"Juno" - worth seeing or no?

[Taverner]

Asks this Godless Californian

[unpossibles]

1. I enjoyed it. nt

[mcctatas]

2. I really liked it...

of course what's not to love about the movie that added "pork sword" to my vocabulary?

[elshiva]

3. It's a great movie.

It's about one young woman's decision to keep the baby, but it's her PERSONAL decision. It's not pro-life propaganda.

[Mutley]

27. Exactly.

They are not pushing anti-abortion themes in this movie. It's just a sarcastic 16 year-old who talks like she's 30 who realizes she's not as grown up as she thinks she is.

I enjoyed it. :)

[nomorenomore08]

4. Good movie, very sweet - and I don't normally go for "sweet."

:thumbsup:

[MissMarple]

5. It's charming. A slice of life and worth a look. It is about kids, nice kids.

[Schema Thing]

6. hell yeah.

[tigereye]

7. yes, it's clever, fun and very good

[WorseBeforeBetter]

8. Sure, why not? But I found it incredibly annoying...

and it appears that others did as well:

Other People Hate Juno Almost As Much As I Do
http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=2374

[hunter]

15. I remember hanging out with the pretentious cynical highly verbal kids at Juno's age.

Your link made me laugh. Maybe it's the thirty-somethings who still talk like that who were most offended by this movie???

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

I thought it was a sweet movie, maybe because I've never given a shat about being "hip" or cool or anything like that. As a socially clueless and awkward computer geek who wore funny clothes and had weird parents, this was always beyond my capabilities. And for the life of me, I never understood why anyone would want to party.

As a parent I don't know nothing about the music my kids listen to. Weirdly, though, they sometimes listen to the Beatles. I think it's a positive thing that my kids have to drive crappy old cars and sometimes have to hang out with parents who never knew and don't care who Sonic Youth and the Stooges were, or whoever the hell it is the cool kids listen to now.

It keeps them humble.

[Orrex]

35. Yeah, yeah. Everybody knew (or was) a kid like that.

The problem isn't simply that Juno's one of them; the problem is that the Anachronistically Precocious Teen has become a standard Hollywood trope, and it's been done to death and beyond. The intent, clearly, is less to catch the attention of quirky teens who talk like that and more to pander to twenty- and thirty-somethings who've decided to remember themselves as having been those same quirky teens.

Alternatively, it suggests a Mary Sue intrusion by the director/author/screenwriter who likewise envisions him or herself as the (perhaps reluctantly) grown-up version of the quirky teen.

[hunter]

40. I'm sorta glad the last film studies class I took was in 1978.

Otherwise it might be too much of a bother to get out and go to the movies.

Even if a movie is bad or forgettable it's still a movie and I like popcorn.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

17. Yikes, I thought it was just me!

I had heard sooooo much about it and then when I finally saw it -- bleck. I found myself wanting to punch the lights out of the "Juno" character more than once. The dialogue sounded as if were written by exactly who it was written by -- it was hard, cynical, pretentious -- perfect for a 30 something stripper, not so perfect for even the smartest high schooler.

I walked away completely underwhelmed.

[redqueen]

19. Hah, I haven't seen it...

but those comments are funny. :)

[wickerwoman]

9. I'd say yes. Very cool soundtrack.

And Alison Janney (C.J. from West Wing) who makes everything wonderful.

[MrCoffee]

16. That is the perfect description of Janney's career

She does, in fact, make everything wonderful.

[muffin1]

38. Alison Janney is a goddess.

The first time I ever saw her was on Law and Order playing a witness for the prosecution. Her performance in that role was just unbelievably stirring. I have loved her in everything since. Ooh, and her performance of "The Jackal" on The West Wing was hysterical. I'm going to have to Netflix that season - or maybe there's a youtube...:hi:

[bigwillq]

10. One of my faves.

I loved it. Loved it.

[elocs]

11. Absolutely yes. It was an enjoyable movie, and not many really are anymore. n/t

[motely36]

12. YES!

[mochajava666]

13. Definitely worth seeing

[deutsey]

14. I'd say watch it, but you may be a little disappointed like I was

Not a bad movie, but not as good as the hype said it was.

[Kat45]

22. That's exactly what I thought when I saw it.

I had heard so many great things about it that I really wanted to see it. When I finally saw it, my reaction was, meh.

[GoCubsGo]

18. Yes.

One of the more underrated films of that year, IMO.

[MrSlayer]

20. Sure, if you like syrupy sweet bullshit, bad music and unrealistic dialogue.

Having a teenage daughter I've had to sit through this horseshit movie on more than one occasion and not once did it not make me nauseous. Awful, awful drivel.

[grace0418]

21. I loved it. I guess you'll just have to see for yourself since clearly some folks

did not.

[MilesColtrane]

23. If you can set aside any expectations about seeing a story with characters that...

speak and behave with a core "realness", then you may find it worth your time.

It's pure Hollywood.

[quakerboy]

25. Hollywood?

Not so...

More Santa Fe, Hangin with the hipster artist version of what Hollywood should be.

Or at least that was my take. More pretentious and less lowest common denominator extra explosion BOOB Shiny robot than Hollywood.

[Taverner]

26. Just watched it. Wow, that movie played like an ad for American Eagle or Abercrombie and Fitch

Not really deep dialogue - more faux deep
Again, high school kids are faux deep
How deep can you be at Sixteen?

[MilesColtrane]

30. Not Hollywood in the sense of exploding things and car chases.

Hollywood in the sense of missing the mark when showing real life situations through the eyes and ears of most its scriptwriters.

[quakerboy]

43. So we are in agreement.

I still think I had the better description. But you got there first. Shall we call it a draw, or fight it to the death?

[Iggo]

24. Cute movie about cute kids.

Smart dialog. Weird and excellent soundtrack.

See it. It's painless and entertaining.

[BarenakedLady]

28. I liked it.

Doesn't mean much. Doesn't mean anything at all.

[JonLP24]

29. Responses kinda surprising

I recall the week or so after it first was shown in theaters, judging from the threads and link to critiques you would think it was the most offensive movie made that year. Now almost every reply is in favor of the movie. I haven't seen the movie myself, I was just making an observation. :)

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. I just saw it recently. I don't remember that though.

I remember a lot of people thinking the soundtrack was the bomb, but that's it. :)

[Bucky]

42. Who you callin' "you", kemosabe?

There was the predictable knee jerk responses in GD calling it an anti-abortion movie. But that was just the barking of imbeciles. It's a movie about a young girl making smart choices, so presumably it's pro-choice. I remember one thread where one poster said it was male bashing because of the Justin Bateman character and another say it was misogynist because of how they conveniently wrote Juno's mother out of her family situation.

Some people are just looking for something to feel offended about.

[quakerboy]

45. It was underground cool. Thats not who writes the initial reviews

That's who inhabits the internet. Welcome to the internet.

[ScreamingMeemie]

31. It's okay. I loved the line, "Hang on, I'm on my hamburger phone".

[Lindsey]

33. Without question one of the best movies. n/t

[proteus_lives]

34. I liked it.

At some points it tries too hard to be hip but fun overall.

[AlecBGreen]

36. me too

ditto your comment

[mitchum]

37. An American Crime is a much better "Ellen Page Movie"

[Tuesday Afternoon]

39. Yes

Unfortunately, you are correct. Don't watch it late at night, alone.

[SeattleGirl]

46. I just saw that movie last week. I couldn't take my eyes off it.

One hell of a great movie about one hellish crime, and yes, Ellen was very good in that movie.

[Bucky]

41. It's a great movie. Probably one of the few movies I'd consider buying instead of renting.

[meeshrox]

44. ABSOLUTELY!

No sugar-coating...wonderful film!