Juno (2007) |
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Fox Searchlight has either done a great job of picking up indie films over the past few years or they’ve done a great job of intentionally producing “indie-ish” films over the years. Either way, I’ve really enjoyed the stuff they’ve been putting out of late. Juno is the tale of an oddball high schooler who gets pregnant and decides to go through with the pregnancy and give her little sea monkey up for adoption (good for her). Juno is one of those special kinds of people who speaks in a never ending stream of witticisms and poetic sarcasm and yet after a few minutes it feels natural… somehow. What I most appreciated about Juno was the dedication to imperfect, weird characters. No one gets a pass. The would-be suburbanite parents Juno wants to give her baby to are much more broken and odd than appearances first let on. The husband, Mark, is a failed musician writing jingles for commercials who still has aspirations to become a rock superstar. His wife, Vanessa, has become a one-woman religion dedicating herself to “becoming a mother.” Her devotion to this task borders on creepy at times. Juno and her baby-daddy, Paulie Bleeker (played by Michael Cera) have plenty of their own coming-of age issues to work out in the midst of bringing a baby into the world and seeing if they might dive dating a second chance (or first, depending on who you ask). It’s a touching film without feeling contrived or sentimental.



