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Ellen Page in "Juno"
courtesy of Fox Searchlight
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“Do You Know Juno?”
Over the past few months you must have heard about a movie titled “Juno.” It was the only Best Picture nominee of this year that was actually a box office success. And now that it is out on DVD it will make even more money. Why it was so successful, well that is a good question. The answer is probably Ellen Page who plays the title role, and the fact that most of us have probably known a Juno at one time or another.
"Juno" is a movie that came out of nowhere to charm audiences with its quirky tale of teen pregnancy. Ellen Page stars in the movie and she is so winning and believable that you care about this girl from start to finish. The film doesn't take a moral issue on her situation but rather lets the story play out and then leaves it up to the audience to make its own judgments.
Juno (Page) is a sixteen-year-old girl who after a one time experiment with sex finds she is pregnant. There is never any thought of her marrying her sex partner Bleeker (Michael Cera), and she decides quickly that she doesn't want to have an abortion. She opts to find a couple to adopt the child.
Her father (J. K. Simmons) and stepmother (Allison Janney) are totally supportive of this idea and her father even accompanies her when she goes to meet with a prospective couple. Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) are well to do yuppies who Juno likes from the start. They seem to have everything necessary to provide for a baby.
One of the biggest charms of the movie is the natural sounding script by Diablo Cody. Juno and her friends talk in a realistic manner about life, love and what have you. The script also has enough twists and turns to keep you interested in what is going to happen, and never sure what that will be.
Page is amazing as the irrepressible Juno. She looks the part of a sixteen-year-old and acts believably too. Garner makes an impression as the uptight but desperate for a child Vanessa, while Bateman scores points as the childish Mark.
"Juno" is a low key movie that tells its story without frills or embellishments. It lets the humor found in the film come naturally from the situations, and from the dialogue that Cody has created. Page is pitch perfect as Juno while Cera is a little too dorky as Bleeker. The rest of the cast fits their roles and make the movie believable and enjoyable.
You might not like the easy acceptance of this teen’s pregnancy but if you can get past that point you will enjoy Ellen Page as “Juno.”
An even more enjoyable movie is “The Final Season.” This movie reminded me of some of my favorite sports films such as “Hoosiers” and “The Rookie.” Those too were based on true stories and had a lot of heart. In this film the movie concerns a high school baseball team. They are state champions and want to continue that streak but are told their school is going to be consolidated. They have one final season left to play and it is with a new coach (Sean Astin). He replaces the coach (Powers Boothe) who led the team to victory in the past.
I urge you to watch this movie. It has a great story, better than average acting and a terrific musical score. It is pure Americana in its telling and you will find yourself rooting for the team to win the big game.
The movie did not have much of a big screen run but hopefully it will find a following on DVD. It certainly is better than most of the fare in theaters today.
Did you ever think reality shows go too far in their humiliation of contestants? Think “Moment of Truth.” Well there is a movie out on DVD that takes the reality show setting one step further. It is titled “Cruel World” and stars Edward Furlong and Jaime Pressly.
This is a movie about a man who wants revenge against the girl who humiliated him on a reality show. So to take his revenge he invents a new game but it is a deadly one. This is a movie you can enjoy and appreciate – and have fun with in a sick sort of way.
Finally there is a release of “The Adventures of Baron Munchaussen.” This movie by Terry Gilliam was originally released in 1989. The film had only moderate success then but it is thought now audiences might better appreciate the humor contained therein.
John Neville, Eric Idle and Uma Thurman star in this movie and it is a bizarre and fanciful piece of work. Neville plays the title role and is involved in all sorts of crazy adventures from fighting a sea-monster to dancing on the moon. Yes, it is that kind of movie Maybe you’ll like it – but then maybe you won’t. |
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©2008 Jackie K. Cooper |
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