Goodreads Bookshelf
Movie Review: Juno
For Christmas, one of my students gave me gift certificates for a couple movies, popcorn, and drinks. We held off on half the soda and the popcorn, but we went to see Juno this evening.
Wow.
This story of a high school student who gets pregnant and gives her baby up for adoption was amazing. It was funny, thought-provoking, and real. The acting performances were dead-on. Juno (Ellen Page) is absolutely perfect as a spunky, sarcastic, yet ultimately vulnerable high school student, and she absolutely carries the film (as she must, I suppose). But the supporting cast is perfect from top to bottom too. Some of the characters initially seemed like card-board cutouts, but the players and script brought each to life before the film was through. There's a lot of complexity in all the relationships portrayed, yet each flows with natural ease.
The soundtrack often had the feel of being recorded by high school students in their parents' basement (and I gather that in at least one case that's accurate), but it was ultimately every bit as charming as the movie (we ran out and bought it immediately, if that tells you anything).
The long and short of it is that you should see this movie. If, after seeing the movie, you don't want to own the DVD when it comes out, you can buy it and send it to me.