| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| turrell |
Posted - 12/15/2007 : 23:19:29
If Little Miss Sunshine was too sweet for you (it wasn't for me but I know for some), then Juno may be the film for you. This is an incredibly well written film that follows a smart-tongued teenager who becomes pregnant and works out how to deal with her predicament. Ellen Page, the title character creates a character that we don't have to sympathize with because she won't allow it. Usually when teenagers spout off dialogue that that is too smart to be believed it doesn't match their character and comes across overwritten (think Dawson's Creek). Page is smart enough that we believe her character would say these things.
Jennifer Garner is sympathetic as the woman who has everything, except the ability to procreate. Allison Janney plays the stepmother who helps guide Juno through he pregnancy letting her make mistakes to learn from and stepping in to protect her when Juno cannot protect herself. Jason Bateman plays Garners husband who wants to hold on to 1993 and is markedly lukewarm on the adoption. Michael Cera (Bateman's TV son on Arrested Development) plays the unwitting father of the gestating child.
If all of this sounds a little too predicatble, then you are in for a refreshing treat. Characters talk cynically but really try to do the right thing. The choices are not what you might expect and the characters play against stereotype. Juno views approaches her pregnancy with curiosity and brings us along for the ride. The teenagers look on the surface like the typical movie youngsters but they are actual humans.
This movie was sweet (not too sweet), funny, and smart. I highly recommend this if you are in the mood for aa thoughtful comedy. Anyone else see it? |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| silly |
Posted - 05/09/2008 : 18:48:31
Her biggest problem was who was going to pay for it and who would drive her to the clinic, I think. She even got a "good" boyfriend by the end of the movie, as opposed to the ticket scalper dude.
But that was a comedy, and all anybody remembers about the movie is Phoebe's swimsuit and Spicoli, anyway. Hardly as significant a flick as Juno 
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| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 05/09/2008 : 16:37:24
"It's not like an abortion is NECESSARILY an easy painless process," I should say, and I meant emotionally, not physically. |
| BaftaBaby |
Posted - 05/09/2008 : 16:16:36
quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
And it's not like an abortion is an easy, painless process to go through either.
That depends how it's done ... & you've had/seen how many?
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| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 05/09/2008 : 16:00:47
quote:
Big movie when I was in high school was Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which not only featured actress getting pregnant, but getting an abortion, too, and not telling the parents. She didn't have to spend an entire school year being talked about and pointed at while being physically uncomfortable, to say the least.
And yet Jennifer Jason Leigh communicated far more pain and internal turmoil than Ellen Page was ever asked to. And it's not like an abortion is an easy, painless process to go through either. |
| silly |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 12:06:50
It's interesting the reaction this seems to provoke (not just here, I've seen it other places)
Lots of movies, even supposedly realistic ones, have characters that seem to know too much, or have a clever line waiting at the tip of their tongue. I don't see what the big deal is. The "honest to blog" sounded irritating to me, too, but I don't have teens, so I don't know if they really talk like that. Wouldn't really surprise me, what with lolcats and all that.
Is it the teen pregnancy thing? Big movie when I was in high school was Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which not only featured actress getting pregnant, but getting an abortion, too, and not telling the parents. She didn't have to spend an entire school year being talked about and pointed at while being physically uncomfortable, to say the least.
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| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 08:12:50
quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
Again, that says something about the individual audience member. It says nothing about the movie.
Consider this statement: "I don't like touring in France because I've toured enough European countries for a lifetime."
Does it say anything of value about France? Is the fact that France is a European country grounds for criticism? I assert that the above statement says nothing about France and everything about the speaker.
The film and the audience's response to it are two sides of the same coin. If one has seen all the tiresome mafia films and has had enough of the ground shared by all of them, then one can reasonably be irritated by sitting through the same ground again, whatever aspects of the film are not shared with the others. Similarly, one can decide that the film is highly likely to have the characteristics shared by all the others and decide not to sit through it. Same with cynical brunettes. Same with European countries. If one has visited numerous European countries and disliked them all in the same way, one can expect to dislike France in that way. And yes, of course that's something to do with France. It doesn't mean France has to change, but it's meaningless to the point of imcomprehsibility to say that a feature of France that it shares with other countries says nothing about it. |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 08:04:58
quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
"honest to blog"
That's meant to sound like a lame teen thing.
quote:
"that's one doodle that can't be undid, homeskillet"
That's meant to sound like a lame parent thing.
quote:
"Next time I see that Bleeker kid I'm going to punch him in the weiner"
I don't know why but reading that made me laugh out loud, so that one's fine too. |
| GHcool |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 06:37:55
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
like saying one doesn't like Goodfellas because its about Italian American gangsters.
But that would be perfectly valid. One could quite reasonably (and probably should) feel that one has seen enough of Italian American gangsters for a lifetime. One could be tired of cynical brunettes just the same.
Again, that says something about the individual audience member. It says nothing about the movie.
Consider this statement: "I don't like touring in France because I've toured enough European countries for a lifetime."
Does it say anything of value about France? Is the fact that France is a European country grounds for criticism? I assert that the above statement says nothing about France and everything about the speaker. |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 05:58:49
quote:
I am not saying that Cody is writing on par with Shakespeare or even Tarantino for that matter, but I just enjoyed hearing the poetry of words in this film despite its lack of plausibility
Well, that's the crux of it, I suppose. This is going to come down to a matter of personal taste, but indeed, Cody's writing is not on par with Tarantino's and I think that's what I'll go with as my main point. It's not that I dislike the dialogue because it's unrealistic, although it certainly is; I dislike it because it's BAD. I found it completely obnoxious, and certainly not in the least poetic, to hear quips like "honest to blog" or "that's one doodle that can't be undid, homeskillet" or "Next time I see that Bleeker kid I'm going to punch him in the weiner"; I mean, they're just NOT FUNNY or clever or amusing or anything. They're annoying. And while we're on the subject, Tarantino dialogue makes sense in a Tarantino world, which is populated by movie icons and not human beings. The Juno universe is populated by human characters who don't talk like human characters.
God, I've talked more about this film than movies I've seen a billion times. |
| turrell |
Posted - 05/08/2008 : 04:49:36
I loved Pulp Fiction and clearly no one talks like that in real life especially in the situations they were in - yet I do not fault that one bit. This is art - it is not a documentary about teens or teen pregnancy.
We don't blame Shakespeare for writing in ways that people in the 17th century would never speak - certainly not off the top of their heads.
I am not saying that Cody is writing on par with Shakespeare or even Tarantino for that matter, but I just enjoyed hearing the poetry of words in this film despite its lack of plausibility - I would rather hear someone who is unrealistically clever than a real teenager - have you heard any of them lately (wow I sound old - I relaize that as well!) |
| Demisemicenturian |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 23:58:41
quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
like saying one doesn't like Goodfellas because its about Italian American gangsters.
But that would be perfectly valid. One could quite reasonably (and probably should) feel that one has seen enough of Italian American gangsters for a lifetime. One could be tired of cynical brunettes just the same. |
| GHcool |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 20:15:17
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
Am I the only person that's grown tired of the Hollywood cliche of the short, extremely cynical brunette that's always being sarcastic and doesn't care if she fits in? Because that, and that alone, is what ruined it for me.
Then you were irrationally prejudiced against the movie from the start. Forgive me for saying this, Downtown, but your post says more about you than it does about the movie.
I have a friend who says he refuses to see any dramas because he says that they are depressing and real life is depressing enough as it is, so why should he spend time and money to be depressed when he can spend that same time and money watching watching Iron Man. If one were to ask him what he thought of a universally praised dramatic movie, such as A Beautiful Mind or The Pianist, he would probably say that he hasn't seen it, but if he has seen it, he would probably say that the movie was terrible and he would not recommend it at all.
There's no basis for a comparison between what I said and someone dismissing an entire genre of films they haven't seen. I said I hated this movie because the main character was a Hollywood cliche with no originality whatsoever, which made it impossible for me to enjoy a film that may have had a good premise, plot, and otherwise good writing. I'm not the first person to say there was a particular aspect of a particular film that ruined it for them, the only problem is I'm saying it about a movie that's going through "English Patient Syndrome." I never expected my comment to convince anyone else that the Emperor has no clothes, but it was still perfectly legitimate.
I agree that my friend who doesn't like dramas is a much more extreme case than your dislike of the Juno character type. I disagree that your comment is a legitimate criticism of the film. To say that one doesn't like Juno because its about a cynical brunette is like saying one doesn't like Goodfellas because its about Italian American gangsters. |
| Downtown |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 17:48:54
quote:
Originally posted by TitanPa
You can argue about the plot or the preganancy all you want. What I dont get is that you can tell this was written by someone much older than Juno's character. Juno is way too mature, talks like an adult, and knows too much for how old she really is.
Most kids arnt that mature and wouldnt be this calm carrying around a baby. But thats not what irks me.
WHen Juno's water breaks she yells "Thunder Cats are Gooooo!!"
Now anyone younger than, Id say 25, would they understand where this line came from???? I havent seen it on TV in ages. OTher things she talks about also wouldnt be on the minds of Kids these days.
Thundercats has been on Cartoon Network and there's talk of a live action movie. |
| Downtown |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 17:46:54
quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
Am I the only person that's grown tired of the Hollywood cliche of the short, extremely cynical brunette that's always being sarcastic and doesn't care if she fits in? Because that, and that alone, is what ruined it for me.
Then you were irrationally prejudiced against the movie from the start. Forgive me for saying this, Downtown, but your post says more about you than it does about the movie.
I have a friend who says he refuses to see any dramas because he says that they are depressing and real life is depressing enough as it is, so why should he spend time and money to be depressed when he can spend that same time and money watching watching Iron Man. If one were to ask him what he thought of a universally praised dramatic movie, such as A Beautiful Mind or The Pianist, he would probably say that he hasn't seen it, but if he has seen it, he would probably say that the movie was terrible and he would not recommend it at all.
There's no basis for a comparison between what I said and someone dismissing an entire genre of films they haven't seen. I said I hated this movie because the main character was a Hollywood cliche with no originality whatsoever, which made it impossible for me to enjoy a film that may have had a good premise, plot, and otherwise good writing. I'm not the first person to say there was a particular aspect of a particular film that ruined it for them, the only problem is I'm saying it about a movie that's going through "English Patient Syndrome." I never expected my comment to convince anyone else that the Emperor has no clothes, but it was still perfectly legitimate. |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 14:04:54
I'm under 25 and I'm well aware of the Thunderbirds. I don't think I was at 17, but I don't think it's entirely implausible that Juno McGuff would know about them. (Also, they had a big-budget, though unseen by most, movie version come out fairly recently.) I do object to the awkward, ham-handed way the reference is jammed in there, but that's mitigated somewhat by the fact that Juno confuses the Thunderbirds and the ThunderCats. She also confuses Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington earlier in the movie. I don't know if these mistakes were deliberate, but if they were, it was a good move on Cody's part -- it takes some of the edge off of Juno's affected hipster air.
This isn't to say that Cody isn't also trying to make herself look cool by referencing the Thunderbirds, regardless. |
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