Written by El Puerquito Magnifico
It seemed to be everyone’s favorite movie of 2007, and since I didn’t get the opportunity to see Juno in the theaters, I was excited to be able to write the review for its DVD release. Would it live up to the high praise that everyone, from fans to critics, had given it? Or would it inevitably fall short, as so many über-hyped movies do?
For those who have been living under a rock for the past five months, here’s the nutshell version of the plot: Juno is a sixteen-year-old girl who discovers she is pregnant. The father of the child is her longtime friend Paulie Bleeker. Paulie and Juno are probably in love, but Juno doesn’t realize it yet. Deciding against an abortion, Juno finds a nice couple in the classified section of the newspaper and decides to give the child up for adoption. Comedy, drama, witty dialogue, and strategically placed pop songs ensue.
So for those who haven’t seen it: does Juno live up to the hype, the awards and the nominations? In a word, yes. In two words, “yes, but…” Before I started writing this, I looked on Rotten Tomatoes and saw that the film had a 93% positive rating. I’m going to go ahead and agree with that. This movie was 93% awesome. I’ll get to the other 7% later.
The script, by first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody (is one still allowed to use their stripper name when one is no longer a stripper?), is funny, heartwarming, and heartbreaking all at the same time. It goes in places I never expected, all the way up to the very end. What could have been a very predictable, by-the-numbers plot ends up being surprisingly fresh and original. That Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay was well deserved.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
I am struck by how many people complain that Juno didn't talk like a real person. Have you heard anyone talk like Bill Murray or Groucho in real life? Sit in a restaurant and listen to the way people talk. It's usually pretty boring.
2 - Mat Brewster
My problem wasn't that she didn't talk like a normal person but that she talked in a such a calculated manner. It felt like a screenwriter trying desperately to make her characters sound clever rather than actually making them clever if that makes any sense.
Still it was a cute movie.