| Overall Grade: |
A+ |
|
| Story: |
A+ |
|
|
| Acting: |
A+ |
|
|
| Direction: |
A+ |
|
|
| Visuals: |
B- |
|
|
WORTHY of A MAILBOX FULL of APPLAUSE!!
by HonestMan (movies profile)
Jul 3, 2008
40
of
60 people found this review helpful
I walked into "Juno" with high expectations thinking I was going to see a good movie, what I got was a great one. Not only was I fully unaware that I was watching a film at certain points, but it seemed that I hadn't had this pleasant of an experience at the movies in a long while. Juno is the kind of movie that you can take your entire family, a date, close friends and your grandmother to and still have room for a long discussion afterwards.
Most people who have been to the movies this season, or own a computer with internet have at least heard of this film festival sleeper; hiding in the advertising guise of films like "Waitress", "Knocked Up" and "Superbad".
Juno however, cannot simply be described as being like any one of those pictures; neither an all-out comedy, coming-of-age tale or even edgy suburban drama, the movie simply defies categorization. There has simply not been anything like it before.
Many film goers may pre-visualize or pre-conceive the movie as being a Sundance-festival like knock-off, having unusual film-school like camera work and composition; toppled off with wanna-be edgy and hip dialogue, naturalistic amaterish acting styles and over-structured plotlines... All of these things and more, Juno is certainly not.
For starters, Juno may be a story we're all very familiar with, but rarely has it been told this well. The film is booming with an unusual level of charm and intelligence we simply haven't seen. The casting is spot on-perfect, particularly with Ellen Page (Who has only one film to her credit) giving the performance of a lifetime; Juno herself is a spunky, rambunctious 16-year old with a sharp-tongue and a knack for putting adults in their place with her hip-sarcastic post-modern attitude and unusual beauty.
Simply or fancy words however, cannot describe the sheer depth of some of the characters in the film, whom quite frankly resemble anyone you might find in real life. Each situation in the film is weighed to have the highest impact, and the movie never resorts to petty plot devices or rancid comic elements; the movie quite simply, shines with authenticity at nearly every turn.
At the same time however, Juno is still a REAL movie, it evokes charm, laughs, excitement and entertainment and is far from being your run-of-the-mill art-house crap of the week flick. This is a movie with real grit and the performances are enough to sustain its story. These are the sorts of movies I truly enjoy, the kinds that feel alive and are charming throughout. Also, did I mention the fact that the soundtrack is mostly original songs and they're all great.
With all its many qualities Juno also contains some valuable lessons about friendship, committment, life, family and growing up; its quite simply one of the greatest films of its kind. While it may not be the most aesthetically sound films ever made, it does not have groundbreaking visual effects, huge explosions or giant breasts floating across the screen, Juno makes up for with a lot of heart and soul.
So what are you waiting for, go see the film that Roger Ebert called: The best film of 2007. I don't know if Juno is the best movie I've seen all year, but it was certainly the one that made me feel I'd gotten my money's worth. Don't forget the orange "tic-tacks". |
My Public Profile 
