Juno

[Redlum]

seriously, the one thing i really laughed at (something bateman said) NO ONE else seemed to find humorous. 

Was this the "actually, that would be kicking it old-testament style" line, because I let out an embarrassingly lonesome, guffaw upon hearing this. 

[cine]

funny, cause even in toronto with a packed house, 'honest to blog' received good laughs.

god, canadians, eh. fucking morons.

[modage]

i saw this a 2nd time yesterday and took my sister and brother.  i still like it.   

[grand theft sparrow]

I only really started to settle into Juno about halfway-in when the 'cleverness' of the dialogue subsided enough for me to properly appreciate the interaction of the characters. Perhaps this was just me becoming accustomed to Ellen Page's (and the script's) styling because by the end I had genuinely warmed to her character. It's hard to relate her to an everyday reality because she is supposed to be a unique teenager but certainly her dramatic scenes strip away the unnaturally cooler-than-thou vernacular and make Juno a much more interesting character than you'd expect.

This is exactly how I felt about the movie. 

That first half was a killer.  I kept thinking, "The script must look great on paper but in execution, it's just too overbearing."  Everyone keeps bringing up the "honest to blog" line, which must have been cute as hell when reading it but when delivered (and in particular when delivered in unison by the girl sitting in the row behind me - who must either own a screener, have full memory recall, or have seen the movie at least 10 times by now - proceeded to recite lines here and there throughout the entire movie... oh, yes, folks, there is a Juno cult out there), it's eye-rolling.  It's trapped somewhere between Clueless and the first day of a freshman film class where everyone is trying to think of the most obscure film they can tell everyone is their favorite.

But the second half is about as good as Ebert and company think it is, though the movie could have done with more Garner, and especially more JK Simmons and Alison Janney.  Each of them had one spectacular scene and that was it.  I know the movie is called Juno but I wanted more. SPOILERSFor example, we're never given much of a reason to side with Garner except that we discover, with Juno, that Bateman is a douchebag.END SPOILERS

I remember describing Little Miss Sunshine as "indie casserole" when defending my disappointment that it won Best Original Screenplay.  Juno sits better with me that LMS did and I don't begrudge anyone who really likes it but it's just too indie-cutesy (much like its soundtrack) for my tastes.

[pete]

so yeah, I stand by my indie knock-up statement.  which I dunno, wasn't a bad thing.
thanks to all the kids that warned me about the movie's indie-ness on this board.  I went into it fairly indie-proof, and all the smart-mouthing just whizzed by without pain or itch.  the story was really sweet and I liked the turn the story took towards the end.  there were a few really good moments too, but I dunno, in the end it was just a nice way to spend two hours with your friends and I didn't walk away with much else.  I'll recommend it to my mom though.  I didn't love it like I loved little miss sunshine or me you and everyone we know.  but don't we usually have like a ton of these cute movies a year?  what happened this year?
I think my mom will like it.

[meatwad]

i had the fortunate experience of spending the entire movie listening to a baby cry in the row behind me.

yes, people now think they should bring their infants to this film

[hedwig]

that's funny, there was an infant in the theatre when i saw Knocked Up.

i guess it's a thing now to bring your baby along to any baby-related movies.

"oh honey, let's take little jimmy to the movies... how about LAKE OF FIRE?"

[Pozer]

everybody was laughing, and i was not.

[Pas]

the girl who wrote this... now that's a Pathetic Stripper™

[Gamblour.]

Why is everyone so focused on the fact that she was a stripper? Is anyone saying, "DDL's performance in TWBB is pretty good for a former cobbler's apprentice."?

[Pas]

Naah no worries it's just an inside joke tween me and the P

[Gamblour.]

Naah no worries it's just an inside joke tween me and the P

Understood, but my point remains. I've heard legit (I guess, two dufuses recording a podcast) interviews where they preface Juno as their favorite script written by a former stripper this year. The interviewer sucked, by the way. "Ellen Page, what attracted you to this character?" UGH.

[The Red Vine]

I absolutely adored this film.

The first half hour scared me into thinking all these characters would be extreme stereotypes with dialogue so cute it wouldn't sound realistic. But as the film progresses, everything settled down and the film turns really beautiful. The characters began to develop into people not far from the ones I've known in my own life. The screenwriter started going for geniune moments instead of dialogue that sounded like a handbook of phrases for indie hipsters.

But the most striking aspect are the performances which balance cynicism, warmth and humor. Ellen Page's lead performance makes the film in my opinion. After this and "Superbad", Michae Cera is developing into my favorite movie nerd. The relationship the two actors display on screen is the heart of this movie.

Until "There Will Be Blood" comes here, I'll end up seeing this several times.

[grand theft sparrow]

i had the fortunate experience of spending the entire movie listening to a baby cry in the row behind me.

yes, people now think they should bring their infants to this film

I can beat that.  When I went to see I Am Legend in IMAX and some wastes of fucking human life brought their newborn to see it.  Like this kid was 3 weeks old at the oldest.  This little bastard couldn't even hold up his own head, not that if it could, it would justify his parents bringing him.  And with the seats being about 50-60 across, these assholes and us being in the middle, it was not particularly easy for any of us to get up and out to bitch, nor would it be easy for security to get in and escort these retards out with their crying child.  I'm starting a letter-writing campaign.

[cine]

they could've been kicked out though... people are too nice to these babies.