← Back to Reviews
in
16-year-old Juno finds out she is pregnant with her best mate Paulie's baby. She decides that the best way of handling the situation is to adopt the baby out to a rich childless couple.
Normally, I wouldn't make the effort to go and see a film like Juno. It struck me as being yet another one of those quirky, funny, touching, indie-looking films that manage to strike it big with both critics and audiences everywhere, despite a lack of star power and a large budget. However, the acclaim got so overwhelming that I caved in and bought myself a ticket to see Juno.
From what I can tell, the reason Juno has been a hit with practically everyone who's seen it is because it's funny and (relatively) lighthearted fare that manages to appeal to people's emotional sides. I guess this is where I differ from other people. I can see how others would like it, but quite simply, I didn't.
Juno has been promoted as more of a comedy than a drama. I could definitely see the humour in much of the film, but understanding the humour and actually laughing at and enjoying the humour aren't always the same thing. Laughter is a spontaneous act, and being conscious of the moments where I knew they had made a joke but not personally laughed at it felt weird. I kinda got the impression that the story's humour seemed a little forced, as did the references to music and horror movies.
That, or it was the trainwreck sitting behind me who would carry on like De Niro in Cape Fear, laughing himself sick at even the slightest joke and ruining every funny moment. I think I never managed an honest laugh, only the odd smile now and again. *shrug*
The reason I concentrated on the humour is that it's that central to the story. Sure, it's got some serious subject matter, but it deals with it in a humourous way. Once again, I can't help but feel it was trying a little too hard to be funny to actually be that funny.
As for the other elements of the story, well, I will say they worked well enough. I know that you usually get reviews gushing about all the little things that made the movie come together - the acting, the directing and whatnot - but you can get that from other reviews. One thing that everyone had gone on about was how great the soundtrack was. I'll pay that, it fit the feel of the movie all right. One highlight for me that I'd like to mention was the animated credits sequence. A bit of a cliché, maybe, but still fairly enjoyable.
So there you have my verdict on Juno. It's a nice movie, worth watching once at least, but I couldn't quite agree with the high ratings that it gets wherever I look. Then again, as I've stated, it's not really my kind of movie so liking it at all probably means something. In any case, enjoy.
(And hope you don't see it in the same theatre with anyone who laughs way too loud.)
JUNO
(Jason Reitman, 2007)
(Jason Reitman, 2007)
16-year-old Juno finds out she is pregnant with her best mate Paulie's baby. She decides that the best way of handling the situation is to adopt the baby out to a rich childless couple.
Normally, I wouldn't make the effort to go and see a film like Juno. It struck me as being yet another one of those quirky, funny, touching, indie-looking films that manage to strike it big with both critics and audiences everywhere, despite a lack of star power and a large budget. However, the acclaim got so overwhelming that I caved in and bought myself a ticket to see Juno.
From what I can tell, the reason Juno has been a hit with practically everyone who's seen it is because it's funny and (relatively) lighthearted fare that manages to appeal to people's emotional sides. I guess this is where I differ from other people. I can see how others would like it, but quite simply, I didn't.
Juno has been promoted as more of a comedy than a drama. I could definitely see the humour in much of the film, but understanding the humour and actually laughing at and enjoying the humour aren't always the same thing. Laughter is a spontaneous act, and being conscious of the moments where I knew they had made a joke but not personally laughed at it felt weird. I kinda got the impression that the story's humour seemed a little forced, as did the references to music and horror movies.
That, or it was the trainwreck sitting behind me who would carry on like De Niro in Cape Fear, laughing himself sick at even the slightest joke and ruining every funny moment. I think I never managed an honest laugh, only the odd smile now and again. *shrug*
The reason I concentrated on the humour is that it's that central to the story. Sure, it's got some serious subject matter, but it deals with it in a humourous way. Once again, I can't help but feel it was trying a little too hard to be funny to actually be that funny.
As for the other elements of the story, well, I will say they worked well enough. I know that you usually get reviews gushing about all the little things that made the movie come together - the acting, the directing and whatnot - but you can get that from other reviews. One thing that everyone had gone on about was how great the soundtrack was. I'll pay that, it fit the feel of the movie all right. One highlight for me that I'd like to mention was the animated credits sequence. A bit of a cliché, maybe, but still fairly enjoyable.
So there you have my verdict on Juno. It's a nice movie, worth watching once at least, but I couldn't quite agree with the high ratings that it gets wherever I look. Then again, as I've stated, it's not really my kind of movie so liking it at all probably means something. In any case, enjoy.
(And hope you don't see it in the same theatre with anyone who laughs way too loud.)