Just saw the movie Juno! (mild spoliers added by others)

[supportivemom]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 4:22pm

All I will say is this was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time! Very smart screenplay and great acting. Ellen Page was phenomenal! My kids and I loved it! mom
Updated On: 12/26/07 at 04:22 PM

[nitsua]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 4:41pm

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/awards/scripts/juno.pdf

Found the script and I'll try and read it later.

Thanks for the great review!

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 4:47pm

I thought the same thing of the script. they never usually make a huge impact on me...but this one did.

glad you liked it.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 4:48pm

Fantastic film <3

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 4:51pm

What a great movie. Ellen Page was perfect!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 4:53pm

hmm... I'm curious now... I think I am going to see this movie next weekend.

Thanks guys !

J*
Updated On: 12/26/07 at 04:53 PM

[supportivemom]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 5:19pm

Jay- you will love this movie! Let me know what you think. I didn't have time to write a great review like you always do as I have to take some tests for work. I believe this will be the sleeper hit of the season! mom

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 5:19pm

MILD SPOILER

It was one of those movies where I held my breath as we headed into the home stretch. Convinced it was going to piss me off in its wind-up. Some final twists with the adoptive couple made me very, very nervous -- I feared a Lifetime movie denouement -- but I should not have worried. This smart screenplay understands its heroine inside and out, and the final set of decisions she makes are among the most heroic and satisfying turns in a story of this type ever done. Brava. Everything about the resolution makes moral and logistical sense.

And in the "what message are we sending to teenagers" department, I think the messsage is loud and clear here, without resorting to preaching or a faux "happy" ending in which "maternal instincts" (the kind that happen only in bad tv movies, when characters are crippled by audience expectation) trump intellect or knowledge of the complexity of parenting -- and the world outside our doors. JUNO's finale is so apt, and if it wrings tears, they are very, very earned.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 5:42pm

Auggie- perfect assesment! This movie needs to be seen by all!

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 6:17pm

I went yesterday (in honor of the Jewish Christmas tradition). I often can't pay attention to movies and have a hard time understanding them. But WoW. This one surely kept my attention.


SPOILER ALLERT!!!!


I agree that Juno was excellent. I wasn't too fond of the "supposed to be" father. I really thought the adoptive mother was good- did she remind anyone else like Idina Menzel? (God, I can't believe I just compared something to her!)
I liked the little twists and turns they put in...especially the little jokes between the heartbreaking moments. "...because I heard in health class that pregnancy often results in an infant. " Bleeker was a little too dorky for me. I understand the need for the dorkiness but I think sometimes it went too far beyond realistic.

Updated On: 12/26/07 at 06:17 PM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 6:48pm

The adoptive mother was none other than Jennifer Garner, onetime star of ALIAS, Mrs. Ben Affleck, and now appearing on broadway opposite Kevin Kline in CYRANO, for which she received glowing reviews in many papers. She's very affecting and memorable in this role. It's nice to see such a character played by a sexy actress. Often, the contrast between the fecund young girl whose conceived without trying, and the long-suffering sterile wannabe mom is physical as well as emotional.

[Holly Therese]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 9:11pm

All around amazing film...not to mention some of the best one liners I've heard in a while.

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 9:18pm

Great movie. I saw it last weekend and thought the comedy was quick and cleaver. Ellen Page gives an Oscar worthy performance in my opinion.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 9:44pm

Definitely Oscar worthy! I'm gonna have to see it again to remember some of those great one-liners!

[wexy]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 9:45pm

I thought it was a wonderful movie
(on an aside everyone loves this movie about a pregnant sixteen year old and are tearing Ms Spears apart).

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 12/26/07 at 10:08pm

I met Ellen and Diablo a few weeks back and they were so genuine and sweet, which made me even more excited to see the movie. It didn't let me down. Also I love that the Moldy Peaches played a prominent role on the soundtrack...since I have loved them for years now.

Akiva

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 12/27/07 at 1:23am

Well, I actually saw this movie for real now. My thoughts:

"JUNO has an awful trailer that makes it look like it's maybe just a half-step above GARDEN STATE on the indie-hipster film ladder. Fortunately, it was far funnier and far more touching than I originally thought it would be. It definitely tries too hard sometimes and the Moldy Peaches-influenced soundtrack grates and grates, but, as Wes Anderson clones go, this one is definitely better than most.

The acting is what makes it, especially Ellen Page's work in the title role. She is definitely going to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her wonderful sandwich-making in this movie. The actors are game for the out-of-this-world dialogue and make it sound real and genuine. But they also know when to dial down (Something that the screenplay doesn't) for more emotional moments. When the screenplay would even insert an awkward joke out of insecurity of letting the proceedings get TOO serious, the actors are still able to fix it in their actor-ly ways.

JUNO was hailed as the very best film of the year by Roger Ebert who placed it above the masterpiece that is NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Please don't allow that to inflate your expectations too much. Ebert has just come back from the deep cave of Somberness where he actually stared Death straight in the eye and emerged victorious. Therefore, it's somewhat understandable that he would connect so much with a fun, happy movie like JUNO instead of something brutal and intense like the Coens' masterwork, which I personally believe is miles better. JUNO is a sweet and funny movie that I would certainly recommend for its entertainment value and quirky-but-charming (This is one of the rare occasions where I will actually use that particular string of words) characters. But is it the best film of the year? Better than NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, I'M NOT THERE, MICHAEL CLAYTON, or SWEENEY TODD? I'll let the antonym of "yes" answer your question."

[CMoore]

Posted: 12/27/07 at 1:35pm

I thought it was a wonderful movie
(on an aside everyone loves this movie about a pregnant sixteen year old and are tearing Ms Spears apart).

Well I'm pretty sure that that Jamie Lynn Spears is a real person who is choosing to keep the baby and raise it. Juno decided to give it to someone who was desperate to have a child and could give the baby a better life. I personally have a lot more respect for teenage mothers that make a decision similar to that of Juno. I cannot imagine having to make that decision, but ultimately you would have to think about the child and not yourself.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 1:21am

Left me with lots of smiles, though I have to say I don't really get the Oscar buzz...

But I loved Ellen Page and the entire - perfect - cast and also enjoyed the quirky score and clever (though dare I say 'over-rated') script by Diablo Cody.

Three stars out of Four.

Oh, and the theatre was packed - largely with...teenage girls. Should have a really nice total b.o. take when its all said and done.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 4:28am

Ellen Page was largely ignored for her brilliant work in HARD CANDY. It is nice to see her getting the recognition she deserves. I've seen two very reliable prediction sites saying that Jennifer Garner is a likely candidate for an Oscar nomination. I certainly hope so, she has never been this good in a film, and she hasn't been this good since some of the most intense ALIAS episodes. She certainly deserves a nod.
I know Page will not win the award (Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard have way too much buzz), but she is the one I will be rooting for come Oscar time.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 10:54am

I much appreciate CMoore's comments above.

And I respectfully disagree with those posters who find it hypocritical to embrace JUNO and find fault with the Spears family's behavior. It's quite possible to be genuinely appalled by the Spears pregnancy and the myriad ways that its high-profile coverage impacts the youth culture, and still find this film artistically impressive and morally responsible. A negative response to a real-life pregnancy in a so-called "role model" teen actor cannot be dismissed as unfairly judgemental. We live in a highly sexualized culture that turns 'tweens into objectified mini-adults (A&F does it to boys, too) and then pretends that abstinance vows are the only answer. JUNO makes a persuasive case for the complexity of teen sexuality and its consequences. That alone makes its "message" compelling. But Ms. Spears is in the public eye -- by choice, it must be stressed -- and her behavior and decisions are bound to be debate worthy.

We are hypocrites for worshiping teenage sexuality 24/7 and then shaking our collective fingers at public participants. JUNO may well be part of the solution, however, not the problem.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 12:00pm

I'm not sure Jennifer Garner is much of a front runner for a supporting actress nomination, though I think she gives a lovely performance in the film.

I guess it will all just depend on how much the Academy loves the movie. I'm always just a little bit cynical with films like this because I did feel like the writing (or maybe the directing) *worked* at being quirky and clever (similar complaint of GARDEN STATE)- but the film does have a heart and real emotional honesty, I absolutely have to concede that.

I think a Best Picture nomination is in the bag - along with the inevitable public embrace and then backlash against the movie - just as with with all the other *quirky* indie films turned mainstream that have come before it.

Updated On: 12/28/07 at 12:00 PM

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 12:22pm

Garden State was a lot better. It didn't try so hard.

[nitsua]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 12:25pm

GARDEN STATE was dreadful. I think it tried too hard.

I still haven't read the JUNO script.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 2:32pm

Just returned.

Easily the best film I've seen in 2007 - a genuine feel good film that puts the biggest smile on your face, much like last year's LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, only wittier and even more charming (is that possible?)

Diablo Cody is perhaps the best "find" in terms of up-and-coming screenwriters. Ellen Page, (who, now looking at IMDb, has a significantly larger background than I expected), is an incredible talent, giving a very accomplished performance for someone so young.

Jason Bateman is fine, and his son, George-Michael, always seems to play the same character.

Jennifer Garner has had a banner year - racking up tremendous reviews for CYRANO (well deserved, might I add), and, in JUNO, gives a simultaneously heart-breaking and uplifting performances I've ever seen. In fact, I'd even go so far as to call 2007 the year of Jennifer Garner...I've never seen her so good (as long as you ignore Catch and Release!).

I'd definitely rank JUNO in the #1 spot of the year, followed by SWEENEY and ATONEMENT (in no particular order). I detested NO COUNTRY and MICHAEL CLAYTON.