In the future, I might leave choosing the movie up to my wife. When I scanned the movie ad for the weekend, I didn’t even see this listed. Thank goodness she checked the ad out also or we might have ended up seeing something crappy instead.
‘Juno’ deserves every accolade it has received so far and more. I could not believe how Diablo Cody wove together such sweetness, heartbreak, angst and humor into just over 90 minutes. And director Jason Reitman and the letter perfect cast did nothing to damage the script and everything to lift it even higher.
I can’t say enough about this movie, and this comes from a guy who stayed up until 1:30 a.m. the other night to watch “Smokey and the Bandit” for the God knows how manyth time because it just makes me laugh. I don’t always find myself in the mood for serious subject matter, but when it’s done as well as “Juno” is, I can always find time.
Ellen Page‘s portrayal of the unapologetically unique title character melds nicely with the realistic geekiness Michael Cera brings to Paulie. You hardly remember he was helping to sling dick jokes in “Superbad” just a few months ago.
But it’s the supporting characters that really bring out the film’s humanity. Juno’s Dad (J.K. Simmons – one of the many “that guy” actors out there) and stepmom (Allison Janney making us all feel like C.J. Cregg was a million years ago) help you see why Juno has such a great soul while Jason Bateman‘s tortured manboy and Jennifer Garner‘s yuppie wannabe Mom show you that life ain’t all that great in the suburban developments.
If you think a movie about teen pregnancy can’t entertain you, drop that notion. Even if you don’t like it, the thing’s only 90 minutes (remember when all movies ran that long?) and the quirky indie soundtrack will at least get your toes tapping.
Thanks for the recommendation. And I like your blog!