Review of Juno

Knocked Up, Quirky Hipster Style

Honestly, the title sequence had me worried. The opening scene about the chair was decent, but the cartoony title sequence had me jittery. The next sections of dialogue worried me as well. However, though the quirky, hipster dialogue overshoots any boundaries of normalcy with the real world, I eventually settled myself into the strange rhythms of this post-MTV generation and just allowed myself to enjoy it.

What really drives this film is not any one character, but the interaction of characters, all of which are detailed and individual, and who provide a wealth of possibilities at the prospect of speaking to one another. I found myself, each time two characters got together, to be truly curious about not just what subjects would be spoken of, but what words would be used to speak about those subjects. And the characters aren't indestructible, or rigid in their motivations; they're scared, and afraid, and vulnerable. Their greatest appeal as on-screen characters is their utter humanity under all their verbal flair.

Juno's parents are superbly played by Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons. Ellen Page deserves every minute she holds on screen, and makes us believe in quirky, monologue driven people who use complicated hipster metaphors, like loftiness expressed through slumming. Though I can't much stand Jennifer Garner in general, she plays the perfect part here for the way she acts. If you'll look at her when she acts, her eyes are always dead to the parts she plays...but that's the nature of this character. She's a rather controlling woman who has affections but is unable to express them, but knows she would make a great mother. Jason Bateman seems perfect for his part as well; the downtrodden husband having to give up dreams for reality and fighting back against reminds me so much of what an adult would feel after having played a secondary character on the show Silver Spoons as a child. Michael Cera was exactly as a nervous high school boy should be.

When I watched this film, I couldn't help but compare it to a couple of other like-minded films out there right now - Knocked Up and Superbad. Both of these films possessed the stark realities of what high schoolers and adults do and think about, and how lackadaisical it all is despite its moral ambiguity. Both of these films had hearts underneath the humor, however; yet Juno takes its heart and prevails it over all else in the story, and we put our hearts in tune with its for the duration of the story.

You'll notice I've said nothing about the filming, the editing, or any more of that extra flair. Quite honestly, this film doesn't need much of that. It tells a story, and captivates through the verbal telling. The visual seems like it's just along for the ride, and Reitman seems to know that. I respect either his restraint as a director or his respect as a reader. Either way, I appreciate this film and expect more in the future.

Posted on 12/29/07 by: chrisrayn 03:41 AM