I Don't Understand Why People Like This Movie

I don't know the source material either, but I loved the movie.

I didn't find Scott to be a jerk. I thought his voice, mannerisms, and reactions to things were hilarious. I also didn't think what he did was that big of a "cheat" since he did actually break it off with Knives; he was just a little late in doing it, which was understandable as he didn't want to hurt her feelings and was also trying to figure out what exactly he had with Ramona.

As for Ramona's appeal, what can I say, you're right in that there's not much personality there. But I found her to be really good-looking, and in movies, that's usually all the woman has to be, and frankly, in a comedy, that's good enough for me too.

I thought the movie was hilarious, and I also liked the superhero element, which was kind of a cool change-of-pace with some entertaining action scenes.

For the same reason they liked Submarine. Because of Manic Pixie Girls.

So, Scott Pilgrim vs the World is possibly my all-time favorite movie, which is pretty weird because I don't usually go for movies like this. I didn't know about the comic books before watching the movie, but have since gone back and read them.

Your post really made me start to think about what makes me like this movie so much, and one of the things I've realized is that I'm having a really hard time putting reasons into words.

To start, I completely understand how if you don't like the main characters of a movie, it's ridiculously hard to like it. That actually happens to me all the time.

Following up on that point, I also understand how you wouldn't like Scott or Ramona. The movie goes out of its way to point out how Scott is self-centered (mooching off of Wallace, skipping band practice to hang out with Ramona, forgetting about his dates with Knives, etc) and whiny (always talking about how everything "sucks" and how everything is "hard", even though he doesn't have a job or any responsibilities). He's like an immature, whiny teenager who never grew up. Ramona, on the other hand, is full of baggage and definitely comes off as standoffish and empty. We never really find out anything she's interested in (except for maybe tea and hair dye), and she remains mysterious throughout the whole movie.

So what's redeeming about these characters? I think the point of Scott's character is that he still has a lot of growing up to do -- the whole movie is about a series of events that help him to grow. The presence of Ramona in his life slowly pushes him out of his "comfort zone" with his friends, his band, and Wallace. We get to see him try the same confrontation with Gideon twice after he screws it up the first time. He learns to respect himself and to respect Knives and Ramona. I think when the movie ends, it is implied that Scott's life will be different than it was when the movie starts; he won't be living with Wallace anymore, and may not even be living in Toronto. He'll hopefully be more responsible, and he'll have a purpose.

As far as Ramona is concerned, I think Scott's flaws prevent the audience from seeing what Ramona is really like. She definitely is standoffish at first encounter, probably because of her own history. Scott definitely idolizes her throughout the movie, to the point that he doesn't really notice these flaws; this comes crashing down midway through the movie when she changes her hair color and ditches him during their first date. I have the feeling that if there was a sequel, we would get to know a lot more about who Ramona is, since I think Scott will have learned to show more interest and she will have learned to let down her guard.

You mention that you didn't think the movie was funny. I think the movie is hilarious, from Scott's "I have to pee on her" line to the scene where he jumps out the window as Wallace says "he just left." I guess the movie just hits my kind of humor and doesn't hit yours. (For the life of me, I can't figure out why people think The Princess Bride is funny).

One last thing; I think the biggest reason I love this movie is because of the style more than the plot or the characters. I love the way the movie slides in and out of reality, and I think this is done intentionally to depict the way Scott experiences the world. Sometimes time drags, other times he slips through hours at a time in a daydream. Encounters with Ramona's exes are video game boss fights instead of typical awkward confrontations. The vegan has superpowers because he's better than most people. It's brilliant.

Did you just watch it once, because it's much better the second time you watch it? The first time I saw it, I didn't much like it but I had a strong feeling I'd like it more a second time and I was right. I loved it and I've seen it many times. The thing is, you're right about Scott being a total jerk but the whole point of the movie is that he's a jerk that realizes that he's a jerk at the end and redeems himself. The first time you watch it, you don't know that, though, so you're just watching a jerk being a jerk to people. When you watch it again and you know that he changes at the end, it's much better.

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I found the movie to be really quite original, and I wasn't expecting to, so I enjoyed it a lot.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAIJ3Rh5Qxs

I know my answer is a bit late, but to me the movie is more about both of the characters growing. Ramona was a bitch, but tries to change and Scott definitely does. At the beginning of the movie, he never thinks about the feelings of other people. He did hurt Kim's feelings by breaking up with her and showing her all his "awesome" new relationships, while pretending to still being friends with her. He went into a relationship with Knives while not really feeling anything for her. He also didn't break up with her and pretty much cheating on her, not because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but because didn't want to feel bad because of it. We even know that there had to be more girls, if we think about the stuff Julie says.
For the most part Scott Pilgrim is just a wonderful playful movie for me, but the ending changes everything about it. Seeing Scott grow, because of the problems he has to face is great, especially after we see his second chance on the bossfight and Kim now playing for him and Knives fighting with him, showing us, that they could forgive him, after he actually said that he is sorry. While he also was able to forgive Envy, since she did to him, what he did to everyone else. I would have prefered Knives to be his choice, but I also love the movie with this ending.

I honestly think it has to do with the nostalgia that comes with the film. It leans heavily on references to pop culture that people people loved as children and people latch onto that part.

I personally just find the 2 main characters completely unlikeable and think it's almost insulting that we are meant to root for them. If the film at least ended with Scott losing both of his crushes it could have been somewhat redeemed.