Ah, the traditional birthday movie. My sweetie takes me to one every year. I'd heard nothing but good things about this one, so off we went. It was a very good choice.
I've been ranting about characters in independent movies for a while. Far too often, they're too cute, too quirky, too different. It's a odd mish-mash of what people pretty far removed from "real life" think these people should be like. And most of the time, it's damned annoying.
Not so in Juno. These characters *felt* real, talked real, acted real. I half expected to find Juno and Bleeker hanging out on the bench in front of the TCBY when I left the theater.
Warm and funny, I especially liked that Juno's parents weren't screaming stereotypes and that the supposedly "perfect" couple from the Penny Saver was far from perfect. I could identify with Jason Bateman's character being uncertain about having fatherhood thrust upon him, and Jennifer Garner's nervous, fragile domineering proved she really can act.
If anything felt forced, it was the pseudo relationship between Juno and Mark. I could understand why he would have seen her as a chance to recapture a fragment of his rock dreams, but I never really understood why Juno would spend her free time with him.
Imminently quotable, and with a cool soundtrack that enhanced every scene, Juno's a must see, and probably a must buy. More little movies should be like this.
1 comment:
i assumed Juno was directed by the same guy that directed Knocked Up because it's about an unexpected pregnancy, and Michael Cera stars as Juno's boyfriend (he was one of the goofy kids from Superbad, a close relative of Knocked Up), but it turns out this is not the case
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