Juno is a victim of its own hype. It's a film that has garnered lavish praise and awards chatter, yet ultimately it's nothing more than a quirky teen comedy with a pretty impressive central performance. Had it been released in March, no one would be talking about it in the same breath as No Country for Old Men, Atonement, or There Will Be Blood. If you can get past all the hyperbole surrounding this film, you might find a moderately sweet diversion. If not, prepare to sit through an occasionally agonizing 90 minutes of overly quirky dialogue and familiar plot points.Juno (Ellen Page) is a loud mouthed, wise beyond her years 16 year old who has just learned she is pregnant. The father is her geeky friend and one time fling Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). She decides to keep the baby and give it to a family who can't have children of their own. The couple, Vanessa and Mark (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman), don't seem totally ready for kids, with Mark being an overgrown kid and Vanessa being a bit too stuffy and self-centered. The film follows Juno over the 9 months of her pregnancy, her relationship with Paulie, and the struggles of Vanessa and Mark as they come to grips with parenthood. A lot of people have been calling the screenplay from newcomer Diablo Cody a revelation, but clearly they weren't talking about the plot.
I fear they were talking about the dialogue. If so, I have a little bit less respect for the film critic community. The dialogue is often gratingly unrealistic and "clever" in the worst sense of the word. Cody seems to have spent more time trying to think of things that made her say "wouldn't it be funny to hear someone say that?" and less time thinking about what would actually be true to her story and characters. The worst offenders were the characters of Juno herself, as well as her friend Leah. People don't talk like that, and to hear a person say things like "honest to blog?" or "this is one doodle that can't be undid, home skillet" just takes you out of the reality of the film. I honestly stopped caring about some of the characters because they were clearly not meant to be anything more than simple cartoons there to make us laugh.
The actors all try their best to rise above the jarring dialogue. Ellen Page really is pretty good as Juno, and there are times where I think she really tried to elevate her character above the bad one liners and quirky vibe Cody infused upon her. I almost cared about Juno towards the end, and that was 100% thanks to Page. Cera is, as expected, understated, and he actually feels like a real human being for the most part. Garner and Bateman may be the best part of the film, however. Not saddled with the same idiotic lines their costars have, they are able to create two fully former characters that actually have depth. Both are likable and unlikable at the same time, and I honestly was warmed by the final two scenes with Garner. Bateman could have come across as a villain with his role, but thankfully he is smarter than that. We might not agree with what he does in the film, but we can easily see why he feels the need to do it.
Director Jason Reitman made one of my favorite films of 2006 with Thank You for Smoking. He was lucky to have an intelligent, funny script to work off of with that film. Here he does the best that he can with Cody's inane quips, and I suspect that he still has some growing to do as a filmmaker. He may be one to keep an eye on, however, as he is clearly a major talent in the comedy genre. I wish I could have loved this film as much as everyone else seems to love it, but I simply hated every word that came out of certain characters' mouths. No one talks like this, and the strong performances and solid directing are all weighed down by that one simple fact. As it stands, Knocked Up from last June is a far more funny and intelligent look at unexpected pregnancy, and it's a shame that film won't be the one garnering all the awards attention come next February.
