Juno
Juno
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Written by: Diablo Cody
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, J.K. Simmons
Jason Reitman’s second film Juno is anything but a sophomore jinx; he has once again hand-picked another clever script from which to build a unique and intelligent comedy. Juno is at the top of the heap in a year that was already filled with some stellar comedies. It also provides an interesting counterpoint/complement to Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up.
Ellen Page stars as the 16 year old Juno, a girl who is extremely sarcastic and way too smart for her age. And yet, unexpectedly, she finds herself pregnant with her sort-of boyfriend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), when they decide to have sex one night out of boredom (her decision moreso than his). Eventually she decides against an abortion and looks to give the baby up for adoption instead, finding rich couple Mark and Vanessa (Jason Batemen and Jennifer Garner) through an ad in the Penny Saver. Although at first they seem to be the perfect family for her unborn child, Juno eventually finds that everyone has their problems, leaving her with a very difficult decision to make.
The first thing you notice about this movie is the rapid fire dialogue and “quirky” slang. While this grabs your attention immediately, at first it seemed like the screenplay was trying a little too hard to set itself apart. In particular, I was turned off by the first 5 or 10 minutes (particularly the scene with Rainn Wilson), and the fact that every single character had something witty to say at any given moment. Eventually, however, things settle down a bit and the dialogue becomes more natural. While Superbad may have come closer to capturing how kids actually talk, I think Juno is quite timely and relevant in terms of the characters’ attitudes towards sex and relationships. Clearly, screenwriter Diablo Cody (a former stripper turned internet blogger/journalist) is a talented new voice in film and I am guessing she will have a bright career ahead of her. Her gift for gab is not unlike Mr. Kevin Smith, but it’s nice to see a female screenwriter writing such strong female characters.
Reitman’s direction in this movie is fantastic, with so many little scenes presented in interesting ways. His style isn’t overly flashy, and seems to have matured a bit from Thank You For Smoking even. It does feel a bit Wes Anderson-ish at times, mostly due to the immature characters and their childlike behaviour (except, in this movie, some of them actually are kids). Also, some of the detail in the sets and the wardrobes seemed a bit overly thought out (I did love the hamburger phone, however).
Most importantly, though, the movie has a heart at its center and despite Juno’s outward cynicism and cutting barbs, we can see that this whole situation is affecting her deeply. Hats off to Ellen Page for an amazing performance. She is quickly proving herself to be a young up and coming actress with a lot of clout and talent to boot. She has come a long way since the days when I first saw her on the TMN series Regenesis.
Michael Cera is cute and naive once again, hilarious in his subtlety and quiet innocence — not unlike his role in Superbad. J.K. Simmons, as Juno’s father, also steals virtually every scene he is in, and although Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner do provide comic relief at times, they both contribute solid and believable turns as a couple who may not have the perfect life we think they do.
The movie is accompanied by a great laidback indie soundtrack that doesn’t draw too much attention to itself, despite constant band references and a finale which features Page and Cera singing a duet of “Anyone Else But You” by The Moldy Peaches. This does bring up one other small annoyance in this film, however, which is that Juno just seemed a little too hip and cultured for a 16 year old girl. There aren’t many 16 year olds who can name drop Dario Argento and Iggy and the Stooges, and then crack jokes about Diana Ross (her reaction to a Sonic Youth CD was, however, more than credible). Although this aspect of her character was a bit hard to believe, it did make her a lot more interesting and identifiable for older audience members (there will be a lot of jokes that fly over the head of real 16 year olds).
Overall, this is a fabulous flick, and while the humour is certainly not as broad as Judd Apatow’s comedies, I think this is a movie that just about anyone can get into. It will also give Napoleon Dynamite a run for its money as one of the most quotable movies in recent years. Juno is stylish and original, and it tackles a sensitive topic with just the right balance of sarcasm, wit and emotion. Don’t miss it. — Sean
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: Rushmore, The Squid and the Whale, Clerks, Napoleon Dynamite
Comments (24)
I loved it.
Although, I play in a band that is a pretty big part of the local scene in AZ and you’d be surprised at how much the 16 year olds know. Especially when they really do listen to music from the 70’s now, because most of the music nowadays is “polished turds.”
Posted by Mike on December 21st, 2007This movie sounds so hip I want to kill myself.
I loathe hip things. The wardrobe, the situation and the things you mention about namedropping stuff like Dario Argento makes my teeth grind, I have to say. I probably wouldn’t like this film because of it. Not to mention Michael Cera and Jason Bateman are borderline inane on screen.
Posted by Henrik on December 21st, 2007Yeah I guess I sound like a snobby old fart by implying that 16 year olds know nothing. It just felt a bit like the screenwriter was projecting her own cool taste in music and movies onto the character, rather than writing what seemed appropriate for Juno.
Posted by Sean on December 21st, 2007I don’t think that ellen page’s charecter is really a charecter that needs to identify with 16 year old girl’s because it’s probaly a movie that won’t attract a audience under about 25. Pepole around this age vary in knowledge, in my school i once dropped a reference to Bottle Rocket to one of my freinds and he gave me a blank stare while the very next day i had a in depth conversation with a guy about the films of john ford.
Posted by Drew on December 21st, 2007“Not to mention Michael Cera and Jason Bateman are borderline inane on screen.”
……. Don’t make me hurt you.
Posted by Derek on December 21st, 2007For the record, when I was 16 I wasn’t really into movies that much… and I knew who Dario Argento was. The local video store had a zillion copies of Suspiria for like, $2.50 – I have no idea why, and a lot of people I knew ended up buying it and talking about it.
Funny enough, when I was at Music World trying to rape their 30% off sale, I saw that they had STACKS and STACKS of Suspiria DVDs for $1.99 each by the front register.
Is that movie known for this or something? Is Suspiria some film I can get anywhere for next to nothing?
Posted by Goon on December 21st, 2007I know that when I was in High School I loved Iggy Pop. He wasn’t my favorite, I was really into Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.
Posted by mike on December 21st, 2007I do have to say that most of the people i go to school with are completley oblivious to older music, all they care about is crap like soldier boy.
Posted by Drew on December 21st, 2007Great review Sean. I actually groaned when Juno’s friend said, “Oh my blog.” But like you said Sean, we settled into it and fairly quickly too because of how the dialogue was shooting out. I really liked this movie a lot.
Posted by Primal on December 21st, 2007Henrik, I think you’re gonna hate this movie.
I am… horrified… to report that I didn’t care much for Juno. Yes, count me among those that felt that these people were just spitting out screenplay at the expense of authenticity. Jokes more important than seeming REAL, to the point that well – Knocked Up seemed more real in comparison. It just felt pretty damn phony so much of the time…
I think I am most horrified to finally admit that I think I don’t like Ellen Page. Besides the fact that Juno’s character is obnoxious and uber-hipstery, and has to be so sharp all the time that she never has a somber ‘normal’ moment to make me relate to her/understand her… Ellen Page’s style itself reflects this – from both this and Hard Candy – I don’t care for the way she acts. In both of these films she plays way too smart to be believable, ultimately a smart kid (Page) playing a smart kid but neglecting an actual SOUL or true vulnerability. She’s off-putting. She spits out dialogue in a way that reminds me of Dawson’s Creek or Gilmore Girls at their worst. If it were in Clerks I’d forgive it because the whole world in that movie in which people speak is ridiculous, but her style in a movie where everyone else is normal…
GOD DAMN, I mean I can’t stand it, and think praise of her performance is extremely overrated. She’s so much more likely to get an Oscar nomination for this comedy performance than say, Amy Adams – who is in a role that requires SO much more work, and actual ACTING.
Posted by Goon on December 21st, 2007Also, I HATED the soundtrack.
Posted by Goon on December 22nd, 2007WOOT! (i’m sorry for taking up comment space)
Posted by Drew on December 22nd, 2007Come on Goon, tell us what you really think. lol
Posted by Baychuk on December 22nd, 2007hah. but yeah seriously, i wasnt having fun watching it, i felt kinda depressed that i didnt like it after it was over, and the more i think about the movie after the fact, the less and less i like it… I mean, its a fraud. Its not stop zingers in place of conversation, random pop cultural references in place of jokes, and other random pop cultural references clearly presented as Cody’s way of projecting her own vision of cool onto other people. It’s extremely grating. Add Ellen Page’s ironically detached style of acting and I just didn’t like these people. Only Bateman’s character seemed real to me, and the script wants you to hate him in the end.
If this movie were a stand up comedian it would be Dane Cook. It’s desperate for it to be loved and doesnt give a shit about character and heart – it just wants to be king shit at the cool table.
And again I go back to the soundtrack. God damn I hated it so much, and its even out of place considering Juno (if you actually believe the script) wouldn’t even listen to that sort of music. What is that soundtrack doing service to? The script? No. The characters? No. The atmosphere of every other “indie” comedy these days? Bingo.
1.5/4
Posted by Goon on December 22nd, 2007I can see how people would feel the same way you did Goon. In fact, I’m surprised I haven’t heard more people saying this.
For me, I started off thinking it was going to be annoying the whole way through and it quickly won me over. I’m not sure exactly what it was. Reitman’s direction probably had something to do with it.
Regarding Ellen Page, I started off finding her too detached to care about, but about halfway through the film that all changed. I didn’t find her particularly hilarious… there were 3 or 4 really funny laugh out loud moments for me, and I don’t think any of them came from her.
As for the soundtrack, I loved it. I’ve been listening to it all week. I can see how it’s not particularly believable for her character, but I do think the songs were appropriate to the subject and atmosphere of the film. Then again, I really dug Garden State and its soundtrack as well, which was admittedly quite forced at times.
Posted by Sean on December 22nd, 2007well, you should check out the review over at CinemaFusion. There was always a minority who hated LMS or GS – and back then I understood them but was not counting myself among them. I dont think either of those movies had particularly grand ambitions, and any pretentiousness was more a matter of the output not matching what they wanted…
…but this… I felt like I was being slapped in the face with the screenplay the whole time. While I can find an emotional reality in those other films, even with their flaws, I dont see it here. I find Juno extremely shallow and playing every scene for a lark. I’m not asking that I suffer through their pain and problems, but… I mean jeez… Juno pretty much acts no different with the baby than without. The bump on her stomach is more a prop than all the little things people harp on Wes Anderson for these days. I’ll take a zillion cases of Cate Blanchetts little shoes in the Life Aquatic over the hamburger phone. I think the emperor has no clothes here.
I wish the characters here had their individual voice. But they dont, they pretty much all have Diablo Cody’s. Does Tarantino and Smith fall into this trap sometimes? Sure, but they tend to fit into the worlds they create, and in Tarantinos case theres so much more brought to the table, and at least he’s not writing teenagers like that. Thank You For Smoking as well, is a decent movie, but after seeing Juno and thinking back, I really don’t know what people see in him as a director. He doesnt seem to bring anything more to the table than whoever directed other indie comedys like Everythying is Illuminated or Thumbsucker.
Anyways David Edelstein had an interesting rant against it too:
Posted by Goon on December 22nd, 2007http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17001360
Loved Thumbsucker as well…
Posted by Sean on December 22nd, 2007“I felt like I was being slapped in the face with the screenplay the whole time.”
Ah that sucks you felt that way. I find it one of the least offensive movies I’ve seen all year. The last movie I found really hitting me with screenplay was BloodRayne. But if there was one thing I didn’t like about the movie was it Michael Cera’s character. He didn’t have much of a voice at all, especially about his views on the pregnancy and it was all filled with Juno’s narration to try and fix it.
Posted by Primal on December 22nd, 2007Fun, but easily the most over-rated film of the year. Dialogue was way to difficult for me to process as it is too “hipstery” as you say.
Still, props to Page and Jenn Garner who surprsingly shines here as well.
Will watch again probably on cable, but that will be it.
3.5/5 stars.
Posted by Andrew James on December 23rd, 2007I just saw this today, and I had some comments. But Goon made them all for me.
However, I did enjoy J.K. Simmons’ performance.
Posted by Matt on December 28th, 2007I’m looking forward to seeing this but i’ll probably have to wait ’till the DVD.
Posted by Drew on December 28th, 2007I’ve known/loved the films of Dario Argento since I was 15. I met him this past summer.
Posted by Josh on December 31st, 2007http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/diablo-cody-screenplay.php
now thats satire.
Posted by Goon on February 14th, 2008Hate to break it to you, but I’m eighteen, and I knew about a lot of the types of things that Juno knows about that people seem to like to complain about in this movie when I was sixteen. Just sayin’. Don’t lump me and my friends in the rest of those overly sexed, culturally stunted idiots.
Posted by Ellie on November 23rd, 2008Leave a Reply