This article originally appeared on Complex.com
About halfway through Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Michael Cera's titular character, wonders aloud why his indie rock band, Sex Bob-Omb, can’t have their “own secret shows.” Sardonic drummer Kim Pine (Alison Pill) quickly retorts by stating the band’s lack of clout makes it so “all of [their] shows are secret shows.”
Scott is too in his head to fully process Kim’s comment, but the dialogue is much more than a joke. The rapid-fire exchange doubles as a treatise of the Edgar Wright film’s reception upon its initial 2010 release, wherein it played to small audiences as a veritable secret show of its own. Scott Pilgrim was a box office Sex Bob-Omb, making a little over $10 million off its $60 million budget, but found a second life as a cult classic upon home release. Examining the movie adaptation of the Bryan Lee O’Malley graphic novel series—the 10th anniversary of its release is today, August 13—and it’s clear Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is like an indie band who dropped an album that hardly anyone heard but managed to be the best representation of its genre.