Juno Review

For me personally, the back story to Juno is just as compelling as the film itself: Diablo Cody went from blogger to author to screenwriter all because the right person read her work on the internet. Granted, I'm not a former stripper from Minneapolis, but it's inspiring all the same.

And it does deepen one's respect for such an Horatio-Alger like story that her screenwriting debut is nothing if not hilarious. For anyone not prone to the mass marketing campaign, Ellen Page stars as a high schooler who's unhappily pregnant by her best friend Michael Cera. They both play to their best here, although Cera spends most of his time in the fringes despite being relatively important to the film's ending...

(A quick sidenote: where the hell was Michael Cera when I was in high school? People actually find shy, high-voiced awkwardness charming now? Dammit! When I went to high school (from 1998-2002 if you were wondering), I had no idea what was cool but it wasn't nervously looking from side to side and stammering every time you spoke to a girl. Oh well.)

Anyway, Page does a great job herself as a slacker-cynic, who hides even the slightest hint of insecurity with pop culture references and wisecracks. But the strength of Juno is in the ensemble: J. K. Simmons and C. J. Craig (er, Alison Janney) are much more than just stock parents, and Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner even worm their way out of pretty standard roles the yuppie couple seeking to adopt the baby.

And Olivia Thirby plays off Page's steady misanthropy as her best friend (strange but true- the success of Juno has greenlit a movie called Jack and Diane into production, in which Page and Thirby play teenagers who experience a lesbian awakening and fall in love. But Page is leaving the country soon, and their love is threatened. Also she occasionally turns into a werewolf. This is absolutely for real.

I'm sorry, but while we're here I absolutely have to include this excerpt from the director's official website:

When I wrote my first narrative feature, Salt, I wanted to incorporate folklore into the story by adapting an Icelandic legend about a girl who turns into a seal. As I began writing Jack and Diane, I felt a similar instinct to re-visit this theme. Making an American story, it seemed natural to investigate the idea that Diane would turn into a werewolf. What separates the film from the contemporary werewolf genre is that Diane’s werewolf manifestation represents her repressed inability to orgasm. It is an unconscious connection to her sexuality and a part of her love that has never been realized.

I have so many questions about this movie! Is it an elaborate spoof? Why do werewolves "seem natural" to include in an American Story? How on earth does one define the "contemporary werewolf genre"? What is this dude (Bradley Rust Gray) on? Why isn't it titled Teenage Lesbian Werewolf!? Also, will John Cougar Mellencamp sue them for copyright infringement?)

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Juno. Cody's script is peppered with quips and allusions so thoroughly that it might be disaffecting at first, but eventually you get used to it, much like anytime an American actor puts on a British accent. Reitman lets the story do most of the talking (he seems to be a pretty un-flourishy sort of director, since much of Thank You For Smoking's work is done by voice-over straight from the novel it's based on), and the cast is more than willing to flesh out the lines they're given.

A folksy soundtrack, including multiple pieces by Kimya Dawson of The Moldy Peaches, and one Peaches song woven directly into the story, make it a complete experience, and definitely help eating away at the sheen of clever cynicism until the film is almost tugging at your heartstrings.

When to See It: ASAP

Leftover thoughts:

• It's beyond me why this film is referred to as an "indie" movie in most media outlet-type places. It's playing in nearly 2,000 theaters this weekend! It has three pretty well known stars and Jennifer Garner. It's got banners up everywhere (everywhere) I look online. Just because it's a Fox Searchlight Picture and they screened it at a few festivals it's a quirky, independent feature? Not buying it. You neither, Little Miss Sunshine.
• "You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events."
• Very sad that Rainn Wilson had but a couple of minutes long cameo at the beginning, most of which was shown in the trailer.
• Teenage Lesbian Werewolf!