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MOVIE
REVIEW: JUNO

12/12/07

Here is a
challenge: Go through this year’s selection of theatrical
releases and you’d be hard press to find but a handful of
cleverly written movies. Juno written by Diablo Cody is one
of these movies. The dialog is wonderfully witty and certain
parts of the movie are hilarious. This is Diablo Cody’s
first feature film screenplay and it is a breath of fresh
air from the stale slate of screenplays that have been
written lately. Director Jason Reitman who brought us the
exceptional Thank You for Smoking delivers another engaging
movie that will have you caring for Juno MacGuff more than
you thought you would.
The problem all starts after Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page)
becomes pregnant after a night of sex with her friend Paulie
Bleeker (Michael Cera). Juno claims she had sex with him
because she was bored, but as Paulie says, there were a lot
of good shows on T.V that night for that to be true. After
Juno takes the third pregnancy test, indicating the
inevitable, she decides to have an abortion. Juno changes
her mind after a visit to the abortion clinic creeps her
out. After she come cleans to her parents, stepmother Bren
MacGuff (Allison Janney) and father Mac MacGuff (J.K.
Simmons), she tells them that she wants to give the baby up
for adoption. She finds what she thinks are the prefect
parents in an ad in the penny savers. After the first visit
with the couple, Juno is convinces that they will be good
parents. However, it is conveyed that Vanessa Loring
(Jennifer Garner) is far more interested in the adoption
then husband Mark Loring (Jason Bateman)
After getting the ultrasound pictures she rushes to the
Loring’s house to show them the pictures of their baby.
Vanessa is not home so Mark takes this opportunity to show
Juno his music collection and they start a conversation
about who is the greatest horror director and further
discuss the matter watching The Wizard of Gore. Mark quickly
turns off the movie and returns all his things to their
place when he realizes that Vanessa is coming, as Vanessa
considers all his hobbies a waste of time. On her next and
last visit to the Loring’s house, Juno learns that even
though she is a pretty smart girl there are things that are
beyond her level of maturity.
If you’ve ever met anyone like Juno, you know they are fun
to be around because they always have something witty to say
about any situation and this is exactly how this movie makes
you feel. However, I was a little annoyed for about the
first five minutes as the Juno character seemed annoying. I
think it had something to do with Ellen Page’s voice, her
voice is a little unusual and the way she delivers her lines
really got on my nerves, but all that disappears after about
the first five minutes as I started liking the characters
delivery. Ellen Page gives an astonishing performance. With
Juno and her performance in Hard Candy, Page is going to be
one hell of an actress. Michael Cera does the same character
he did for Superbad. He is great at playing these awkward
characters, but I wonder if the movie would have been better
if they had cast someone else. The problem with his
performance is that he conveys no emotion, but nowhere in
the movie do they tell us that this character has autism or
some other condition to explain his lack of emotion. He is
like the rainman of running, all he wants to do is run
track. Although his character’s reactions do lend to a lot
of laughs, I just thought that for this type of movie the
character seemed unrealistic.
Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner give pretty convincing
performances as the Lorings. From the beginning it is shown
that their marriage has a problem. Mark is not mature enough
for marriage or a baby as he still dreams of the life he had
before he married Jennifer. Jennifer however is so blinded
by getting a baby that she thinks it can solve any and all
problems in her marriage. The performance by J.K. Simmons
was first-rate. This guy can play about anything he wants. I
would have thought that after playing the tough-guy rapist
in OZ, he would have had a hard time breaking out from that
role, but he proves that he has the talent to do so.
Writer Diablo Cody has a talent for coming up with witty
dialog that will have you quoting line after line so that
you too can impress your friends. Director Jason Reitman has
a good eye for delivering movies that feel and look
authentic. While Juno is a quirky independent film that will
not appeal to everyone, give it a chance and you will see it
might just grow on you. This movie might just make my Top
Ten for 2007 after I compile it in a couple of weeks.
Review
By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com
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Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Diablo Cody
Genre: Comedy
Drama
Duration: 1hr 32mins
Staring: Ellen Page
Michael Cera
Allison Janney
J.K. Simmons
Olivia Thirlby
Rainn Wilson
Jason Bateman
Jennifer Garner
Producer: Lianne
Halfon
John Malkovich
Mason Novick
Russell Smith
Distributor: FOX SEARCHLIGHT
Rating:
PG-13 for mature thematic material,
sexual content and language
Release Date: December 7, 2007
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