Juno Inspires Hatred in Me

Hatred towards the film itself you may be asking? 

No. Hatred towards you people. That's right- you people. 

Let me explain. I was on the phone with Jason yesterday when I realized that I haven't seen this movie since the first time I saw it in theaters the day it came out over here. And why is that? After all, I remember really enjoying the film for the most part and even putting it at #10 on my Best Films of 2007 list (my first post ever here on YDKS Movies). So, what happened? Why have I only seen the film once?

Well, quite frankly, you all ruined it for me. That's right, all of you. But, who am I talking about? Well, all my friends and anyone else that seemed justified in bashing the crap out of the film on the Internet, classrooms, etc. Seriously, what is up with the hate storm for this film? Who knew that a simple film about a teenage girl that gets pregnant could piss so many people off? Most of the hate is unjustified, group-think behavior and it pisses me off. I'm going to say it- Juno was in fact a good movie. In fact, it was a pretty damn good movie.

First let me address the biggest complaint I hear about this film: the language of the screenplay. I will agree that it is unusual to hear teenage girls talk in this type of I guess "hipster" slang (or if you ask Caleb, "indiefag" language) but come on, it was NOT that distracting. And as for it being unrealistic, it is a film, people. Each film exists in it's own universe, time, and space. I remember hearing Kevin Smith talk about his own films and he said how in real life no one talks in the insanely long monologues that he writes into his screenplays. However, because he is making a movie, he is creating something that exists within the context of its universe. Because of this, Juno has it's own type of pacing, language and space. It's not exactly reality but it's close enough for one to understand it and identify with the things and situations that are occurring. 

As for the other complaints... well, honestly, I cannot think of any. Yeah, that's right, it seems like the main (and only true) complaint against this movie is it's dialogue. The hatred and distaste for this film is ridiculous. There is so many more offensively bad films out there that people just seemed to love (*cough* Transformers *cough*) that I cannot believe that so many people slam this film. Seriously, what is up? This is really one of the only films that I can think of when a girl in one of my classes that I barely have even spoken to before asks me if I had seen it and then says how bad it was. Um, what? Who are you to say that? What exactly do you know about movies?

The fact is that Juno is a well-acted, well-made piece of film and is completely justified in being nominated for an Oscar. Yeah, that's right, I said it.

First off, let's go through the acting. Believe it or not, the acting is pretty superb. In his review of Juno, Roger Ebert even states, "Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page's creation of Juno? I don't think so." Of course, this was probably said before he saw Daniel Day Lewis and his amazing creation of Daniel Plainview but that's besides the point- Ellen Page really does a great job in this film. I don't know about you guys but I saw Hard Candy before I saw Juno. I cannot tell you how strange it was to see Ellen Page, who I associated with being this crazy, pedophile-castrating teenage girl from that film, channel this weird, confident and unique girl going through an accidental pregnancy. Although I haven't just read Diablo Cody's script alone, I'm pretty sure that Page took a character that was... well... just a character on the page and made her into a memorable but real teenage girl on screen. It should also be noted that I used to think Page looked like a 12 year old boy (especially in Hard Candy with that short hair cut she was sporting) but let's just say that this movie changed that notion for me. Sure, she was pregnant the whole time but I don't care- she's another one of those girls that I want to kiss on the mouth (I should really make a list of these- that Naomi Watts post really has me going). And how about the great J.K. Simmons (Spider-man) as Juno's father? I've always been a fan of J.K., especially from his turn as J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-man films, and he does an equally great job in this film, getting most of the films laughs from what I can remember. Jennifer Garner also does a surprisingly good job in the film as Vanessa, the potential mother for Juno's child. I've never really considered Garner much of an actress but this role lets her show a nice range of skills as she portrays a character that is all together obsessive and insanely insecure. I've always liked Jason Bateman every time I see him pop up in something and he was equally as great in this film as well as Mark, the potential father of Juno's baby who may or may not want to grow up. I also like Michael Cera and, while he is good in the film, there isn't that much he is given to do.

A lot has been said about Diablo Cody's Oscar winning script varying from it being a work of genius to it being one of the most overwritten and overrated pieces of literature from the past few years. As I stated before, I may have not understood all of her strange slang talk but I still believe that it has a place in the film as it exists in its own universe and gives the film it's own personality and feel. I also did not find some of the "obscure" references that Cody makes that distracting. In fact, I actually enjoyed most of them, most specifically the Suspiria one as I am a pretty big fan of that film (although I will have to admit that I have never seen The Wizard of Gore). For the most part, I feel like people focus too much on these two aspects of the script and not enough on the fact that it is a simple but well told story. From a story stand point, Juno manages to be funny, insightful and, by the end, strangely touching- but not in an overwhelmingly cheesy or forced way. The story is well structured and works to engage an audience in its characters and their situations. Was the script an Oscar caliber piece of work? I don't know about that but I do believe that it was stronger than most of the heartless trash that comes out of Hollywood these days and it made the film of Juno a unique and engaging experience.

And how about the soundtrack to the film? Now, I will admit, I did not like all the songs of the film as it is not really my kind of music but a lot of it I did like. All of the songs done by Kimya Dawson really help to give the film a unique feel, furthering the film's own sense of time, space and... I guess music. It just felt right with the images that Jason Reitman created. I also really liked the usage of Sonic Youth's cover of the Carpenter's "Superstar" (and the line about the rest of Sonic Youth's stuff being just noise is very true, I actually laughed at that) and Mott The Hopple's "All The Young Dudes" during the scene where Juno and Mark dance together. I know Caleb would jump in at this point and say that David Bowie, who wrote and produced the song for Mott The Hopple, and his version of the song is better but... you know what? It isn't. I love Bowie, but I definitely prefer Mott The Hopple's version of the song. Anyways... I'm getting off-topic...

Someone who really doesn't get much credit for making Juno a good film is director Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes and a personal favorite of mine: Kindergarden Cop). Reitman makes the film very stylized but does so subtly. My dad was watching this movie on his HD flatscreen TV not too long ago and I remember walking in and noticing how warm the colors of the film where. Reitman is able to add a specific, but not overwhelming, vision to Cody's script, bringing it further to life and making it more of a unique film experience.

Overall, the bashing of this film is completely unfair and is fueled by a combination of confusion and peer pressure. The fact is that Juno is a pretty well-made film with a simple story, a great cast and a good soundtrack that manages to be both funny and touching at the same time. Someone actually told me that he was pissed that the film never addressed the horrible aspects of teenage pregnancy such as "her trying to kill herself and trying to use a coat hanger to force an abortion." Yeah, someone actually said that to me. If that's what you were looking for in this film, then 1) you're a sick freak and 2) you're missing the point. Unlike most films dealing with this subject, Juno shows that it is a stressful and unfortunate situation to be in but that it is not the end of the world and can be endured. For once, I was welcome to a hopeful take on something as taboo (and common) as this.

For everyone that asked me what was so special about this film and the way that it was made, I say this: try to make something better yourself. Try to make something as effective emotionally yourself. Try to be a storyteller. That or go out and look at all the crap that Hollywood has been churning out endlessly, look back at this, and tell me what you think.

Juno is a good movie. Simple as that.

Also, I want to punch everyone in the face who has helped spread the hate train for this film the next time I see them.