Juno
Diablo Cody (what a cool name!) has written a rare sort of screenplay - one that is real(istic), funny, touching and original. Hell she can write. So much 0f Hollywood cinema is presently very derivative and while derivative work in itself is not necessarily bad, and combining new and interesting mixtures of old clichés can no doubt work, the amount of remakes of old movies and sequels of semi-successful films sometimes leaves you feeling as if nothing new is being produced for screen. Juno is a breath, no make that a gust of fresh air. Some readers might groan at the prospect of another 'pregnancy film' after Knocked Up or The Waitress, but Juno (directed by Jason Reitman) leaves both these films for dead, which in many ways fall into the same old predictable patterns of storytelling about human behavior.
Juno MacGuff (played by Ellen Page) is a sixteen year old girl who gets pregnant and instead of keeping the baby herself or having an abortion, although she comes close, she finds a childless couple looking to adopt who advertise in the local paper. Ellen Page is brilliant. But she also has amazing and incredibly funny dialog to work with.
The father of the child 'Bleeker' (Paulie Bleeker played by Michael Cera) is both Juno's best friend and is very much in love with her. He is stunned, like many sixteen year old men might be, when Juno tells him she is pregnant. Their relationship is touching throughout the film. You might recognize Michael Cera from Arrested Development or more recently Superbad (which was incidentally super-good).
The tensions unfolding between the childless couple Mark and Vanessa (played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) also kept the relationship dynamic between Juno and these two characters interesting. Vanessa Loring (Garner) desperately wants a baby, she believes she was meant to be a mum (or should that be mom). Mark (Bateman) is not so sure. I was very impressed by the way both Garner and Bateman worked these roles, both somewhat outside what they have done previously.
Juno's dad (played by J.K. Simmons) is gruff and kindhearted with his daughter, and his reaction to Juno telling him that she is pregnant breaks the stereotypical mold that so many 'father' figures in films are pressed into. Juno's step-mom - a nail technician - (played by Allison Janney) is ballsey, caring and incredibly funny. Here again Cody has been able to write funny, believable, real, and untypical characters.
What might be a sensitive and even somewhat taboo topic of teenage pregnancy is taken on in this film with both style and a degree of nous. The film's ending also seems to break from typical 'Hollywood endings'. 5 stars. Juno makes it a tie for the best film I have seen this year thus far. Next up is either Cloverfield or 2 days in Paris.
Juno MacGuff (played by Ellen Page) is a sixteen year old girl who gets pregnant and instead of keeping the baby herself or having an abortion, although she comes close, she finds a childless couple looking to adopt who advertise in the local paper. Ellen Page is brilliant. But she also has amazing and incredibly funny dialog to work with.
The father of the child 'Bleeker' (Paulie Bleeker played by Michael Cera) is both Juno's best friend and is very much in love with her. He is stunned, like many sixteen year old men might be, when Juno tells him she is pregnant. Their relationship is touching throughout the film. You might recognize Michael Cera from Arrested Development or more recently Superbad (which was incidentally super-good).
The tensions unfolding between the childless couple Mark and Vanessa (played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) also kept the relationship dynamic between Juno and these two characters interesting. Vanessa Loring (Garner) desperately wants a baby, she believes she was meant to be a mum (or should that be mom). Mark (Bateman) is not so sure. I was very impressed by the way both Garner and Bateman worked these roles, both somewhat outside what they have done previously.
Juno's dad (played by J.K. Simmons) is gruff and kindhearted with his daughter, and his reaction to Juno telling him that she is pregnant breaks the stereotypical mold that so many 'father' figures in films are pressed into. Juno's step-mom - a nail technician - (played by Allison Janney) is ballsey, caring and incredibly funny. Here again Cody has been able to write funny, believable, real, and untypical characters.
What might be a sensitive and even somewhat taboo topic of teenage pregnancy is taken on in this film with both style and a degree of nous. The film's ending also seems to break from typical 'Hollywood endings'. 5 stars. Juno makes it a tie for the best film I have seen this year thus far. Next up is either Cloverfield or 2 days in Paris.
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