«Remarkably Well-Written and Warm Comedy»

I wanted to hate Juno so bad. I suppose all of the trendy dialogue and often unnecessary indie credibility made me want to target this as among the most overrated film of 2007. In retrospect I hate when I have preconceptions going into a film but at least here I can admit its impact. Juno isn't overrated at all and although the dialogue is still hard to believe in flashes; the characters were compelling, enjoyable, and very easy to like. It was a simple task to forgive the few flaws I expected to find.

The film is directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking), the son of director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters). It is written by Diablo Cody, a known blogger who won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Juno. The film's cast is actually very deep for its modest budget of $7 million dollars. The cast includes Ellen Page in the title role, Michael Cera as her quasi-boyfriend and father-to-be, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner as the would-be adoptive parents of Juno's daughter, and J.K. Simmons as Juno's father, among others. It always surprises me when J.K. Simmons appears in a role as a nice guy after seeing him play an imprisoned Aryan gang leader for years on Oz and the fiery J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man movies. He is always an outstanding supporting actor.

Juno follows a young girl named Juno MacGuff (Page) who discovers she is pregnant. The film looks the issue of abortion right in the face, for better or worse, seemingly indifferent to the views of either side, and eventually Juno decides she will have the child but instead put it up for adoption. Mark and Vanessa Loring (Bateman and Garner) are a married thirty-something couple that want to adopt a child. Juno's interactions with both Mark and Vanessa are engaging and surprisingly fresh. The supporting characters are very strong and make the main characters even more enjoyable to watch.

The strength of Juno's character seems to be one of the film's contentious points. Everyone seems to agree that Page is amazing in the role, and she is, but the way the character is written was something I expected tackle as a flaw. It isn't at all; she is a powerful, intelligent, and confident young woman who I found not only believable but completely original. But there are many reasons to recommend Juno. It's well-written, it contains some great performances, and it has a soundtrack and style I appreciated very much.

[Friday, November 21, 2008]

«I've never seen a movie like this before»

"Juno" grabs you from the start,walking down the street drinking a gallon of Sunny D.Ellen Page is so cool,thats the only word I can think of.I've know people in my life somewhat like her who just say whats on there mind.I wish I could have been like that.
Michael Cera has become such a huge star,I never thought after seeing him on "Arrested Development"I would hear from him again,even though I was a fan of the show,and its great to have Jason Bateman also in the movie who does a great job .
The ending is a big suprise.I thought I figured it out,but I didn't.
"Juno" is a film everyone will enjoy.

[Monday, November 17, 2008]

«Juno, just like the capital of Alaska. lol»

Genius, pure genius. Janeane Garofalo's performance as Juno Maguffandorfer will resonate with fans for many a year. "No, it's MORGAN FREEMAN got any bones that need collecting" brilliant, even oscar worhthy...........it did win for best screenplay come to think of it. Diablo Cody's screenplay snap, crackles and pops with vibrant colorful euporhic uba-slang such as WIZARD, WHAT THE BLOG?, and HOMEOSKILLET MY DARLIN JIM DIDIT WODUNNIT POPASQUASH SUMMIT? My fave scene's when our prego hero is somehow eating lunch in an opened trophy case with her friend and there's a big, fat RAMONES sticker behind her. Howed they get in there, and more importantly, howed the sticker get in there. Director right before Juno scene is to be shot: "OK OK, make sure we got's plenty of random punk stikas in da backround. Crew suggestion: "uhh how bout green day, or blink 182". Director: "No no, REAL PUNK, not that MTV crap". Rock on Juno

[Saturday, November 15, 2008]

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