Juno (2007) (1 Viewer)

[SD_Brian]

I do recall one previous instance of this expression in Star Wars Episode I: upon seeing Anakin's new pod racer, one of his friends says, "This is SO Wizard, Annie!"

And people say George Lucas doesn't write quotable dialogue!

 

[Al.Anderson]

I loved the movie; although I wouldn't consider it movie of the year material as does Ebert. I thought Juno's dialogue fit her perfectly, she was obviously different and quirkier than most or her peers. She doesn't have to be an amalgamy of all teens to be a good character.

I think the scene with the husband was supposed to be uncomfortable. June thought she had one kind of a relationship, the guy thought otherwise. He was supposed to be immature; this just carried it through. Although the movie gives him credit for at least understanding this and detaching.

The week spot for me was the boyfriend, I do think his character wasn't fleshed out and as a result the ending was less emotional than it tried to be.

As for Little Miss Sunshine - that I loved. The beauty of the grandfather character is that not every family has to adhere to "middle American" standards to be to a good family. I think the dance routine walked the line by both commenting on the pagent idiocy (per Holodem) and by never protraying anything even remotely untoward. I certainly never had a concern over the the relationship of those two.

 

[Quentin]

I agree with 90% of what you say. And, I am appalled that Cody will likely win an Oscar because, apparently, Hollywood thinks it's great to get an infusion of new slang from a movie regardless of its flaws.

I found it particularly hilarious that Juno was the one who had all of MY interests and knowledge (I'm 39) from my era - but Bateman's character was into Sonic Youth, Seattle grunge, etc. I was waiting for a John Carpenter name drop from Juno...

However, I did like the movie. It's cute. Once I got used to the notion that all of the characters would, at some point, channel Diablo Cody, I forgot about that flaw. And, I instead focused on the one aspect of the script that is well done - the Garner/Bateman story. I don't know who Diablo knows that went through fertility issues and maturity issues - but, their relationship and their problems were handled very honestly and intelligently. Juno's, "I'm still in if you're still in" sentiment moved me, and I decided I liked her despite her being a vessel for Cody's slang ramblings.

So, cute movie that won me over...but, I am shocked at the praise it's receiving. It's a clever script...but, clearly in need of a lot of work. Annnnd...it's going to win an Oscar. Oh well...

 

[SD_Brian]

I agree with 100% of what you said. Hmm...does that mean I only agree with 90% of what I said? I'm so confused...

 

[Joel C]

I just assumed it was some sort of insider joke at Episode One, like all the kids had grown up watching Phantom Menace and thus said "wizard." And Cody making fun of Lucas in the process.

Maybe not.

 

[SD_Brian]

Making fun of George Lucas? Wow, she IS edgy!

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Reading some of the comments here reminds me of reading Pauline Kael's review of Body Heat. She blasted the film for having characters that talked liked they had watched old film noirs all their lives. Well, to me, that's kind of the fun of both pictures. I have no idea who Diablo Cody is besides being the writer of this film, so maybe I don't hear her voice every time a character speaks like Quentin and Brian do. I can see how this kind of dialogue could be annoying to certain viewers (e.g., I personally dislike Sorkin's language on The West Wing), but I would disagree with Justin's view that Ellen Page delivered them awkwardly.

 

[GerardoHP]

Amen to that, bro, you're never alone. These are the same things I questioned. Actually, the Argento part was the only one I didn't seriously object to because I'm an Argento fan and was thrilled that he was mentioned, but the rest was so OBVIOUSLY written by the same person, it was distracting.

 

[SD_Brian]

Read some background info on Cody here.

 

[Quentin]

Good Kael reference! I LOVE Body Heat...but, Kael was right - there was a gumshoe/noir/Double Indemnity feel to all the dialogue. Too self-referential.

I don't know squat about Cody other than that she was supposedly a stripper and a (in?)famous blogger. About what, I have no idea. When I say 'her voice', I mean 'the writer's voice'. As a writer myself, I am hopelessly hyper-aware of character voices/dialogue/tics/inflections/habits/etc. They should be true to character, not something else - and, certainly not something OUTSIDE of the script.

In JUNO, the 'voice' of Juno is far too referential and cutesy. Dennis Miller doesn't talk like this when he's doing his schtick, let alone in real life. Not only that, but it's too old for a 16 year old in 2007. I could see her being into, maybe, one thing that is not of her era - I'll give her early punk music. But, she also references slang, Argento, Thundercats, and other things that are from MY era, not hers. What makes matters worse, is that everyone around her talks the same way - Bleeker, her gal pal, the drug store guy...they should all have unique voices, and they don't. And, to top it off, no one goes around saying 'honest to blog' and 'wizard'. :frowning:

 

[Sparky753]

They did a good job with that. I actually said, "Oh @$&%!" under my breath as it was unfolding!

 

[Sparky753]

That bit of dialogue was taken too far. At first I thought, "Good for her." And while I was congratulating her in my head it turned into, "Okay, I think she's got it." To, "Well, now it's awkward."

All in all, though, well thought out criticisms aside, I do have it in my Top 10 for 2007. I, too, watch a lot of Joss Whedon, which may be why the dialogue didn't bother me at first. Once I realized it, I just filed it away and kept going with the movie.

Well, "Rock on."

"Honest to Wizard Blog." I don't know what kids say nowadays!

 

[Quentin]

Whedon is a good writer. Take a look at an episode of Buffy vs. an episode of Angel vs. an episode of Firefly...

Buffy talks a certain way. Even later season Buffy is slightly different from first season Buffy. She sounds different than Angel and different than Spike and different than Fred. Now, listen to Firefly...Inara, Jayne, Kaylee, Wash, Mal...they all have their own 'voice'. And, they all sound different from one another and from any Buffy/Angel character. Wash sounds a LITTLE like a smart-alec Buffy character, but he has different references, Chinese/Imperial slang, etc.

 

[Al.Anderson]

I have to disagree with you on this. I'm not a Whedon expert. I tripped across Firefly by accident (and loved it), and I've seen some Angel because my daughter's into it. But after seeing about three episodes of Angel I came to the conclusion that Angel and Mal were cut from the same cloth.

Now I'll add that this doesn't bother me like the Juno character's voice seems to bother people in this discussion.

 

[ThomasC]

From ZacharyTait's review:

I'm guessing this is the mall scene. I'm surprised if she'll get a nomination, but she definitely nailed it.

 

[Ray H]

I agree. I think Jennifer Garner's performance in this was wonderful and I'm hoping she gets a nomination, but I don't expect it.

 

[CaseyL]

I just saw this this weekend, and I have to throw in with the "I loved it" camp. I wasn't bothered by the Lingo dialog at all, and frankly thought it just made it even more funny. To me, it should be taken in context to the film itself, not really be compared to reality. I felt that the lingo was being exaggerated in order to sort of show the gap in generations, and then the pop references showing that maybe there's not so big a gap after all. Just a thought; only my inconsistent mind meandering.

 

[BrianShort]

I watched this the other night, and I really enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say I loved it. I especially loved a lot of the songs on the soundtrack... during the show I leaned over to one of the people I came with and said I already wanted to buy the CD. I thought the dialouge was clever and hip, and fit the tone of the movie, and didn't think it was too much. The one thing I had a problem with was the ending

I thought the Paulie Bleeker character seemed like an afterthought for most of the movie, so I had a hard time believing that she would hook up with him in the end... I think maybe there wasn't enough time in the movie to let Juno and Paulie build up any chemistry...

Other than that, I really enjoyed it!

 

[Malcolm R]

Recently purchased this as a blind buy courtesy of an automatic shipment from Columbia House. What a disappointment.

I'll have to side with the dissenters within this thread. The fact that this film garnered such critical praise, won an oscar, and grossed so much money is definitely a head-scratcher to me.

 

[Todd H]

Gotta agree with dissenters as well. I bought this for my wife on Blu-ray. She must have watched it about 20 times already. I sat through it once and never want to repeat the experience. The hipster dialog sounded like something a 40 year old would write to try and sound hip. "Honest to blog?" Give me a break.

And before anyone says anything, I teach at a local college so I know how kids today talk. They sound nothing like Juno.