March 7, 2008

Juno

It received all sorts of Oscar buzz. We'd been wanting to see it, and friends of ours had said even Garrett would enjoy it. So, we finally made it.

I cried. Then I laughed. Then I cried some more.

However, the film wasn't sad. It was touching. Similar to Little Miss Sunshine, it made me feel like everything could be okay no matter how messed up the world seems to get. In fact, aside from the hilarious dance scene in Little Miss, I thought this movie blew it out of the water.

Diablo Cody deserved recognition for the fine script she created with such a diverse group of characters. She managed to hint at bigger conflicts than those at hand. Insodoing, she enriched the story by making it feel as textured as real life.

Ellen Page's Juno was quirky, witty, and loveable--even if I did want to put my hand over her mouth sometimes and tell her to have some respect. She managed to be haughty in that way only naive teenagers can be, and she pulled it off oh-so-well.

The unsung performance was Jennifer Garner. She's the one who made me cry. Although her character was high strung and controlling, she managed to show why. Her yearning for a child was evident. The scene where she wanted to feel the baby kick was realistic. The painting of the nursery was haunting.

Since I'm still suffering with nausea and will have to cancel my beautiful gym membership due to difficulties, I was a bit annoyed that Juno so easily got knocked up and managed to skip through the pregnancy with little more than social problems while the seemingly ideal couple who had so much to offer couldn't manage to pull it off.

But I guess that's the point. It's not the problems you have. It's how you deal with them. And Juno was a great example.