Que Cera, Cera

Michael Cera is a name that everybody knows, popular Canadian actor, and frontman of the new-age band of awkward-actors (alongside Jesse Eisenberg on guitar, Kat Dennings on bass, Kristen Stewart on drums and their bearded tour manager Zach 'The one from the Hangover' Galifianikis )*.

 'vs. The World' star, Michael Cera
Image Courtesy of movies.yahoo.com

Since first coming into his own as George Michael Bluth in the underrated American comedy Arrested Development in 2003, Cera has since come leaps and bounds into the hearts of his fans. With the axing of the show in 2006 things could've arguably been looking pretty bleak for an actor like Cera, but a year on and after appearing as socially awkward teen Evan in Superbad, his movie stream is yet to stop running. Soon after Superbad he graced our screens yet again in Juno where he played socially awkward teen Paulie Bleeker. He then followed this performance up, with Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist where he played socially awkward teen, Nick. I'm sure you can see a pattern emerging here without me having to talk about Year One (...Thank God).

It's safe to say that over the years Cera has mastered the art of playing mild-mannered characters with an air of sanity and humanity about them. Now don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of Michael's, I think that using his stuttery-voice-cracking shtick he makes a great comedy actor (although for some it can get tiresome) and on occasion he can be equally as good at some of the more serious scenes he is expected to perform in, take Juno for example. But what I'm here to consider today is how well he will play out his lead role of Scott Pilgrim in the cinematic adaptation of cult comic book series Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

The internet has been abuzz lately with discussions about whether he's cut out for the role of Scott, a 23 year old Canadian slacker and bass player in the band Sex Bob-Omb (and the video game references don't stop there). He matches the nationality, definitely looks the part and is only a year off of the written age, so what's the problem? Realistically, there shouldn't be one. Speaking as a fan of the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, I can see there are definite similarities between the two. Scott Pilgrim has the same air of real-world sentiment about him that Cera's acting style does, they're both based on the idea of an almost normal guy trying constantly to grapple and cope in a world surrounded by sarcasm and bawdiness. So, surely this is the perfect role for Canada's boy-wonder? You may say yes, but for the sceptics, this is where the cracks start to show.

Edgar Wright and Michael Cera
Image courtesy of Wired.com

Cera is rather relentlessly the nice-guy, winning the hearts of his female (and male) fans far and wide, with his 'cute' characteristics. Scott Pilgrim on the other hand, is more than just that. Aside from the similarities between Cera and himself, Scott is a prolific fighter, something of a ladies man and a wannabe rock-star. He has an arrogant machismo about him alongside all his other traits, something that judging by the some of the footage I've seen so far, Cera doesn't quite seem to be pulling off. I'm not one to pass early judgement though and I believe everyone deserves a fair trial, so I'll wait and see the movie for myself before preaching anything set in stone. Truthfully, I'm not sceptical about it though, I have faith in Michael and even more so in director and Brit-comedy legend Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). If between them they can work out a middle ground between Cera's portrayal of Youth in Revolt's bad-boy François Dillinger and his usual bumbling Everyman persona, then we're most definitely in for a treat and quite possibly the perfect silver screen rendition of a comic book character. I'm a huge fan of the series, so this performance could really have an effect on how I (and many others) perceive the Canadian actor we all know and love, so let's hope he pulls it off.

Unfortunately I have to wait until the 25th for the UK release, damn.

*Disclaimer: This is not a real band, just a metaphor for the purpose of comparison, shame.