Juno Review
by [email protected] (dnb AT dca DOT net)December 10th, 2007
JUNO
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2007 David N. Butterworth
***1/2 (out of ****)
First there was "Knocked Up," a winning combination of hilarity and honesty, one of the better comedies (make that films) of the year. Now there's "Juno" ("Knocked Up Too"?), another smart and uproarious little independent that could from "Thank You For Smoking"'s Jason Reitman.
It seems that getting accidentally pregnant is one of the funnier things to happen to the movies these past twelve months.
For what a sweet treat "Juno" is. It's sweet and charming and sincere and funny and perfectly cast and wonderfully written and it's got these cute little songs plastered all over the soundtrack that really set--and maintain--the mood (which is wacky and irreverent and touching and happy and sad). It, "Juno," is quintessentially quirky and if you see it with the right audience--college students I'd venture/recommend--then your appreciation of it will likely be heightened even more. Of course, you'll probably need to see it a second time to catch all the dialogue you'll miss between chuckles.
Juno (named after the Roman goddess, *not* the city in Alaska) is a sarcastic, 16-year-old misfit who finds herself pregnant (by Paulie Bleeker) and decides to give the kid up for adoption. Ellen Page ("Hard Candy") is Juno; "Superbad"'s Michael Cera plays the meek geek expectant father--"wizard!" Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman lend terrific support as the potential adoptive parents, Vanessa and Mark Loring, whose Desperately Seeking Spawn ad (so to speak) in the local 'PennySaver' catches Juno's stink eye. J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney as Mac and Bren MacGuff, Junebug's HVAC Dad and dog-obsessed stepmom, have never been better.
Throw in Juno's cheerleader girlfriend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), a scene-stealing convenience store clerk (Rainn Wilson--"That's one doodle that can't be un-did, home skillet"), and Juno's little sister (who appears to go by the name of Liberty Bell) and you've got yourself a recipe for rib-tickling ribaldry, 2007-style. But it's beautifully more than that.
Given Juno's (the character) sophistication and appeal, her caustic sense of humor and Thank Blog, hamburger-phoned delivery, screenwriter Diablo Cody could so easily have made everyone around her boobs and dunces. But she doesn't. Juno features--eek!--savvy parents and a credible, likable couple in the Lorings (OK, so Mark's a bit skeevy). And then there's the dialogue itself which, aided and abetted by Page's pugnacious performance, crams more zingers into 92 minutes than it has any right to:
Juno on adoption: You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events. Juno on pets: Geez Bananas, shut your frickin' gob, OK?
Juno on abortion: Nah, I'm gonna go to Women Now. Just 'cause they help out women now.
Juno on wrong numbers: No, it's Morgan Freeman--do you have any bones that need collecting?
Juno on furniture: It all started with a chair.
Cody's wit and imagination are seemingly endless. But don't dwell on the dialogue; marvel at the whole enchilada, especially the way it doesn't devolve into stock sappiness. "Juno" is the next little thing for the AIM, pro-me generation. It's a SunnyD-lite.
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David N. Butterworth
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
