Juno

[CrypticMyth]

oogieboogieman said:

I'm not as enthusiastic about the movie. I mean, it was decent, but not unlike movies like Napoleon Dynamite, Garden State, and Saved.

One of the big problems I had with the movie was Juno herself. It's not that I found her unrealistic (although considering the character is supposed to be only 16, her mannerisms did make me raise my eyebrows a few times), but if she was someone I knew in my day-to-day life, I probably wouldn't like her. She reminds me too much of people I know who are so eager to get a joke into the conversation and force the spotlight on themselves, and people like that irritate me. It's hard to root for someone that irritates you.

Problem number 2 is best summed up by Ms. Jellybean's words: "painfully hipster." The characters spout references to Sonic Youth and the Melvins and the Stooges as if I, as a viewer, am supposed to be impressed by how "cool" the characters, and in turn, the movie are. It just seemed like the movie was trying too hard to earn "indie cred," whatever that may be.

Problem number 3: Jennifer Garner. Not that I dislike the actress, but her character was too wishy-washy for me to tolerate.

That said, I didn't hate Juno. Thank God for JK Simmons (between this, Spider-man, and Oz, that guy's becoming one of my favourite actors) and Allison Janney, cause most of the laughs I got from the movie came from them. So overall, not bad, but not really worth the acclaim its been getting, either.

*prepares a rotten-vegetable-shield for himself*

Also, that Letterman interview is pretty funny.

Wow. You pretty much summed up the movie EXACTLY how I saw it. The bit about the 'Indie-cred' was spot on. (But seriously, plus points for the random 'Wizards of Gore' reference)

And did Juno remind anyone else of a certain Enid?

[sarahbot]

crypticmyth said:

And did Juno remind anyone else of a certain Enid?

That is so painfully obvious, and yet I have never seen it before! Kudos to you! Especially the way they're both so confident yet self-deluded . . .

[TheOogieBoogieMan]

Ditto what sarahbot said. It never occurred to me, but now I can't not think about how similar they are.

That's another point against Juno! *writes in notepad*

[TheLuckyOne]

...Enid?

I'm guessing you're not talking about Kelso's wife.

-D

[Al]

theluckyone said:

...Enid?

I'm guessing you're not talking about Kelso's wife.

-D

Yeah, all I'm getting is 12th-century French Arthurian Romance poetry.

'Cause I'm cool like that.

(Chretien de Troyes in the hizzy!)

[CrypticMyth]

Ghostworld's Enid. To be clearer.

[Al]

Nope, still lost

[Ms. Jellybean]

gunslingeral said:

theluckyone said:

...Enid?

I'm guessing you're not talking about Kelso's wife.

-D

Yeah, all I'm getting is 12th-century French Arthurian Romance poetry.

'Cause I'm cool like that.

(Chretien de Troyes in the hizzy!)

You sound like me. I had to go to Wikipedia, search the name "Enid," and pray to God that I could get a movie character.

What's up with those Frenchmen writing about a king who's now a figurehead in British nationalism? It's never made sense to me. But I do love me some de Troyes.

[Head Mutant]

You know what? She seemed to be the anti-Enid. I really dislike Enids in film: teenagers who have far too much adult dialogue and attitudes, and are couple with an extreme sense of sarcasm and cynicism. Like they know how edgy and cool they are, and they enjoy lording it over others.

Juno was hip, sure, but cynical? Mean? Never. To use sarcasm and clever quips as forces of good is a refreshing change from 90% of the indie movie scene. For almost anyone else, a movie about teenage pregnancy would've been a quick trip to bummer town. I thought it was the exact opposite.

[PoolMan]

I saw Juno on the weekend with my wife and a host of trusted friends, and we all quite enjoyed it. I agree with a lot of what's already been said.

But you want to know the most surreal feeling in the world?

You know the scene where Vanessa is in the mall playing with the kid, and then she runs into Juno and feels her belly? I realized part way through the scene that the scene was shot in the very same mall we were watching the movie in.

To wit: Juno was shot in Vancouver, which I already knew, but figuring out that we were in the same building as a particular scene takes place was a really, really odd feeling. I leaned over and told PoolGirl, and we immediately started spotting things we recognized.

Has this ever happened to you?

[sarahbot]

Actually, during Juno. The scene where she's crying in the van is about 10 minutes away from my Dad's house.

[PoolMan]

Would that be in Delta somewhere? One of our gang said she recognized that scene, too.

[Head Mutant]

poolman said:

I saw Juno on the weekend with my wife and a host of trusted friends, and we all quite enjoyed it. I agree with a lot of what's already been said.

But you want to know the most surreal feeling in the world?

You know the scene where Vanessa is in the mall playing with the kid, and then she runs into Juno and feels her belly? I realized part way through the scene that the scene was shot in the very same mall we were watching the movie in.

To wit: Juno was shot in Vancouver, which I already knew, but figuring out that we were in the same building as a particular scene takes place was a really, really odd feeling. I leaned over and told PoolGirl, and we immediately started spotting things we recognized.

Has this ever happened to you?

I think this probably happens to you a lot more than us non-Vancouverians/non-LA folk due to the sheer amount of films shot there. However, I did see Jumper the other day, which spent a chunk of time in Michigan and featured a bit of the Metro Airport, which I'm quite familiar with. So... a little less than thrilling, but still there.

[Ms. Jellybean]

poolman said:

I saw Juno on the weekend with my wife and a host of trusted friends, and we all quite enjoyed it. I agree with a lot of what's already been said.

But you want to know the most surreal feeling in the world?

You know the scene where Vanessa is in the mall playing with the kid, and then she runs into Juno and feels her belly? I realized part way through the scene that the scene was shot in the very same mall we were watching the movie in.

To wit: Juno was shot in Vancouver, which I already knew, but figuring out that we were in the same building as a particular scene takes place was a really, really odd feeling. I leaned over and told PoolGirl, and we immediately started spotting things we recognized.

Has this ever happened to you?

The only time this happens to me is when I visit home and end up running errands for my mom. One of the streets I always drive on is near the courthouse and is sometimes used in movies.

Like Silver Bullet. We get things like Silver Bullet and Maximum freakin' Overdrive. Not worth mentioning in the least.

[sarahbot]

poolman said:

Would that be in Delta somewhere? One of our gang said she recognized that scene, too.

Correctamundo. I believe it's Deltaport Way.