Juno (2007) February 4, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Jason Reitman
It’s not difficult to call Juno this year’s Little Miss Sunshine; in fact, it’s very easy, hence the prevalence of the comparison. Even if you’d argue that the tone is different, or the stories have differing voices, it’s hard to deny that their journeys are at least similar. Both are feel-good comedy dramas with a distinct indie sensibility (a.k.a. low budget), both films had festival success leading to a wide release, and both films raked in the cash like there was no tomorrow. And now, Oscars: Sunshine won two, Juno has just been nominated for four. Once more, the indie movie crowd are on the warpath, proving that you don’t need the big boys to generate audience attention.
The story follows Juno McGuff, a cynical teenager who has just discovered (despite much protest) that her one-night fling with best pal Paulie Bleeker has left her pregnant. Unable to go through with the abortion process, she instead chooses to find a family for adoption, quickly settling on the seemingly perfect suburban duo, Mark and Vanessa Loring. With her parent’s support, Juno meets the couple and the deal is settled – one baby, no fuss. Or at least, that’s what they all hope.
There’s a reason films like Juno only make their mark every once in a while, and that’s because they require a deluge of sub-standard mainstream fare to come out before audiences are ready to be refreshed by such an alternative outlook . Juno lives up to its indie roots by being offbeat but at the same time very genuine, and by offering a strictly non-traditional position on teen pregnancy - there’s surprisingly little lingering angst or worry about it. The story has allusions to other high school-set indie flicks, taking a similar road to that travelled by Thumbsucker or even Napoleon Dynamite (without the outrageousness nerdiness), in that it centres entirely around the individual uncertainty of a high school kid trying to discover the ways of the world.
So what has Juno got to offer? Well long time blogger, first time screenwriter Diablo Cody’s script is razor sharp and chocked full of pop-culture references and sarcastic asides. A smart mouthed, wise cracking 16-year-old is going to sit badly with some, as this kind of adult-scripted teenager has been seen all too many times before. But Cody’s screenplay makes no concessions for the fact that her characters speak like wittier sitcom rejects with a Dawson’s Creek vocabulary; she merely presents them and then lets you draw your own conclusions as to how they got that way. It’s easy to nitpick but essentially this is the only way to get an audience to relate to these people - just think how painful the dialogue of an actual 16-year-old would be.
It helps, of course, that Ellen Page plays her with exacting plausibility, hitting her stride in the first few minutes of the movie and never letting up. She helps turn what could be quite a dislikeable smart alec with little regard for the consequences of her actions, into an enamouring character with whom it becomes very easy to care about. Around her, a great supporting cast including Juno’s father and step-mum played by J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney, who bring both compassionate and hard-nosed elements to their characters. The other couple and adoptive parents-to-be are Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, who get a slow start but come into their own as we see more of them. Bateman’s role has been compared to the character he played in the superb TV series Arrested Development – and strangely, the exact same comment could be made about Michael Cera, who uses his expertise in teenage awkwardness (see: Superbad [review]) to play Juno’s best friend and unfortunate lover.
Director Jason Reitman has clearly been studying the indie-comedy world for reference. His last film, Thank You For Smoking [review], was a wonderfully scathing look at spin and public relations in the cigarette industry, but it was also a slickly shot, glossy picture. His direction here follows suit for the differing genre with a raw and in-your-face feel - quite literally when you see the number of extreme close-ups. He’s quickly becoming a rather exciting filmmaker, and one who chooses his projects based on content rather than potential acclaim – rightly, he has made good on both here. Another distinctive aspect is the film’s great soundtrack, crammed to breaking point with classic offbeat artists including The Kinks, The Mouldy Peaches and Sonic Youth. At times the soundtrack becomes a little overbearing, so even if I thought that it all contributed to the film’s obsession with culture (films, tv, music, comics), others will find the constant musical interludes distracting.
One very notable point about the story structure is its simplicity - there are no sub-plots or side stories to worry about, this is a pretty linear recounting of a single tale. I guess it helps alleviate complication in the tight 96-minute running time, but it could also be seen by more discerning viewers as slightly pedestrian. Plus, Juno’s voice- over comments, while funny, were too infrequent to feel like a real part of the movie - every time another single-line thought suddenly popped up it felt a little out of place, like being reminded we were inside her head as well as observing the story. These criticisms are merely light blemishes though, on what is an otherwise funny and assured movie from a first time writer’s script that shines, a cast who bring quality performances and a director that knows how to make the whole thing appeal to your better nature.
For better or for worse, the associations with similar movies aren’t going away. The truth is that Juno has garnered a very particular kind of ‘buzz’ around it during its stateside release. The public reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, as evidenced by a box office take exceeding $100 million (so far). This kind of public embracing of the indie world hasn’t been seen since, you guessed it, Little Miss Sunshine, and like that film it ends with the air suitably cleared and everyone in a slightly better place, including the audience. Juno is one of those movies that lets you feel a little bit better about just ‘being’ - which is the biggest part of the attraction for this money-spinning Little Train that Could. You won’t get a passionate depiction on the effects of unwanted pregnancy – because that’s Knocked Up [review]; and you don’t get to watch a family make good their differences – that’s Little Miss Sunshine [review]. What you do get is simply Juno – a film with many comparisons, but few competitors.
Juno is on UK general release from February 8th.
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