|
Quirky, Funny & Refreshing |
|
|
|
Written by SHANE HILL
|
|
Monday, 24 December 2007 |
You know how every once in a while you see experience something that you want to share with your friends because you know they would benefit from it? Maybe you read a book or stumbled across a new TV show they haven’t heard of. Well, in my case, it was the movie Juno that is only in selected theaters now. Having missed the film I went to see (*shakes fist* stupid snow), my friend and I went to see this movie that we knew very little about. This was a truly serendipitous discovery (*hug* thank you snow). I was smiling throughout the whole film. Starring Ellen Page (Hard Candy, X-men: The Last Stand) and Michael Cera (Superbad, Arrested Development).
| | |
Juno
|
 Entertainment
 Art
Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by Diablo Cody
Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons
Rated PG-13
|
| | |
The movie is about a sixteen year old girl named Juno (not like Alaska but rather the Greek Goddess). Page plays the pint sized girl who must deal with the consequences of having sex out of boredom with her long time best friend, Bleeker (Cera). After finding out that she is now pregnant, Juno deals with it in her own melancholy and sarcastic way. Her wit and delivery is adorable and mature at the same time. Much like Sarah Silverman, her cuteness makes it even funnier when she talks about normally taboo subjects like testicles and teen libido. After running the whole spectrum from abortion to actually keeping the baby, the choice she goes with is to give it up for adoption. Selected from a newspaper ad, Juno picks a couple she feels will be right. Jennifer Gardner (Catch and Release) and Cera’s co-star from Arrested Development, Jason Bateman makes an arrangement to take the baby once it is born. Shot in Minnesota, Juno is a refreshing take on teen life in suburbia.
Writer, Diablo Cody, had a less than conventional start as an author. Born in Chicago, Cody moved to Minnesota to be with her boyfriend that she met on the internet. Trying her hand at the corporate world, Diablo decided that she preferred the life of a full-time stripper. She married her on-line beau and wrote her book Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper about her life as an exotic dancer. Cody’s look at an unplanned pregnancy is an encouraging story that doesn’t throw all the after-school-special shame and tragedy in our faces. Instead, it takes a look at the discovery of family support and love that comes from such an event. Her characters are superficially written to capture the nerd in all of us. Combine his with Page and Cera’s acting, we KNOW them while not really knowing who they are. Juno and Bleeker aren’t the Prom King and Queen but they also aren’t the rejects. They are kids whose advanced maturity also puts them in a level of geeks we adore.
Diablo Cody will add to her already stacking awards with Juno. Ranking with other independent films like Ghost World and But I’m a Cheerleader. Ellen Page is going to break-out not only as a comedic but also as a dramatic actress. This teen girl coming of age story will warm your little black heart and put a smile on your face. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
