Juno – “Oh My Blog!”
Welcome! And we start with a light hearted romp into the world of teenage pregnancy, youtube, iggy and the stooges, and one Diablo Cody, who’s zippy script flows as smooth as silk on the screen, yet may not have enough substance to keep your attention for more than a few days.
Juno succeeds simply because it tries so hard. It’s script is devoid of any truly divisive moments and instead relies on the chipper cynicism of youngster Ellen Page as she creates the titular character, Juno. This cynicism and reliance on one liners conveniently coats any true moments of drama and character exploration, making director Jason Reitman’s piece more at home with films such as The Lizzie McGuire Movie than say Rushmore (director Wes Anderson’s film about another high schooler with a particularly dazzling vocab.)
And yet, Juno does possess a certain unmistakable charm. From the get go, Juno’s interaction with her cast is one of layered jokes and speedy deliveries. With lines like “That ain’t no Etch-A-Sketch. This is one doodle that can’t be un-did, Homeskillet.” delivered from the likes of Rainn Wilson, it’s hard to stay bored.
But perhaps the cast is one of the problems I have with the film. I can’t recall in recent memory a film that has a leading character so loved and admired by all around her. When the whole world seems to hold hands to sing the praises of Juno, I personally find it hard to join in on that circle.
The plot, as I mentioned earlier, is sweet enough. The film casually glides on its journey following Juno as she deals with her recent pregnancy, to her decision to place the child up for adoption, onward to all the hi jinx of meeting the future parents while at the same time finding in her heart her true adoration for track star, Paulie Bleaker, played sheepishly by Arrested Development’s, Michael Cera.
And still, as smooth as it goes down, Juno simply doesn’t hit me on much of a visceral level. I laughed when I was supposed to, I got the pop culture references, and the soundtrack…Well the soundtrack actually made me cringe, but that I can forgive. A movie like this is usually ripe with horrible tunes.
Juno is somewhat of a contradiction. Youngsters with Webster’s vocabulary. Cynicism surrounding lightheartedness. Simplicity hiding behind pseudo intellectualism. Sure, you can take this for what its worth and enjoy it as plain entertainment. Just don’t hold it against me if I’m not anxious to talk about it much with you.
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