I’ve probably known about “I wanna be your dog” for a good few years, and I’m only 19 at the moment. And I found about him randomly compared to how other kids could come to such a conclusion. For instance, Iggy was the crazy neighbor next door on one of favorite shows of my youth, Pete and Pete, so I could even have started to listen to them when I was 10 or so. Iggy is pretty popular, so it isn’t that odd.
Ebert has picked it as his number one film of the year. (So today, and today only, I like Ebert.)
While the typical 16 year old has never heard any music more than 10 years old, there exists in the fringe those very, very few who seek out the non-standard stuff. It is pretty clear that Juno is a fringe kid.
I didn’t listen to Iggy Pop but I loved listening to classic rock in high school. And I’m still more into the old Motown, doo-wop sound than I am into things like Radiohead and so forth.
I think that fringe is bigger than you think. I think there are plenty of teenage punk rock fans (Real punk rock, not Good charlotte or Avril Lavigne) who listen to Iggy Pop. I haven’t seen Juno, but there’s nothing unrealistic about a sixteen year old girl listening to Iggy Pop. I don’t know if it fits with her character or not.
The joys of music sharing and iPods and YouTube being what they are, each my boys (now 21, 16 and 12) have music collections that run from old old jazz to punk to things like “Egyptian heavy death metal” (okay, he 6 yo girl is into Hannah Montana). A biased sample to be sure but enough to make me think that the “fringe” is not all that fringe.
Nothing to add about the movie other than that I thought is was very good.
The abortion thing is an unfortunate necessity in this kind of movie. Unless she’s a die-hard pro-lifer (and see Saved! for that movie), what teenage girl or professional on the cusp of breaking out with her career isn’t going to consider an abortion? You pretty much have to acknowledge the option. Of course, if she actually has the abortion, then there’s no plot. In general, I doubt we’ll see many movies where people have an abortion and “get on with their lives”. Lack of consequences makes for bad drama and bad comedy. And pregnancy at least gives you a cute baby at the end to tie things up with.
As for the film, I really enjoyed it, though I felt that some of Juno’s dialogue was forced. I just had a hard time believing that she’d be that much of a witty bitch in those situations.
Meh. I think the same of Shakespeare’s characters.
Last one I recall is Fast Times at Ridgemont High. But that was 25 years ago.
Prohibited by the Hollywood code. I believe it’s in the same chapter with:
[ul]
[li]High school girl who loses virginity to asshole football player boyfriend must discover she’s pregnant.[/li][li]Teens shown using drugs must experience arrest, car accident, or similar tragedy, and/or become out-of-control addicts.[/li][li]Teens shown using drugs and having sex must be immediately hacked, slashed, or decapitated by machete-wielding maniac.[/li][/ul]
Maude got an abortion and got on with it. But then, that was a TV show. And she wasn’t a teen girl.
Really loved this film. I sat next to my two teenage adopted children, so there were layers there. Layers.
First of all, Jennifer Garner nailed it. My ex wasn’t one of those women but some of our friends were. She just nailed it perfectly.
The see-saw dynamic with the husband and Juno was fantastic. Felt a bit “American Beauty” at times but what I admired about how Ellen Page handled those scenes ( and many others ) was that her character wound up appearing to be more mature than the adults around her. Which is one of the points, I suppose.
There are some painful damned lines in that film. Again, “American Beauty” came to mind. I heard a long interview with the screenwriter and Ellen Page on XMPR a month or so ago. Page made it clear she was begging for this role- the script hooked her as it did many of us.
The step-mom felt like a one-note caricature until the very end when her last line to Jennifer Garner really struck home. “You look like a new mom.” Brilliant.
Favorite line right now? Near the end, when Juno is reaming out the father of her baby.
I want to see it again on the screen. Next to 95% of the dreck films out there, this one sparkles by contrast alone.
Cartooniverse
Immediately followed by “Scared shitless” which made an awww line into a laugh-out-loud awww line.
Well, I’d fight this implication. I agree that Juno is a wonderful movie (I’ve seen it 3 times now and want to see it again), but there are a LOT of great/very good movies playing now. For once, the quality movies playing far outnumber the dreck movies. It’s a glorious time to go to the movies. (well, depending on where one lives and what kind of theaters they have nearby, but you’re in NY and you have a world of great movies at your beck and call)
I saw it yesterday and how I described it to someone yesterday afternoon was “sweet and funny. But not girly sweet.”.
I liked the characters - well, I liked Juno, and I know people like the others, which made it feel more real for me. The boyfriend felt like a secondary character to me - the important ones to me were Juno, Vanessa and her dad. Even her stepmother, while important in certain scenes, like the ultrasound, wasn’t a main character to me.
At times it felt like a teenager’s fantasy of getting pregnant and the subsequent events - even down to her father & stepmother’s reaction to telling them - it felt more like that after the final scene, even though I don’t think that was the intent.
I do want to see it again. I liked it. Best film? Unlikely, because I don’t think it is, but it was sweet and funny. But not girly sweet. 
I liked it quite a bit.
Oddly, my wife found it a little too cutesy, and Juno somewhat unbelievable. I’m usually much more apt to buy into a world with contrived dialog when I see a movie, even if it’s about “real” people.
I thought Garner was good.
I really liked J.K. Simmons, and his wife.
Sometimes it did get too corny (“it all started with a chair” sounds like a 16 year old wrote it.)
I really liked how they had the running team cruising by in the background all the time.
I’ve seen better movies this year, but I did really enjoy it.
Well, I really enjoyed the film. I didn’t find Juno’s character to be unbelievable – I had friends in high school ('98-'01) who reminded me a lot of her – actually, I had one who used the word '‘homeskillet’'and listened to weird ‘‘fringe’’ music and had two guitars and a drum set. I knew people that ‘‘clever’’ in high school. Kids like that actually exist, and they are equally hilarious.
My favorite scene in the movie was basically the climax…
When she pulled over to the side of the road and cried. Then, hit the gas and kept going. It was beautifully shot and didn’t require any dialog. You just sort of emotionally understand the moment, and you feel good when she decides to move forward.
I also like
That she didn’t choose to keep the baby, which I pretty much expected to happen… or run away with the husband. It was a true act of selflessness to give the child to the person who really could take the best care of him. But they didn’t sugarcoat the experience, either-- you could tell it was emotionally difficult but still the best option. And they didn’t undermine the relationship between Juno and Bleeker in any way.
I plan to adopt eventually, and for this reason I could relate to the adopted parents in a way… their struggle might someday be mine. And actually the film made me consider a closed adoption more than I have before.
ETA: Am I the only person who both liked Napoleon Dynamite AND this film? I never even thought to compare them because they strike me as two totally different films.
Anyways, Juno gave me a lot to chew on for a lot of reasons, so AFAIC it did its job.
My girlfriend and I talked about the parents’ reactions after we left the movie, and I could see myself reacting the way they did to the news if we had a teenaged daughter who announced she was pregnant. Juno clearly didn’t get pregnant on purpose because she wanted someone to love her or to hold on to a relationship. The damage was done, so what good would yelling about it do?
I’m with you. I liked both. And I also don’t think the films have anything in common, other than being set in high school.
I know what you mean. But at least this one addressed it and was more honest about it than Knocked Up. I wasn’t buying for a second that the chick in Knocked Up didn’t give it more than a passing thought.
Loved it. In a theatre full of people, I was the only one who laughed at the Sonic Youth/noise joke. That was awkward.
I have also known people who acted the same way as Juno. Hell, Juno could be a clone of my sister minus the whole pregnancy part. And I was definitely listening to Iggy Pop and the Stooges when I was 16 (I can thank Trainspotting for my introduction).
The scene where Bleeker spilled his heart out along with all of the confusion racking his brain rang very true to me. I did the exact same thing when I was 17.
The teenaged characters spoke more to me than any character that I’ve ever seen in a movie. I felt that I completely understood what was going on in their minds.
I loved that scene as well. It was so beautifully shot as she drives off, with the train going by on one side of the road and a river on the other. It was thematically perfect: There’s nothing to do but keep going.
jackelope, exactly.