Danielle JUNO - Just Brilliant
November 18th 2008 05:11
Every now and then you come across a movie that is so simple, yet so brilliant. It is usually the simple ones that get destroyed by an over enthusiastic director trying to add too much, or a terribly chosen lead actor that over does the role and takes away the realness of the character.
Thankfully, JUNO falls into the simple yet brilliant category.
The movie introduces us to Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page), a quick-witted and matter-of-fact 16 year old girl who has just discovered that she is pregnant from her one time romp with her best friend, the gawky and awkward Bleeker (Michael Cera).
“I'm pregnant”
“What should we do?”
“Well, I should just... I was thinking I'd just nip it in the bud before it gets worse. Because they were talking about in health class how pregnancy... It can often lead to an infant”.
The decision is made to abort the baby, and Juno goes along to the clinic to have the procedure. It is here that she is confronted by one of her friends who is an anti-abortion protester. After being told “Your baby probably has fingernails by now”, Juno decides that the right thing to do would be to have the baby and adopt it out to a loving family who cannot have kids themselves.
Juno finds an ad from the Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), who are desperately wanting a baby. Juno goes out to meet them in their lavish home, and after spending the afternoon with them she decides that they would be perfect parents, and they would be able to provide a perfect upbringing for the child.
“You think you're really going to do this?”
“Yeah, if I could just have the thing and give it to you now, I totally would. But I'm guessing it looks probably like a sea monkey right now and we should let it get a little cuter”.
“That's great. Just keep it in the oven”.
So, now all Juno has to do is tell her parents.
“I'm Pregnant”
“Oh God!”
“But, uh ah, I'm going to give it up for adoption and I already found the perfect couple, they're going to pay for the medical expenses and everything. And, and, what, ah, 30 or odd weeks we can just pretend that this never happened".
“You're pregnant?”
“I'm sorry. I'm sorry... And if it is any consolation I have heartburn that is radiating in my knee caps and I haven't taken a dump since like Wednesday... morning”.
After the initial shock, her dad Mac (JK Simmons) and Step-mum Brenda (Allison Janney) promise to be supportive and help Juno through this difficult time.
As the movie progresses, cracks begin to appear in the apparent perfect world of the Lorings. It becomes clear that Vanessa is the one who wants a child so badly, and Mark is starting to doubt not only the baby, but his whole life. Juno starts to learn more about herself, and begins to see the world through the eyes of not only an adult, but of a parent. She starts to see that things are not always as they seem, and realises that this baby is her responsibility, and she must make sure that it is properly looked after.
Decisions need to be made and actions need to be taken, and Juno, in her own unique and quirky way, begins to plan the life for her unborn child.
Throughout the movie, Bleeker tends to take a backseat to all that is happening, and Juno is the one making all the decisions. But at the end, Bleeker finally has his moment in the spotlight, and stands up like the man Juno always knew he was.
You are never quite sure which way Juno is going to go, and the suprise twist at the end wraps up this story beautifully.
JUNO, like I said at the start, is just brilliant. It has been casted to perfection – it was like every actor had been hand crafted for their role. It has got some of the best lines I have ever heard, and the characters are just so well devised and so perfectly intertwined. For such a simple story, it is one of the most intelligent and cleverly written films that have hit the big screen in a long time. I know that I have added a few lines here in my review, but I just had to. I couldn’t get over just how fantastic the script was. Don’t panic though, there are a ton more that I haven’t shared that are all just as priceless.
JUNO is a must see movie. A coming of age comedy that not only tickles the funny bone, but pulls at the heartstrings as well.
It’s 9.5 out of 10 from me.
Thankfully, JUNO falls into the simple yet brilliant category.
The movie introduces us to Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page), a quick-witted and matter-of-fact 16 year old girl who has just discovered that she is pregnant from her one time romp with her best friend, the gawky and awkward Bleeker (Michael Cera).
“What should we do?”
“Well, I should just... I was thinking I'd just nip it in the bud before it gets worse. Because they were talking about in health class how pregnancy... It can often lead to an infant”.
The decision is made to abort the baby, and Juno goes along to the clinic to have the procedure. It is here that she is confronted by one of her friends who is an anti-abortion protester. After being told “Your baby probably has fingernails by now”, Juno decides that the right thing to do would be to have the baby and adopt it out to a loving family who cannot have kids themselves.
Juno finds an ad from the Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), who are desperately wanting a baby. Juno goes out to meet them in their lavish home, and after spending the afternoon with them she decides that they would be perfect parents, and they would be able to provide a perfect upbringing for the child.
“You think you're really going to do this?”
“Yeah, if I could just have the thing and give it to you now, I totally would. But I'm guessing it looks probably like a sea monkey right now and we should let it get a little cuter”.
So, now all Juno has to do is tell her parents.
“I'm Pregnant”
“Oh God!”
“But, uh ah, I'm going to give it up for adoption and I already found the perfect couple, they're going to pay for the medical expenses and everything. And, and, what, ah, 30 or odd weeks we can just pretend that this never happened".
“You're pregnant?”
“I'm sorry. I'm sorry... And if it is any consolation I have heartburn that is radiating in my knee caps and I haven't taken a dump since like Wednesday... morning”.
After the initial shock, her dad Mac (JK Simmons) and Step-mum Brenda (Allison Janney) promise to be supportive and help Juno through this difficult time.
As the movie progresses, cracks begin to appear in the apparent perfect world of the Lorings. It becomes clear that Vanessa is the one who wants a child so badly, and Mark is starting to doubt not only the baby, but his whole life. Juno starts to learn more about herself, and begins to see the world through the eyes of not only an adult, but of a parent. She starts to see that things are not always as they seem, and realises that this baby is her responsibility, and she must make sure that it is properly looked after.
Decisions need to be made and actions need to be taken, and Juno, in her own unique and quirky way, begins to plan the life for her unborn child.
Throughout the movie, Bleeker tends to take a backseat to all that is happening, and Juno is the one making all the decisions. But at the end, Bleeker finally has his moment in the spotlight, and stands up like the man Juno always knew he was.
You are never quite sure which way Juno is going to go, and the suprise twist at the end wraps up this story beautifully.
JUNO, like I said at the start, is just brilliant. It has been casted to perfection – it was like every actor had been hand crafted for their role. It has got some of the best lines I have ever heard, and the characters are just so well devised and so perfectly intertwined. For such a simple story, it is one of the most intelligent and cleverly written films that have hit the big screen in a long time. I know that I have added a few lines here in my review, but I just had to. I couldn’t get over just how fantastic the script was. Don’t panic though, there are a ton more that I haven’t shared that are all just as priceless.
JUNO is a must see movie. A coming of age comedy that not only tickles the funny bone, but pulls at the heartstrings as well.
It’s 9.5 out of 10 from me.
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