Juno is most commonly described as "quirky." It's said to see this apt description because there is an air of dismissal there, and Juno should not be dismissed. Nope. It's actually a powerful movie about love and motherhood.
But that doesn't really concern me right now. Sure, I could talk about the movie's strengths: the character's consistency and motivation; the likable and believable side characters; the witty dialogue that actually mimics how a teenager would talk.
Or I could talk about the flaws: how the intro credits falsely introduce something so serious; how the main character's intermittent narration only serves to confuse the point of view; how the dialogue changes depending on who is being spoken to.
Those things are important but they don't really say anything about how good the movie is. And it's good. But it's goodness is strange, for I think Juno is a part of a conservative trend in movies.
Take Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, both great comedies with a conservative message. Juno is like that, too. At once, it is a great argument against abortion. The main character decides not to have an abortion in a scene that is actually funny and not at all preachy. But it's the right thing to do, at least according to the logic of the movie.
It's also quite liberal, though. It says nothing about underage sex and just assumes that it's okay. It glances over the fact that Juno herself will never be quite the same. It glances over the fact that Juno and her now boyfriend now have a child, even if they aren't in contact with it. And it even leaves the Jason Bateman character in the lurch even though Juno has played a role in practically destroying his life.
Never mind that, though. The fact that Juno goes through with the pregnancy overshadows most of the rest of the plot.
It's all the other stuff that makes it a good movie.
Grade: 9
But that doesn't really concern me right now. Sure, I could talk about the movie's strengths: the character's consistency and motivation; the likable and believable side characters; the witty dialogue that actually mimics how a teenager would talk.
Or I could talk about the flaws: how the intro credits falsely introduce something so serious; how the main character's intermittent narration only serves to confuse the point of view; how the dialogue changes depending on who is being spoken to.
Those things are important but they don't really say anything about how good the movie is. And it's good. But it's goodness is strange, for I think Juno is a part of a conservative trend in movies.
Take Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, both great comedies with a conservative message. Juno is like that, too. At once, it is a great argument against abortion. The main character decides not to have an abortion in a scene that is actually funny and not at all preachy. But it's the right thing to do, at least according to the logic of the movie.It's also quite liberal, though. It says nothing about underage sex and just assumes that it's okay. It glances over the fact that Juno herself will never be quite the same. It glances over the fact that Juno and her now boyfriend now have a child, even if they aren't in contact with it. And it even leaves the Jason Bateman character in the lurch even though Juno has played a role in practically destroying his life.
Never mind that, though. The fact that Juno goes through with the pregnancy overshadows most of the rest of the plot.
It's all the other stuff that makes it a good movie.
Grade: 9
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