Juno

[slickstu]

Arriving at our shores atop the crest of a wave of critical praise, the central question for Juno is: "Is the film worthy of such acclaim?" Well, the short answer is "no" but regardless there is a sweetness present here which is undeniably satisfying.

The film is very well served by its outstanding cast. In the primary role, Ellen Page weaves her magic (as she did in Hard Candy) with her cute crooked smile and sassy smart-arse diatribe. The support cast is excellent also, including Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, Olivia Thirlby and J.K. Simmons in a refreshingly non-shouty role.

The films Achilles heel, however, is its oft-times try-hard yearning for "indie" status. Some of the dialogue sounds a little too contrived and deliberate, a point further underlined by a soundtrack which is often a little too "which kooky song can we throw in now?" The quirkiness is so forced that, at times, it looks like a commercial film deliberately striving for avant-garde edginess. The film hits a home run in the final stretch, however, as the converging plot strands come to fruition, culminating in an unconventional conclusion which ensures that we leave the cinema with the warm-and-fuzzies.

While not possessing the polish of director Jason Reitman's Thank You For Smoking nor matching Knocked Up's more relaxed and easy going style, Juno is nevertheless a sweet film slightly marred by occasional moments of pretentiousness.

7.5 out of 10.

[z1gg33]

I very much liked this film.... i thought her acting was excellent and I enjoyed the dialog between actors. just my opinion mind you..

for a usa teen film i found it refreshing, good to see jason bateman get some acting jobs, he has been in a few of recent years, has his career had a come back perhaps since the movie the breakup

jen garner looks awsome as always sorry I dont know everyones name but I liked the guy from superbad as well, an understated role that he played well...

i would go 8/10

[jobbidiar]

The films Achilles heel, however, is its oft-times try-hard yearning for "indie" status. Some of the dialogue sounds a little too contrived and deliberate, a point further underlined by a soundtrack which is often a little too "which kooky song can we throw in now?" The quirkiness is so forced that, at times, it looks like a commercial film deliberately striving for avant-garde edginess.

yeah this is the part of the film that i'm critical of the most, you know its coming from the mouth of the writer, i get quite frustrated when films tend to over do this.

i enjoyed it though, 6.5/10

[ssrattus]

7/10 yes it's overly clever script writing, but well acted. It got better as it went along.