Movie review: Juno




Juno was advertised nearly everywhere. I couldn’t watch TV without seeing a commercial for it. I was intrigued by the story of a pregnant teen and I was curious about what she’d do with her baby. Plus, the jokes from the previews were funny.

At first I loved everything about Juno. I loved the way Juno dressed and her hamburger phone was too cool. And my favorite young actor, Michael Cera, played Juno’s love interest, Bleeker. Unfortunately, I didn’t really care for the main character and since the movie centers around her, I didn’t like it. Juno, played by Ellen Page, was too sarcastic and at times annoying. When she talked with her friend Leah, they spoke in language that was teenish. It was kinda like the writers were trying to reach out to the teen viewers by throwing in some phrases we might use. But it got to the point where they would overdo it and say things like, “That’s blogtastic.” Who says that? Also, from seeing all of the commercials I knew most of the jokes and some of the funny scenes, so when I saw the movie I didn’t find it as entertaining because I already knew what to expect.

Juno, like most teens, doesn’t know exactly what she wants with her life. After becoming pregnant she decides to give up her baby for adoption. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to give up a baby. To have a life inside of me for nine months it would be extremely hard to give away. When Juno decided to give up her baby I thought it showed she was mature. But as the film continued her character bounced back to that sarcastic girl who I didn’t like. 

I did like the music in the film. It was mostly indie tunes that were happy songs about love. One of the songs “Anyone Else but You,” performed by The Moldy Peaches, is a love song between two people who go back and forth telling each other how they don’t prefer anyone else but each other. Some of the lines are kind of funny, “We both have shiny happy fits of rage.” I really enjoyed the song because it fit with Juno and Bleeker’s relationship, like any other couple they would get into stupid little arguments about dumb things like jealousy.

However, the music wasn’t enough for me to like the film. I had high expectations because critics went crazy for this movie and said it was a must-see for awards season. After seeing it I don’t understand what the rage was all about. I was hoping for a good movie but all I got was this sarcastic and moody vibe from the character. Juno made me think of someone who is discontent with life, and that’s something I don’t like. The movie was over hyped and not as good as I had expected.

 

2 thoughts on “Movie review: Juno”

  1. Excellent review, I completely agree. I work with the Chicago version of what you do in L.A.

    I was excited to see this movie a while before it came out. The advertising was good, the trailers were well put together. I adore Ellen Page. It had many good elements, but failed to come together as a film. The music was definately the best part.

    The conversations between characters just felt too contrived for me to really feel anything for them.

    Nice article.

  2. I don’t think the critic understood the movie. Sarcasm is a theme of the movie, not a failed attempt at humor.

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