Juno - Review

"Juno"

2.5 / 4 stars

"Juno" is an indie film. It knows it's an indie film. And that's exactly the problem. I went into this film really wanting to love it but came out of it with a decidedly mixed attitude. "Juno" is a very nicely-cast and well-acted movie with some truly wonderful performances, but it's also irritating as hell. It tries way to hard to be the Lovable Indie Comedy of the Year(TM) with quirky humor and constant one-liners. Now some people may find these one-liners amusing and entirely quotable. I was wholly irritated at points thanks to the constant barrage of them. "Your eggo is preggo," says the drugstore clerk when Juno goes for her pregnancy test. "This is one doodle that can't be undid, homeskillet." "Honest to blog?" asks Juno's friend Leah when she hears of her pregnancy. An irritated girl behind the abortion clinic counter says "we need to know every sore and every score." All of these are within the first 20 or so minutes of the movie, and that's just a sampling. I'm sure the Napoleon Dynamite lovers and the hipsters out there will eat this up, and somehow the Academy did (Best Original Screenplay???? Really????) but it didn't work for me.
It's not fair to rate a film entirely on its dialogue though, and there are several good things about "Juno." The story revolves around 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) who decides to experiment with sex with her nerdy friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), and finds herself pregnant. With help from her friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), Juno finds a couple played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman to adopt her baby. Predictably, problems ensue, which will not be spoiled here. Give credit to the actors and actresses here though. Page is destined for stardom, and it's not her fault the screenplay is irritating; she does a very nice job here as Juno. It's the two couples who shine brightest. Garner is just wonderful as a woman who believes she's destined to be a mother, and Bateman is very good as her rock star-aspiring husband. Juno's father and stepmother, played by J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney, are perfectly cast as a tough but understanding set of parents. Juno's relationship with her dad is hinted at a few times and only given a bit of screen time, but is beautiful when given the time to shine. The problems arise with some of the character relationships. Juno and Mark's relationship takes an unusual and perhaps unneccessary turn. And then there's Paulie Bleeker, who I really felt was an unlikable character. He's never around to help Juno despite being the father and it makes you wonder why she still loves him.
"Juno" does have a heart, and that's more than you can say about a lot of comedies. But it's not the type of movie that I could fall in love with and left me with as many negative feelings as positive ones. The whip-smart dialogue combined with the annoying-as-hell indie soundtrack all screams loudly in the movie's attempt to be the Lovable Indie Comedy of the Year(TM). Juno's not a bad movie - it simply tries too hard.