Juno (Single-Disc Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Juno (Single-Disc Edition)
Movie Review: Witty script...and a PHENOMENAL performance from Ellen Page
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm hoping JUNO helps make Ellen Page the star that HARD CANDY should have made her. She was completely unknown to me when I went to see that harrowing piece, and her performance was Oscar caliber. I've been eagerly awaiting more work from her, but other than a tiny part in X-MEN: LAST STAND, I've had a pretty long wait.
But she totally steals JUNO...which is saying a lot, because almost everyone is pretty terrific in this highly entertaining film. But Ellen Page is some sort of unique energy source. She seems to do so little, but the tiniest facial tic or change in tone conveys so much. She's clearly a super-intelligent actress and her characters are also intelligent (probably almost to the point of stretching credulity...but who cares, it's so much fun), and they are funny and in JUNO, sensitive.
Juno is a sixteen year old who has just discovered she's pregnant, after one encounter with her longtime friend Bleeker (they are mostly just friends...not really girlfriend/boyfriend). June at first considers abortion as her only option, but she quickly decides she'd rather carry the child and pass it on to a loving but needy couple for adoption. She does this knowing full well that she'll be an object of much discussion at school, AND she'll have to tell her father (JK Simmons) and her step-mother (Allison Janney). And she'll have to tell the baby's father (Michael Cera from SUPERBAD and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT).
She finds her immediate family to be shocked but supportive, and her dad comes with her to meet the couple Juno has selected (from the "Penny Saver" no less!). These childless yuppies are played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, and at first we think Garner is a bit of a control freak, and Bateman is the "cool" one...but this movie plays with our expectations of this couple right from the start. I won't say much more, because much of the richness of the film comes in the changes Juno sparks in this couple.
Juno is a whip-smart almost loner, who we find early on, is probably secretly pining for the love of goofy Bleeker. And Bleeker certainly loves his old friend...yet these two have never faced these feelings...because they are both so confounded by them. Juno is accustomed to having her act very much under control, and I believe she has a hard time admitting she has feelings that make her vulnerable to another person. And Bleeker (played sublimely by Michael Cera...who is now officially in danger of being typecast for the rest of his life) is just too shy, goofy and flummoxed to believe his feelings would ever be returned.
There isn't a lot of plot to the film. It follows Juno through her voyage of discovery, at the child growing inside her, at her own feelings towards the boy who may become the man in her life and at what she discovers about the family she wants to give her child to. What makes JUNO so much fun is the crackling dialogue (from current hot screenwriter Diablo Cody) and the equally snappy performances.
(I appreciated too that Juno made the choice not to have an abortion. Not only would there have been no film if she had...but it was refreshing to see a major film character make the choice she did. Not because she was against abortion, but because she was able to make a reasoned decision that was not only great for her child, but great for another couple and quite enriching for her. It also serves as a reminder that there are other choices besides abortion or deciding to raise a child yourself. I don't feel the film was trying to make a statement...except to say "whatever you decide, think it through a little bit.")
The dialogue is the kind that no one would ever speak in real life, yet it hews close enough to realistic that it becomes its own style of "hyper-realism." Ellen Page has the aura of someone who might actually speak in this very cynical yet open and intelligent manner, and thus she pulls it off. Therefore, everyone else (none of whom are quite so snappy as Juno) seems positively normal by comparison. Thus, the dialogue works!
The performances are very good as well. As I said, Cera is wonderful at the type of part he plays...I hope he gets to stretch soon as an actor...but for now, seeing him work is a delight. Janney is very good as the stepmother, who both loves and is exasperated by Juno. Garner is touching in her smallish but important role, and Bateman brings interesting shadings to what could have been a one-dimensional role. He underplays, and this is in keeping with the style of the film. It's no wonder that his character and Juno's hit it off so well.
But to me, other than Ellen Page, the MVP of the film is the always fantastic JK Simmons. Can someone please sometime give this actor an award!! From the over-the-top newspaper editor in the SPIDERMAN films, to the hilarious thief with irritable bowel syndrome in THE LADY KILLERS, to competent Dr. Skoda in "Law and Order" to the chilling white supremacist in "Oz"...this guy may be the best character actor around. He plays Juno's dad so well, and their scenes together have a true warmth that spreads to the whole film. He's a blue-collar guy...no doubt perplexed by Juno's immense vocabulary and her way of speaking...yet we can also see in his manner that he's a big inspiration to how Juno turned out the way she did. It's a well-written part, and he knocks it out of the park.
The movie is not perfect. Again, the wonderful screenplay is a bit mannered. It struck me that way a Woody Allen or Neil Simon script might strike an audience...these characters are too witty to be believed. So while I thoroughly enjoyed the script and while it was well-executed...it still did not 100% elude the "hey, no one in real life would think to say that" syndrome from time to time. It would say it was more like 95% of the time.
Jason Reitman (who also directed the excellent THANK YOU FOR SMOKING) keeps the film moving nicely...but he's not a super-inventive director. He finds good scripts and a good cast (90% of the battle) but there's nothing inspiring about what he brings to the film as a crafter of beautiful imagery or masterful framing. He lets his actors do great work, and that's most important. Some day, I hope he tries his hand at something that doesn't really on Aaron Eckhart's or Ellen Page's masterful delivery.
But this is certainly a film high on my list for 2007. I truly love Ellen Page, and I predict some more great things for her. Her performance alone makes the film worth seeing...but thank goodness there are so many other great things as well.
Movie Review: A star is born
Summary: 5 Stars
There are many, many good things that one could say about JUNO, but they all have to begin and end with Ellen Page. Mind you, this film features a very good cast and everyone excels in their role, but if Ellen Page is in the scene -- and she is in nearly every scene in the film -- she dominates everything. As the wisecracking, (almost) unflappable, and very pregnant 16-year-old Juno, Ellen Page steals this movie. She has already been nominated for or out and out won a number of awards for her performance in JUNO (including the Screen Actor's Guild and the Golden Globes -- she is considered a lock for an Oscar nomination), and seemed destined to sweep all awards for break out performance of the year. She really is that good in this film. I'd noticed Ellen Page before. I first became aware of her in the third X-MEN movie, when she played my favorite X-Man, Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat. She did a great job in a pretty small role. Later I saw her in the independent Canadian film WILBY WONDERFUL. Most people will know her from her role in HARD CANDY. But JUNO could be more than a breakout role for Page. This could be the making of a legitimate star. She is both extremely young and extremely talented. If she wants to be, she could well be the next Winona Ryder. The "wants to be" could be huge. From interviews it doesn't sound like she especially wants a star career. JUNO was not a Hollywood production, but was instead filmed in Vancouver. In the past a number of Canadian actors have turned their backs on Hollywood and stayed largely north of the border (Paul Gross and Sarah Polley are just two actors I can think of who could have had big careers had they "gone Hollywood," but instead fostered smaller but superb careers in Canada). I would not be surprised if Ellen Page was one of those. But I would also not be surprised if she gobbled up a score of very desirable roles for smart, sassy young women in the next several years. One thing she certainly has going for her is versatility. She has at age 20 already shown that she can excel in drama, comedy, and horror. Her range as an actress seems unlimited.
As great as Ellen Page is, much of her success has to be credited to Diablo Cody's incredibly witty script. To be honest, this is not truly a great movie. The central story isn't that substantial. But a dominating lead performance stringing together an unending number of great one-liners can certainly give the appearance of greatness. I don't remember the last time I saw a movie that had so many truly funny lines. And for that Cody has to be given the credit.
As mentioned above, the film has a great supporting cast. I was especially impressed by Jennifer Garner, who plays what is largely an unsympathetic role (until fairly near the end of the film). As the "uncool" half of the couple who plan on adopting Juno's child, she has to play completely against type. As a huge ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT fan I was delighted to see both Michael Cera (for whom 2007 has been a very good year) and Jason Bateman together in the same film, though they didn't have any scenes together. J. K. Simmons and Allison Janney were both wonderful as Juno's parents. Rainn Wilson of THE OFFICE has a very small but memorable role as a convenience store clerk.
One thing that struck me while watching this film is how few starring roles there have been for wisecracking young girls. There have been scores of films featuring wisecracking teenage boys (one need only look back to SUPERBAD as a recent example). But once one gets past JUNO and GHOST WORLD there aren't a huge number of comparable films for young girls.
One other random comment. There was a very strange moment in the film when I realized that every actor in the scene (excepting Jason Batman) had been in a major action movie or TV series. This was when Juno and her father were meeting with the adopting couple and their lawyer for the first time. Ellen Page had been in X3. J. K. Simmons, who played her father, has memorably portrayed J. Jonah Jameson in the SPIDER-MAN movies. Eileen Pedde, who played the Lorings' lawyer, is a regular on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA as Sgt. Mathias, a veteran marine. And Jennifer Garner portrayed yet another Marvel superhero, Elektra, in a pair of films, as well as Sydney Bristow for five years on ALIAS.
A couple of more random comments. The opening credits are among the best I've seen in ages. They apparently took photos of Eileen Page and digitized them somehow to produce an animated sequence. Very compelling and quite unforgettable. Finally, the film has a truly great soundtrack. Almost every film these days has a great soundtrack, but this one was especially fine. They use the music of Kimya Dawson pretty extensively (whose music, I must confess, has always underwhelmed me), but they also use a long string of gems by Belle and Sebastian, the Kinks, Buddy Holly, Sonic Youth, Mott the Hoople, and Cat Power for one of the best and most eclectic soundtracks I've heard. They also name drop the Stooges, but alas use none of their or Iggy's songs.
All in all, this is a really fine film. I'm not sure it is a great movie, but there is no question that Ellen Page turns in one of the best performances of the year by any actor, male or female. My best guess is that she will get nominated for an Oscar but will not win, though she probably deserves to. The Academy tends to bless mediocrity, hates comedies, especially hates films dealing with culturally controversial topics (like teen pregnancy, though drug addiction is usually a ticket to a walk to the podium, so go figure), and usually rewards bloated, "serious" films. But I'd be delighted if she defied tradition and won the Oscar.
Movie Review: Already bought the soundtrack.....
Summary: 5 Stars
Hmmm... a film about teen pregnancy, huh?
I'm going to attempt to review Juno without revealing the twist that takes the film in a new direction from the social stigma. When I saw it, nothing in the trailers or word of mouth spoiled that twist for me. Hopefully, I won't spoil it for readers.
Both Diablo Cody, the writer, and Ellen Page, the spirit behind the lead role, Juno (a 16 year old high school junior), have been nominated for awards in countless venues. Page is a veteran, having started in Canadian television when she was only 10. Diablo Cody logs her first screenplay for Juno, and she was working on TV scripts for the film's director, Jason Reitman, at least until the strike. Diablo's irreverence was first launched publicly with her 2006 autobiography, "Candy Girl" and yes, she lived and wrote about her life as a young stripper.
In the trade-off of writing vs. acting talent, there would be few kudos for writer Cody's material in the hands of an actress less talented than Page (just 20, but plays 16 easily). Conversely, Page, who has played in several Canadian television series and some small films (the most notable of which is the 2005 film about pedophilia, "Hard Candy"), has never been given material of this nature. The pairing of Cody's acerbic writing with Page's quirky film persona was as successful as the casting of Abigail Breslin as Olive in Little Miss Sunshine. Molding writing and actress is young director Jason Reitman, who has already had one independent hit with "Thank You for Smoking" .
Together, the three create a perfectly believable, nerdy 16 year old who has enough self-confidence to overcome her birth mother's desertion in her early childhood and her seemingly artless and uncanny ability to fit into a school situation where she understands all the teenage politics and is able to navigate cheerfully on the fringes of many high school communities. Juno simply has no artifice.
Over time, we glimpse that Juno has a passion for music, has played guitar in a teenage band, has two close friends: Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera in a great performance), who was also in the band and is perhaps the shy, male equivalent of Juno's smart outsider, and Leah (Olivia Thirlby) a popular cheerleader who prefers hanging with Juno to hanging with cooler kids in school.
Without a lot of forethought, Juno has enticed Paulie into turning a make out session in his room to their first sexual adventure. From the opening of the film, which is colorful and clever, she's become aware that this experiment has left her pregnant. Everyone who she consults from that point, from girlfriend Leah, to the stunned Bleeker, to her parents (J.K. Simmons as her blue collar dad, Mac Macguff and Alison Janney as her stepmom, Bren), to the people who observe her in the school - all of them express no recrimination, and (this is the 21st century, and unfortunately, teenage pregnancy has been out in the open for far too long!) are simply puzzled by why Juno would have something so out-of -character happen to her. Juno, after all, is too smart for her 16 years, absolutely forthcoming with her thoughts and opinions, and not at all a teenage Lolita. Both Juno and Paulie are exactly the opposite of what you would expect teenage parents-to-be; seeming innocents with chutzpah. How did this happen?
Although Juno considers abortion, her inquiry into the process leaves her running in another direction, and she decides to give the baby up to someone who really wants a baby. There is never any doubt that Juno knows that keeping the baby is above and beyond what she should expect herself to be able to do. Her maturity in making her own decision and finding a couple (in the Penny Saver!) who sound like good adoptive parents is in keeping with her positive outlook on this. Both Mac and Bren (who are absolutely great in small roles) treat her decisions with respect and are supportive of her in the process. Mac goes to meet the adoptive couple with her.
To say that Juno is charming is to describe her meeting with the adoptive parents, the Lorings. Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) is obsessive about becoming a mother and finds it difficult to believe that the reality has walked in the door. Mark (Jason Bateman) is as acerbic as is Juno, and like a few of the other adults that surround her, he senses right from the beginning that she is a kindred soul - honest, forthright, a little eyebrow raising.
All does not go smoothly through Juno's pregnancy journey, and the film allows her to pluckily downplay the difficulities she has with her changing body, with people's reaction to her, with her confused and mixed feelings about the Lorings, and about Paulie.
In the denouement, you'll have come to know Juno well enough to predict what will happen, and enjoyed your time with her enough to leave the film with a smile on your face. A somewhat black comedy.....yes, but heartwarming and real, along the lines of Searchlight's 2006 hit, "Little Miss Sunshine".
With some fine supporting performances (Garner's Vanessa becomes truly real when she bumps into Juno in a mall and is coerced into talking to the bump and feeling for an early kick) and a truly effervescent musical score, Juno is not just for teenagers (in fact, it's not for teenagers at all) it has charm for everyone. A light, entertaining, but thought-provoking film, Juno is sure to be on your list of top 10 films for 2007. Go see it!
Movie Review: "I don't see what anyone else can see in anyone else..."
Summary: 5 Stars
In the past month our local theater chain (we have but one in the Zenith City) has started listed "Critic's Choice" movies in their theater listing. The only two movies selected for such an accolade at the present time were the Coen Brothers' "No Country for Old Men" and "Juno." I have already told you everything I know about the former, but of the latter I had heard nothing. However, Roger Ebert's review of "Juno" appeared in the paper, and after scanning the first two paragraphs, where he calls it "just about the best movie of the year" and raves about Ellen Page's performance, I decided I wanted to see the movie. The accompanying photograph showed Page running down the stairs in front of her house in between Allison Janney and J.K. Simmmons. Recognizing the cast was enough to confirm my decision and I did not bother to read the caption for the photograph or the rest of the review. Consequently, I sat in the theater today to watch "Juno" without any idea of what it was about and I hope that some of you are fortunate enough to have the same experience because with all the time you know what a movie is supposed to be about and you are bitterly disappointed, being pleasantly surprised and falling in love with a movie is pretty sweet.
So I am not going to say anything about what the movie is about, although as a teaching of Classical Greek & Roman Mythology I feel compelled to point out that Juno is the wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology and not in Greek mythology, where she is called Hera (Juno is a much better name for the lead character in this movie). I am going to say that first time writer Diablo Cody should win the Oscar for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen on the basis of his dialogue in this movie. At first I was thinking that the dialogue is like a condensed compendium of the sort of language we enjoyed for seven seasons of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," but that does not do Cody's dialogue justice. The last time I heard dialogue that made me set up and take notice it was probably Quentin Tarentino's "Pulp Fiction," but that was diction and timing rather than word choices. Probably the closest comparison is between "Juno" and "A Clockwork Orange," and that still does not do justice to the delightful verbiage that comes out of the mouths of these characters.
The performance from the ensemble is stellar. Those who have been debating whether Dakota Fanning or Evan Rachel Wood is the best actress under 21 are going to have to include Ellen Page in the debate. I recognized her from "X-Men - The Last Stand" and Michael Cera from "Superbad," but clearly these roles go to the top of their resumes. I know there is a bandwagon for Page for an Oscar nomination, but Janney and Simmons should be touted for their superb supporting roles as well. "Juno" is the best thing that Jason Bateman has ever done and he is probably the biggest surprise here, although when Jennifer Garner's name came up in the opening credits I wondered what she was doing in this film, but seeing as how Bateman and Garner made "The Kingdom together immediately before filming their roles in "Juno," I suspect that might be the connection. I have to think that everybody who read this script, from director Jason Reitman ("Thank You for Smoking") to the entire cast immediately signup for the joy of making this film.
The one thing to be aware of is that you should stay for the end credits just to check out the songs that are in this movie, although once the Antsy Pants start playing "Vampire" you should want to stick around. Be forewarned that "Juno" is one of those movies where you are going to want to get the soundtrack on the way home from the theater (or, um, download it as soon as you get home). The songs done for the movie are by Kimya Dawson, who is a perfect fit for Cody's screenplay, because she seems to be channeling Gilbert & Sullivan through postmodernist sensibilities. But the great thing about the soundtrack is that all of the key songs that either play in the background or are actually played by (or sung by) the characters in the film are on the CD. I should also mention that the shooting script is out there as well, if you want to read over the choice dialogue again while listening to the eclectic mix of songs on the soundtrack (while waiting for the movie to come out on DVD).
Movie Review: Rent this one ... NOW!
Summary: 5 Stars
Last week my wife turned 30 and she sent me an email that she wanted to see a couple movies sooner than later. Her number one pick was Juno. I had heard wonderful things about this film, and every year around this time I begin seeing as many Oscar nominated movies as I can. So her email was a good excuse to get out and see Juno, which is up for best Director, Original Screenplay, Actress, etc... So there we went. Off to see Juno today. Last year I began writing movie reviews for everything I see during Oscar season, and that begins with a wonderfully scripted film that the critics believe is an anti-abortion film. And so what if it may be? That's not the point here.
What is the point is a fantastic small budget film that has exploded onto the silver screen. Diablo Cody, as writer, has created a refreshingly invigorating script that I could almost chomp down into my corporeal self. The dialogue's originality was unlike most of what I've read or heard in recent months. Cody has emerged everywhere in the last several months from the screen to the columnist at the back of "Entertainment Weekly" sitting next to my commode.
Initially the opening song irked me, and I felt like the soundtrack may be almost overpowering for such a subtle film. I will admit I never forgot what I was hearing when a song came on screen, but by the finale of the film my wife and I both completely adored the music. We'd never heard of the Moldy Peaches or Antsy Pants before, but they sure are joining my iTunes play list tonight.
Even though the film editing and quirky cinematography (from the muddy runny shoes of Micheal Cera's Bleeker and striped socks of Ellen Page's title character in the hospital bed to the shot of Page driving into suburbia as the camera climbs into the sky above her minivan) reminded me of my love for the mere perfect camera shots of films like American Beauty, Diablo Cody's script dialogue was phenomenal. For example, Allison Janney, as Juno's step mother, told the x-ray technician "My five year-old daughter could do that, and let me tell you, she is not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed. So why don't you go back to night school in Manteno and learn a real trade!" Witty banter, obscure allusions, and thinking man's dialgoue is what really turned me on to this film, although the metaphors and symbols kissed my eyes like a soft summer rain or a cool afternoon. SPOILER COMING. STOP NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW. Ok, I've warned you. For example, after Juno discovers Mark is leaving Vanessa, she speeds off to stop alongside the highway, and the shot (once again above the minivan) shows she pulled off the side of the highway next to a half destroyed boat next to a canal running along side the highway, deep like the womb of hope and eventuality, while on the other side of the highways trains run along tracks in one direction without any hope of every getting off that path. The runners push against Juno as she walks down the street in the beginning of the movie, and her boyfriend, Bleeker, is a runner, but by the film's end, the track team runs by, and he is now sitting by her side on the steps playing the brilliantly written "Anyone Else But You" by the Moldy Peaches. Page & Cera's singing of the theme song at the end just is another example of this young woman's talents.
Which does bring me back to the Lorings. The first quarter of the movie seems relatively light and fun (yes, even when Juno tells her father and step mother she's pregnant), and then she meets the Loring's. I sat back just waiting for some soft of conflict and eventually got it. Mark, played by Jason Bateman (whose squashed nose bugs me), is a likable guy who reminds me of Neal Pollack, and his high tension wife played poorly by the very non-sterile Mrs Affleck, Jennifer Garner) is the kind of character you want to hate. In the end I realized that Mark Loring is a total noob, while the audience is suppose to commiserate with Vanessa's sterility and subsequent motherhood. No, I didn't.
This movie felt very real to me. Researching a bit online to write this review (yeah, do you really think I remembered Janney's quote verbatim? Nah...) I was pleasantly surprised by how many awards Cody's won so far for this film. With that in mind, and while I am still high on a fun-loving film, I would say the former stripper devil girl as a good chance of winning gold come February, albeit Page's got some stiff competition; her nomination may be her award, but hopefully she doesn't get pregnant (for real) and fall into obscurity like Keisha Castle-Hughes.