfect counterpart to the
standard, precocious to the point
of annoyance, a role that a lot of
young actors/actresses bring to
the table. Cera’s characters are
always approachable, because,
for better or for worse, there’s
not much intimidating about
him. I think in a slightly skewed
way, Cera’s late 2000s run can
find an analog in Adam Driver’s
recent success. Both are actors
who play a perfect “everyman”
— solid performers who don’t
look like traditional movie stars,
and who are able to peel back a
layer of ego to bring roles down-
to-earth. Of course, this type
of character, this type of actor,
isn’t going to find their way
into every big role in every big-
budget movie. Their niche is, for
better or for worse, in the types
of heartfelt indie projects that
come out of individual creative
minds like Cody’s. They’re the
Alfonso
Gomez-Rejons
and
Bo Burnhams of the world,
directors who can pick out talent
that turns characters into real
people on screen. And at least to
me, there can never be enough of
them.
Paulie Blecker,
introvert and ...
a father figure?
STEPHEN SATARINO
Daily Arts Writer
MICHAEL CERA DAY
remains one of the high points
of comedy in the 21st century.
Hill’s infuriated shouting is
what most will remember, but
Cera’s deadpan summation of
the whole ordeal is the perfect
punchline: “This guy is either
gonna think, ‘Here’s another
kid with a fake ID’ or ‘Here’s
McLovin,
the
25-year-old
Hawaiian organ donor.’”
It could certainly be argued
that Cera has never gotten
another
role
as
perfectly
suited
for
him
as
Evan,
another part that lets him
loose low-key gut busters with
dizzying frequency yet also
tap into surprising emotional
depth.
“Scott
Pilgrim
vs.
the World” comes close, and
he voiced the best onscreen
Robin of all time in “The
Lego Batman Movie” just last
year, but that unquantifiable
something has never clicked
back into place. This shouldn’t
be seen as a condemnation of
his career in the years since,
however, though it’s certainly
regrettable. Rather, it should
be a reminder, should we
ever need one, of the quality
of
“Superbad”
and
more
importantly, the quality of its
pasty co-lead.
It could certainly
be argued that
Cera has never
gotten another
role as perfectly
suited for him as
Evan