Juno film review
Juno is a great little indie film which suddenly hit the big time just before its UK release when it was nominated for Oscars for best actress and best film.
Juno stars Ellen Page (Hard Candy, X-men 3) as the abnormally witty and pregnant teen Juno, and the father son duo from Arrested Development Jason Bateman and Michael Cera respectively as the prospective adoptive father and nervous shag buddy. It also features The West Wing’s Allison Janey as Juno’s step mum.
I started by mentioning these particular cast members because they, and the rest of the cast, all work together to make this film something quite special.
The script too has a strong hand in this. It was written by a former stripper, Diablo Cody, and not only is it her first ever screenplay, she wrote it in 2 months whilst holding down a full time job. Although parts of the script are a little grating - especially the strange slang terms used by Juno and her best friend - the witty comebacks and majority of comments are nothing short of genius. This is clearly the work of a very intelligent woman.
The films style is similar to Eagles vs Shark, Me you and everyone we know, Little Miss Sunshine and other quirky US ‘indie’ comedy’s. The opening sequence has Ellen rendered as a drawing walking down a street which is also a drawing, before becoming real again whilst for a moment the street remains a drawing. This is the kind of visual scene we normally see in music videos, indeed, the opening credits of films tend to be mercifully brief, or rather dull. Its a refreshing change and shows the artistic mindset of the creators of this film. Throughout the film everything is very colourful and almost glossy, its a very bright film.
This is essentially a feel good movie, where everyone is actually really nice, even if they seem a little odd at first, and everything pretty much works out in the end. Unlike most feel good films though it manages to be witty, clever and has a level of acting that some people say brought tears to the eyes whilst watching some of the more emotional scenes. Highly recommended for a date, and indeed, any circumstance where you don’t want anything too heavy, nor something dumb.
Juno Trailer and clips
The trailer -
Some more clips -
Moldy Peaches playing ‘Anyone else but you’ at the premiere -
There’s loads more clips and videos over on youtube, just search Juno, or click here!