A Juno Movie Review
Honest. Brutally honest. Clever. Witty & Clever. Refreshing. Raw & Refreshing.
Juno is the type of movie that comes along and reminds you why you like watching them in the first place. While most box office heavyweights are throwing more glitz and flash at you than a lite bright, Juno uses the most foundational of elements to keep an audience: storytelling.
Minneapolis local and former stripper turned Citypages editor Diablo Cody pens a masterpiece of humor and warmth that could only be achieved by an industry newbie who hasn't fallen victim to Hollywood formulas. Fox Searchlight and the Weinstein Companies must have pissed themselves when they first absorbed the sharp dialogue that Cody scribbled into an intelligent, concise and entirely human tale of teenage pregnancy.
While the film's main heroin Juno is overly sarcastic and often times unrealistically quick, she is also charming. Portrayed by 20-year old sensation Ellen Page, the now Golden Globe Nominated actress does an astonishing job of bringing a lightheartedness to the seriousness of life. You'll leave feeling relaxed, optimistic and surprisingly confident about your own rough edges. If everyone was as comfortable in their (stretched) skin as Juno, we'd have a lot less stress in the world.
The casting bravado doesn't stop with Page. Michael Cera, most recently of Superbad fame, adds the perfect (although limited) male counterpart to Page. His soft-spoken, sweet and comfortable demeanor enhance the film's genuine take on love and friendship. Throw in a desperate Jennifer Garner looking to adopt, a flawed Jason Bateman confused about middle life and a set of parents that remind you of a couple in your neighborhood and you'll have trouble finding a character that wasn't perfectly cast (Juno's best friend played by Olivia Thirlby was my least favorite). An extremely funny surprise appearance by Rainn Wilson of "the Office" serves as the seventh chicken nugget when you only ordered a six-piece.
Overall this flick is one that deserves the Golden Globe and international acclaim that's been dropped in a baby basket on it's doorstep. The short run time (91 minutes) is appropriate for a conversation heavy script and the messages are inspiring without being forced. Diablo Cody will become a namesake in screenwriting for years to come and director Jason Reitman continues his string of impressionable hits after Little Miss Sunshine made him a staple. Bottomline: See Juno; it will teach you to trust your voice again, which is something that was always easy as a teen but increasingly difficult as an adult.
Memorable Marketing
Juno's marketing campaign is a phenomenal mix of genius promotion. Take for example the obscure handouts that were being distributed to fans and in media kits:
2 comments:
I saw this movie last week. While I thought it was pretty good, I didnt share the same excitement you did for it. Youa re right about Ellen Page, job well done and she deserves the GG nomination. Michael Cera, while funny, uses his same old gimick. Hes damn good at it but Id like to see something else from him.
I thought the dialogue was too much, especially for a 16 year old, ever a very well read one would not talk like that. I understand that the director/writer want us to fall in love with her character, which we do, but I think it could have been more subtle or perhaps easily fixed by making her say..college age.
I also had a problem with the voice overs. Most were pretty comical, but they were too few and far between that at times they seemed abrupt and took you out of the picture. They should have either added more or taken them out all together. They never really revealed much about the story any how. Could have been easily fixed by having such dialogue between two of the characters i.e. Page and Cerca's characters.
Lastly, I thought the whole sexual tension between Page and Bateman's character was uncalled for and it seemed simply thrown in there last minute. It seems as if they felt they needed an additional catalyst for making Bateman's character want to leave Gardner. He simply could havejust confided in Juno without the sexual tension.
That being said it is a movie and the most importat question is did you enjoy it? I did and I would recommend it. I just think it had potential to be better.
You make strong points in regards to why you felt this film could have been better. There is no doubt that The Juno character is a bit too advanced for her age, however I believe her character is implied to be exceptionally more mature for her age. Just look at her relationship with her best friend, who was very clearly written to act 16.
We are in agreement on two things you mentioned: the voice overs (awkwardly placed and unnecessary) and Bateman's character evolving into a creepy pedophile. I wonder if this was added later?
Overall though a great movie doesn't always need to be judged for what it doesn't get right, but for what it does. To me Juno did more than most films to entertain me.
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