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Juno - Revisited
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 in Movies
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Those of you who have occasionally read my column know that I have a 16-year-old Saudi exchange student living with me who is affectionately referred to by everyone as "Z". Given that he was out of town over most of the recent holidays, he didn't have a chance to see "Juno".
Since for obvious reasons he was dying to see it, I was more than willing to see it a second time. Having now done so, I can only reiterate that it must be included with the best films of 2007.
Since "There will be Blood" and "Persopolis" have yet to be released here in Indianapolis, I have refrained from releasing my top 10 list for this past year. However, there is no question that "Juno" must be on that preliminary list along with the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men", David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises", Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton" and John Carney's "Once". Each was spectacular in their own right, and none contained any of the dramatic flaws that so characterized last year's best picture Oscar winner "The Departed".
However, "Juno" joins "Once" as the most endearing film of this year. I dare say that it is all but impossible not to embrace all of its principal characters.
Ellen Page's performance in "Juno" ranks with Julie Christie ("Away from Her") and Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose") as the three most spectacular performances by an actress in any film in 2007. Any of the three could win the Oscar and no one could justifiably complain. Having said that, Page's performance is so beautifully understated that I can't help but pull for her to win Hollywood's highest award.
I love Julie Christie, and she is as mesmerizing as she is devastating in her role as a beautiful woman slipping into the clutches of Alzheimer's. Quite frankly, Cottilard probably gives the most compelling performance of the three, as she literally becomes Edith Piaf. However, Page leaves an indelible mark on your heart with her performance as a young pregnant girl wise beyond her years. I simply can't recall a performance like her's.
In addition, all of the supporting actors hit on all cylinders. J. K. Simmons is the father every teenager wants. A blue collar heating and air conditioning man, he deals with his 16-year-old daughter's pregnancy with grace, understanding and unconditional love.
As I said in my earlier review, Allison Janney is marvelous as a stepmother who grows closer to Juno as a result of her pregnancy. The scene where she comes to Juno's defense when a female technician makes some insensitive remarks during an ultrasound is splendidly, warmly caustic.
While I have said enough of Jennifer Garner, who is picture perfect as a woman desperately wanting to become a mother, I'm afraid I didn't give Jason Bateman his due.
As Garner's husband, he is the only thing resembling a villain in this movie. Second guessing the decision to adopt Juno's baby, it would be easy to hate his character.
However, for those of you who have seen this film, I urge you to think again. Contemplate for a moment what his wife was doing to him. Not only had she taken all of his musical instruments and placed them in a small room, but remember the scene where he tells Juno that his wife can't catch him watching a movie at home as she will think he is not pulling his weight?
While on the surface it appears that Bateman was simply a self-centered male hanging onto false dreams, in reality he was being physically and emotionally closed out of his marriage by a wife who was lavishing all of her attention on the anticipated adoption. After seeing "Juno" a second time, I was much more sympathetic to Bateman.
As he told Ms. Garner when she ask him for his opinion concerning painting the baby's room yellow if it was a boy, "Why do women think that yellow is a male color? After all, I don't know any male who has ever painted his bedroom yellow". Like it or not, Ms. Cody understands men.
Let me close with reiterating my recommendation that you consider hunting down and purchasing the soundtrack for this extraordinary movie. Maybe it won't stand on its own in the absence of the film itself, but its unique combination of inventive, witty lyrics combined with its folk-rock charm is worth a listen by itself. Imagine Bono, Lou Reed and Natalie Maines collaborating on a CD and you have some idea of the treat that awaits you.
Arrrgh! On a scale of 1 to awesome, Juno gets a firm RIDICULOUSLY OVER RATED!!!
With apologies to Robert and Joe, I must concur with Stellar.
No question "Juno" is a good movie, well-acted and directed. Best movie of the year? Sorry.
Admittedly, it has a lot of great lines. ("I'm already pregnant, so what kind of shenanigans am I going to get into?") But they're self-aware, sounds-so-written quips that are meant to jump out at you rather than exist within the moment of the scene.
It's the sort of movie where you stop and think to yourself, "What a great line!" Meanwhile, while you're thinking about what a great line it was, the movie rolls on by. Anything that draws you out of the experience so that you mentally comment on the experience by nature creates a distance between the viewer and the film.
That's why I didn't feel any emotional attachment to the characters or what they were going through. I was just waiting for the next delicious zinger.
I think it's only overrated if you've been listening to all the hype.
That's the problem with the industry. You get all this buzz then have overly inflated expectations and are set up to fail.
I saw "Juno" before much of the buzz had started and absolutely loved it. Would see it again. Would buy it. Want the soundtrack.
That said, I really prefer to see movies without even having seen a preview. I don't want to know too much about what other people are saying about it because it ruins it for me and puts preconceived notions in my head. I can't tell you how many really great movies I've seen and was totally unimpressed by and dismissed as overrated because of this. Completely unfortunate.
Juno is "RIDICULOUSLY OVERRATED"? Please tell me that you have a Busch-Cheney bumper sticker still on your car. Or was your sense of humor and pathos accidentally removed as a child? Are you supporting Romney for President?
If the answer to any of those 3 are yes, then, and only then, can I understand.
p.s. Robert, I was pretty sympathetic to Jason Bateman's character on first viewing. I didn't think there was really any sort of villain in this movie at all. It's all about Juno. Kind of how Napoleon Dynamite was all about Napoleon. Quirky and cute and smart with completely endearing and touching supporting characters. I have nothing bad to say about it.
I guess things could be worse than "overrated." That's not saying that it was bad, just that someone talked it up too much and expectations were unrealistically high.
The phrases over- and underrated: Overrated.
Why is it whenever a movie (especially a comedy) generates fervent praise from viewers and critics alike ("Borat," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Napoleon Dynamite") those with opposing viewpoints get super-indignant. It's not enough for them to point out their personal distaste, but they must also imply that everyone else's judgment is flawed by calling it "overrated?" What's up with that?
On that note, I thought "The Royal Tennenbaums" was TOTALLY overrated.
Chris
I clearly understand your point. However, the irony is that I personally felt a strong emotional attachment to all of the characters in "Juno". Again, I felt it was on e of the most intelligent and heartfelt movies of the year.
Matt:
Actually, Matt, I basically agree with you. For example, despite my obvious fondness for "Juno", I recognize that it could be legitimately criticized for trivializing teenage pregnancy; being overly fond of its cutesiness; or the demeaning manner that it portrays a Planned Parenthood type facility.
But to simply dismiss something as "overrated", much less "ridiculously overrated", artistically is meaningless. Saying nothing about the critic's own personal view of the movie, it simply couches an analysis in terms of what others have said. Clearly, you and I both know that there are critics appearing everyday in newspaper movie adds (i.e. Pete Hammond of Maxim, Shawn Edwards of somewhere, and even the increasingly irrelevant Peter Traverse of Rolling Stone) whose critiques are best ignored.
But my God, man, what was going on with you when you saw the "The Royal Tennenbaums"? I saw it twice within ten days when it was originally released in the theaters, and I still treasure it as one of the most irreverent, black comedies of the past ten years! (On the other hand, I am a criminal defense lawyer by profession, so what do I know!)
Kimikokopuffs:
I agree that there are far more dismissive terms than "overrated." However, one of them is "ridiculously overrated." I wonder how anyone applying that phrase to "Juno" will feel when "Juno" is nominated for best picture, best actress (Ellen Page) and best original screenplay (Diablo Cody)? And I could go one step further and make the case that J. K. Simmons deserves a nomination for best supporting actor.