Juno
By Jason Revill
With all this abrasive dialogue in the first part of the movie and the believable drama in the second half, it’s as though there are two screenplays crammed together. I wonder if this is a situation like with Superbad, where the writers brought in the script and were told that it was funny but needed more heart. It’s pretty obvious that there’s two different films here and to Jason Reitman’s credit, the one-liners sort of trickle out in favor of the more engaging story the longer the film goes on. Reitman may have made some definite miscalculations by stealing from Wes Anderson’s playbook and really forcing the oh-so-sweet indie music, but that he got right.
So after all that ranting and raving, what do I like about Juno? Everything else. Now that may not seem like a lot but it is. First off, every performance is great. Even if I don’t like a quarter of Juno’s dialogue, Ellen Page is great as is every other cast member. Michael Cera’s shtick will forever be funny to me as will Jason Bateman’s. The great thing about Bateman is that he always has that undercurrent of meanness that is taken to full advantage here. As Juno’s parents, Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons are wonderful in their “we love her even though she acts that way” sort of way, which I’ve seen in the eyes of my own family for years. For the record, anytime you see J.K. Simmons, you should expect a quality performance. Of all of them, Jennifer Garner is the best in what has to be some of the smartest casting all year. She has to go from one end of the spectrum to the other doing comedy to heavy emotion all the while perfectly capture what it is to be an uppity yuppie trying to maintain a flawless outward appearance.
You might find it hard to believe, but I think this is a great story. Sure Juno can be grating and she never really deals with the magnitude of what’s happened, but again everything else is pitch perfect. Maybe Juno’s parents aren’t as angry as they should have been, but isn’t it nice to see a depiction of a blended family where the stepparent isn’t a horrible person. It’s an actual functional family who for all their problems is supporting and loving of one another. Maybe we’re finally done with all those terrible seedy suburban underbelly films that sprung up after American Beauty.
For my money Juno works better as a drama that it does as a comedy and the final thirty minutes is really where that shines. The revelations about Mark and Vanessa’s past and relationship really go in a direction that is clever and unexpected. I know the movie’s title would suggest otherwise, but in a lot of ways this is really their story. All the one-off jokes and attitude from Juno really keep her character fairly shallow, but because of her we get to see far more depth from the adoptive parents than expected.
This is a fantastic movie; just expect that some people are going to have a hard time getting over the dialogue. However underneath that mess is actually a good little drama that is well done. Most everyone will be glad to see Juno, they just won’t want to hang out with her all the time.
The Grade
- Story: B+
- Acting: A-
- Visuals: B
- Originality: A-
- Enjoyability: B
- Overall: B+
|
