Juno (2007)

Director:

Jason Reitman

Writer (WGA):

Diablo Cody (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A comedy about growing up... and the bumps along the way.

Plot:

Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.

Plot Keywords:

High School Student | Dark Comedy | Track Meet | Track | Folk Song

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 39 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

Ellen Page	...	Juno MacGuff
Michael Cera	...	Paulie Bleeker
Jennifer Garner	...	Vanessa Loring
Jason Bateman	...	Mark Loring
Allison Janney	...	Bren MacGuff
J.K. Simmons	...	Mac MacGuff
Olivia Thirlby	...	Leah
Eileen Pedde	...	Gerta Rauss
Rainn Wilson	...	Rollo
Daniel Clark	...	Steve Rendazo
Darla Vandenbossche	...	Bleeker's Mom
Aman Johal	...	Vijay
Valerie Tian	...	Su-Chin
Emily Perkins	...	Punk Receptionist
Kaaren de Zilva	...	Ultrasound Technician

Also Known As:

Juno (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba) | UK:12A | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Taiwan:PG-12 | Argentina:16 | South Korea:12 | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:7 | Germany:6 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | UK:15 (video rating) | Finland:K-11 | Hong Kong:IIA | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43795) | Brazil:10 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Greece:K | Netherlands:AL | Ireland:15A

Filming Locations:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

At one point before Juno visits Mark, he is sitting at his computer reading Diablo Cody's (the movie's screenwriter) real-life blog, known as "The Pussy Ranch."

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Juno says that she has heard that Snow Peak Peach flavored Boone's Farm is the best type, yet there is no such thing. There is Snow Creek Berry and Sun Peak Peach, but not Snow Peak Peach.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Juno MacGuff: It started with a chair.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ellen Page/Wilco (#33.6)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

I Like Giants

We need to take another long hard look at why this movie doesn't work...at all.

The buzz on JUNO is an example of herd-mentality, the exact kind of mentality that writer Diablo Cody is supposed to represent an alternative to, but doesn't, at all.

Juno is a cultural touchstone, but not because it's any good – it's because perhaps more than any other film to date, it represents that alternative has gone mainstream. Next step - VH1's "What ever happened to..." special.

The "fierce wit" of the dialog in Juno is only a marginal step above a Gilmore Girls episode, and because of its marginal betterness, it's ten times less likely to come out of the mouths of any of the characters that speak it.

A 16-year old making an easy-breezy "thundercats" reference? Are you kidding me? There's no way Ellen Page's character would know about the show let alone have any sort of affinity for it. A dude at the drug store speaking in prosaic rhyming urban prose? Diddle...undone...home skillet?

The only reason the dialog flies is because its "cute," and "sharp," but "real," "honest," and "authentic," could never be applied. Without these touchstones, it's all pantomime, an elevated form of speech that may be funny now because it feels contemporary, but will surly date itself before you can say Jun...

What's worse, because everyone speaks this way, its clear that all the characters are written by exactly the same person.

If you really look at it, the writer never puts herself in the shoes of anyone other than herself. She can't relate to these characters, so she sells them out by "elevating" what they actually might say to a level that is unintentionally detached, overly-ironic and in no way sincere.

Just as over-sized shoes and a goofy hat don't necessarily make you funny, snappy comments and overripe dialog don't necessarily make you witty. If anything, I would argue they often produce the opposite effect.

Clowns freak me out. So does this movie. There's something evil about it. I feel like it represents closet socio-pathology - its moments that work all stem from Cody's inability to empathize, rather than her ability to.

I'm upset to see so many people earnestly routing for a movie that doesn't know the first thing about earnestness. Let's think for ourselves and stop supporting a film and writer that can't seem to feel for anyone.