Saturday, January 05, 2008

Now Playing: Juno

I wanted to see Juno before the Golden Globes were announced, but couldn't find anyone else who was with me. That situation was rectified today.

What can I say about this movie? I loved it.

I loved the casting: Ellen Page and Michael Cera are just so perfect. Her witty snappishness is a great foil to his sincere geekery. Lots of criticism about Cera's performance - that it was bland and underused... I thought it was just right. We all know he's capable of playing the affable nerd (see Superbad)... but playing the quiet and completely awkward Bleeker who IS actually much cooler than he thinks he is was much better. He made me fall a little in love with him (even though i'm fairly certain that illegal). It's a very sweet relationship they have - tender and barbed at the same time, full of all those bravado-masked insecurities that we all seemed to live and breathe in high school. Sweet without becoming saccharine. Jason Bateman was his usual fabulous self. The supporting cast in general were very well played. (Nice to see J. Jonah Jameson play sensitive!)

I loved the script: it was tight, funny and relevant. It made fun of itself (the store clerks one-liners were enough to make anyone laugh); yet, it was serious. Lots of pop culture references, which I enjoy.

I loved the directing. It all seemed very unintrusive and yet piercingly accurate. Jason Reitman seems to have a way of bringing out the best in his actors. Also loved the little things (i.e. hamburger phones? Watch for them; yes, there are multiples. Loved the soundtrack and the use of the songs themselves (watching Juno and Mark jam to Hole was priceless).

Great movie - makes me happy just thinking about it. 4.5 stars out of 5.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOVED this movie. I think Michael Cera might be getting a bit typecast (see other roles in Arrested Development and Veronica Mars), but he does endearingly awkward so well, I can't fault anyone for casting him in that role. Illegal to crush on the character? Yes. The actor, however is a mere 8 years younger than us, so go get 'em, Tiger. I thought Alison Janey was fantastic, ditto for Jennifer Garner (who I kind of have a girl-crush on now).

Lyla Lou said...

This is one of my all time favorite movies! I want to marry Michael Cera, and Ellen Page is my new favorite. I almost bought a hamburger phone on e-bay until I realized I wouldn't have anywhere to put it. The movie was so hillarious, and the part near the end with Juno and Bleeker in the hospital bed tears me up whenever I think about it.