Cinema de Gym: 'Juno'
Friday, July 22, 2011 at 3:30PM 
Kurt here, back with another installment of Cinema de Gym. Y'all didn't have much to say about the last two episodes, so I'm happy to return with a movie that's more actressy and Oscary, for better or worse. Hopefully it'll get folks talking. Juno is a film that has not sat well in my memory – a hipper-than-thou pin cushion for all my Quirk Cinema complaints. When a post-2007 indie gets under the skin with all its precious, self-negating eccentricities, Diablo Cody usually proves the perfect scapegoat. What hath she wrought with her Millenial-surrealist dialogue, best described as Kevin Williamson by way of the Urban Outfitters library? Well, probably half of what's now in the Urban Outfitters library, for one. Her words are sticky pop contrivance glazed over genuine depth of feeling, a concoction that was wildly validated by everyone from Oscar to Ebert to an army of young adults, who'd found their Clueless – a comedy that shaped their vernacular.
Which, in all fairness, is no small feat, and I tip my hat to Cody for having the wherewithal to tap into the voice of a generation (or, at least, the pseudo-emo white-kid leg of it). But her hyper-stylization is certainly not without its drawbacks, and Juno sees many an honest moment neutralized by an on-cue Codyism. The argument, of course, is that the lingo is what makes the film unique (and, to many, what makes it great). My retort is that its success is hinged on the direction of Jason Reitman (a near-virtuoso among young American filmmakers) and the performances from the cast. Though he operates on the same tonal plane as his screenwriter, Reitman's visualization of Cody's script is what truly shapes the film's identity, speaking to you in a singularly authentic way the words cannot. And the impeccably chosen actors, though no doubt thrilled to have been handed such colorful material, do some astonishing weight-lifting in terms of helping to substantiate the language. Their work, and Reitman's, will make this film watchable in 20 years. Cody's will always live in the "whoa dream big" world of 2007.
I'll admit I rolled my eyes when I saw that Juno was the film of the day at the gym. My retrospective qualms with it tend to blind me of its charms. The segment I caught was highly representative of the film entire: a peaks-and-valleys stretch of time riddled with poignant moments and Codyan pratfalls. I got to see the bit where Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner's relationship ends, the part where Juno tells Jennifer "I'm still in if you are" (excuse me while I freely mix actor and character names), and the part where Juno professes her love for Paulie Bleeker. This, unfortunately, also means I had to hear an in-labor Juno declare that "Thundercats are go!"; a lovely speech undone by the line, "You're golden, man"; and background song lyrics that whisper, "I like amputees with stamp collections" (though I guess I can't blame Cody for that one). That's Juno for you: it giveth and it taketh away.
Before I go, I wanted to say a word or two about Garner, who's never been lovelier or more assured as an actor than she is in this movie. A fine candidate for Michael C.'s Unsung Heroes series, her performance – easily overlooked upon first viewing – is all heart and earnestness, and she's very much the straight gal to everyone else's buzzing one-linerocity. Does that mean she doesn't do as much weight-lifting? Hardly. Garner more or less carries this movie's weight. I was happy to exit during the scene where she enters the delivery room and picks up her son for the first time. "I think he was always hers," says Juno's narration. It's a perfect metaphor for how I feel about this film: Cody may have carried Juno in the womb, but it's surrogates who stepped in and raised it to its full potential.
Conclusions?
1. Movies may often start with the screenwriter, but they certainly don't end with them.
2. Jennifer Garner should have had a much greater presence in the 2007 awards discussion.
3. I am not exactly looking forward to Young Adult, aka Reitman-Cody Partnership, Part Deux.
4. Just for kicks: Google "Paulie Bleeker" and what do you find? Paulie Bleeker Halloween costumes. I am really tempted...
So, how 'bout it? Has my Juno post left you pregnant with responses?
Cinema de Gym, Jennifer Garner, Juno, Oscars (00s)
Reader Comments (26)
The dialogue sure is overcooked, but for some reason the problematic parts don't annoy me as much while watching it as I feel they should before/after watching it, if that makes sense.
Garner's is perhaps the weirdest case of a lack of awards traction that I can remember. Hollywood clearly wanted her to become a big star (it seemed she was at the Oscars every year for a while), she was in one of the most loved/nominated films of the year AND she actually gave a great performance.. and still, no dice.
I agree about Jennifer Garner and the 2007 awards discussion.
It amazes me how strong the negative reactions were towards Juno. It was easily one of my favorite movies of the decade, but the jokes - which were mostly on point, completely random and even if they were dipped in quirky language, felt refreshingly in-your-face - were low on my list of the film's assets. The screenplay gets its kudos from me by rewriting each archetype (uptight suburban mom-to-be, "cool guy" looking to have a family, stepmom, father of the baby) and turning audience expectations on their head. It's not a completely new plotline, and it's not the jokes that keep things afloat. It's the genuine interest in each of the characters, which it pulls off by not reducing a smart-mouthed teenager to having punchline parents and relationships. Maybe she's too quirky and maybe she's a brat, but Juno has the same emotions as everyone else hiding behind her wisecracks. She's lost without her quips, and Page's occassional cracks in the surface are the reason I wanted her to win the Oscar. She gives an underrated performance, usually remembered for quick line delivery rather than unexpected raw emotion.
I couldn't agree more on Garner. Love love love that performance. I can't see the scene in the mall without losing it, and it was such a wonderful surprise the first time I saw it. I agree that she keeps the film grounded. She nails each of the dramatic moments. Part of my love for the film is that she and Page can accomplish almost polar opposite emotions in the same scene. I agree that the film giveth and taketh away, but for me, it bounces between comedy and drama rather than good and bad. I could easily see how the reaction would be an eye roll for someone who remembers the quips before anything else, but when I think of Juno, I think of a comedy that from time to time, out of nowhere, hits home.
I agree about Garner; I really think she deserved a nomination in 2007.
I couldn't agree more about how great Jennifer Garner is in this movie. She and Ellen Page elevate the movie with both of their performances. Imagine how awful some of the dialogue would have been if we didn't have Ellen Page there to deliver it.
Oh, see, the "you're golden, man" thing totally works for me because that happens. People, especially young people, especially awkward self-conscious young people, say mood-killer things like that all the time. A very honest and funny moment, I think. But then that whole scene is gold: "You're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try." "I try really hard, actually."
eurocheese -- well said.Juno is so underrated, principally because underneath all the attention grabbing dialogue (which people are way too hard on) was well rounded characterization. and the actors mostly all gave their A game.
Kurt -- point #1 is a goodie. because screenwriter's never get enough credit, we tend to overcompensate by giving them a LOT of credit when the film is good. It's a blueprint and it sure as hell is more likely that you'll get a great film from a great screenplay but you still need the directors and actors to work their own individual magic to serve it.
I actually find that it taketh away far too much. As in my soul for nearly two hours when I first watched it. It was the strangest thing, the entire theatre was full of laughter at nearly every line except for me, just sitting there thinking they weren't that riotous. I felt like I was watching an unquestionably different movie. Then again, overcooked dialogue is about the phoniest thing to me. I don't mind stylization one bit but you have to know when to stop.
Will find no disagreement with me on Jennifer Garner though, she was sublime. Such a beautiful and heartbreaking (but not showy) performance. Love what you said about her, Kurt, and her last moment with her baby.
Dreading Reitman-Cody Partnership, Part Deux actually. Rarely do those reteams ever work.
The 2007 Oscar season was a strange one but it mostly ended with the year's best films and performances getting honored in one way or another. Except the brilliant 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days, which possibly gets my vote as The Film of The Decade.
1. Couldn't agree more about Garner. She's the reason the movie works, along with J.K. Simmons.
2. I've heard from those who've seen the new Reitman that it's excellent...if you really like Reitman.
Well Kurt I was going to add that I have nothing more to add. That the diagnosis of Juno as a film that is good in spite of Cody's writing, not because of it, and that is saved larely because the performances develop beautifully (including the overlooked Garner, never better) is spot on.
But now that I think about it, this is going to be a new annoyance of mine at Juno. That the film exhausts so much of it's energy overcoming Cody's script that there's really very little else you can say about it. It seems like one of the few films about which the cultural conversation is closed. I don't mean that people all agree, but people the areas in which people disagree are very narrow. You either like the dialogue, hate the dialogue, or tolerate the dialogue. There's no room for further analysis.
Not that I fault anyone who's having the discussion because I think the film itself kinda shuts down the discussion by overwhelming it with the 500lb gorilla that is the script, home skillet.
I just watched a few scenes from Juno...and I forgot--or maybe never realized--how beautiful it really is. I wanna watch it again sometime soon.
When I went to “Juno,” I was afraid the reported quippiness of the dialogue would turn me off. But I ended up thinking it was a pretty ingenious tool for delivering a major plot point. To me, a lot of what the movie is about is how some people—really smart and clever people—use language as a protective shield.
In the beginning of the movie, Juno uses quips to deal with her anxiety and social awkwardness. But slowly, her troubles (and general growing up) forces her to focus on other people and the world beyond her, and she acquires the skill and strength to be terse and sometimes even quiet.
That’s why I think the line “I’m in, if you’re in” packs a punch. It’s one of the most important things Juno will ever say in her life. But she doesn’t throw all her well-observed cleverness into it. Instead, she’s learned how to control her language. By the end of the movie, she knows how to be direct and honest and say exactly what she means with no adornment. I find that sort of moving.
This is one of the best write-ups I've read about Juno, and it pretty much encapsulates all my mixed hatred/like (not love) for the film. I really do agree that the film survives because of the strength of the actors--and I am totally in agreement that Jennifer Garner is the sole piece that holds the film together...it really is a blessing that Cody didn't bog down Vanessa with the heavily stylized dialogue because Garner is the only one (in my opinion) who gives a fully realized performance. Page is very good throughout the film, but I have to agree that I was one who had some heavy issues with the script--the sarcastic bantering, constant pop culture references, goofy and cheesy (and wooden) jokes just felt disingenuous to me and it showed a lack of discipline in Cody's writing, in my opinion. Like I said earlier, I genuinely like the performers throughout the film and they give the project everything they have, but Juno isn't a film I go back to ever simply because the script is just too heavily contrived. (And a little something extra...if you had told me four years ago that Michael Clayton would become one of my favorite movies I would've said you were insane...but out of every film that came out in 2007, that one has grown on me the most...I've seen it four or five times since seeing it in theaters and it holds up very, very well. My guess is that in 10-15 years, people will look back and wonder why in the hell Michael Clayton's script lost to Juno...)
But props to Jennifer Garner! She surely deserved an Oscar nomination and it really is baffling why the Academy didn't trip over their heels to give her one.....I remember being fairly certain come nomination morning that she would be the surprise nominee among the supporting actress field.
Amen to all the Jennifer Garner love. She definitely would have made my shortlist.
Regarding Jen Garner, I agree. It's somewhat surprising that she didn't get more awards traction for that performance. It's the kind of thing awards bodies tend to embrace. Maybe she didn't suffer enough in the movie.
freelance writer
I love this movie. My friends and I had our own made up "we're so cool" type of lingo when we were that age... I have no problem with the dialogue. An extremely well made movie that always moves me.
I still remember vividly the scene where Jennifer Garner feels the baby kick: she was perfect, I'm tempted to nominate her just for this scene. I don't like that much the movie, I still don't understand how it received so much attention, especially compared to something like Ghost World that was all around better/wittier, etc.
I'm pretty sure Jennifer Garner made my personal line-up that year for Juno. She was great in it. If the role was just a little flashier, I have no doubt she would have picked up some nominations and awards along the way.
The two things I remember about Juno: the unexpected depth of Ellen Page's performance, which could have so easily been reduced to a shrill single note, 2) the fact that the guy gets away with any responsibility or blame, behaves like a boy, doesn't admit to being a father and Juno still goes back to him at the end, and we're supposed to see it as a happy ending (?)
3) the scene where Jennifer Garner's wayward husband says he's gotten his own place and she replies, "Aren't you the cool guy?" That single line reading capped a killer performance - a performance that I think was too subtle and unshowy to get any AMPAS love (as always). It's the sort of performance I would hope the critics would embrace and get behind - but everyone nowadays just wants to jump on the Oscar-prediction bandwagon.
Yay, comments! I'm just seeing these after a busy weekend. Happy to find so many thoughtful responses (it's those magic words -- actress and Oscar).
eurocheese -- agree with Nathaniel. Very well put.
Mark -- thanks for the kudos, and I second the love for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Really need to watch that one again.
Robert -- way to use Cody's own words as weapons (home skillet!). And speaking of which...
Liz -- that's an excellent analysis, and I'm certainly with you regarding the effectiveness of words as armor. That's the seed of truth from which Cody's dialogue springs. It just needed a helluva lot more restraint, IMO.
Aaron -- thanks for that first bit!
I remember 2007 as the year of the unwanted-pregnancy movie: Knocked Up, Waitress, and Juno all opened in the latter half of the year and I have had very different relationships with each of them. At the time, I remember LOVING Knocked Up, but it's become almost unbearable to me as time has gone on. It's one of those comedies that is all surface - once you know the jokes, it gets exponentially less funny with each viewing. Waitress I thought was lovely, and still do for the most part, but I realize now that my feelings about the film and my feelings about Keri Russell's beautiful performance often get mixed up. The film is fluff, but Russell's performance is not - it's a beautifully realized, surprisingly lived-in portrayal. I always thought she should have gotten some awards traction, at least for the Globes.
Juno, I didn't really like the first time I saw it. I mean, I liked it, but I had serious reservations. When I wrote it up at the time, I said it was very much like it's main character - dealing with things way beyond its maturity level. But it's been the one that has stayed in my mind the longest, and time has revealed it to be my favorite of the three, and I think everyone here has hit the nail on the head - the performers are all really on the ball, thanks likely in large part to Jason Reitman, who really did a terrific job with a super-tricky script. But each of the supporting players, especially Jennifer Garner (who was always my Best Supporting Actress of that year, despite a very strong field), are so strong that it's impossible for Juno to fail completely. Respect must be paid to Ellen Page, who navigates the tonal see-sawing of her character with supreme dexterity, but the fact no one else in the cast could find any awards traction at all is a mystery to me. For me, it's the little moments that make Juno worth returning to - Jason Bateman's befuddled pause when Juno says her name is not like the town in Alaska, Jennifer Garner's face just lighting up when she feels that baby kick, the previously mentioned "Aren't you the cool guy?" line, Allison Janney's response to Juno's announcement of her pregnancy ("Incidentally, they [pre-natal vitamins] do fantastic things for your nails..."), the look on Juno's face right before she upchucks her slushie... I could go on and on. Yes, the movie lands the big moments when it needs to, but it's those smaller moments that make it worth returning to, for me. That's where it's staying power lives.
Janice - Paulie never denied his responsibility as a father per se. Juno tells him about the pregnancy shortly after she herself gets confirmation. To his credit, he doesn't say, 'Is the baby mine?' or 'Am I really the father?' instead, he literally gulps in fear and said, "What should we do?" Note that he said 'we' instead of 'you.' From the get go, he's there supporting Juno. He doesn't try and pressure her into an abortion, but instead quietly lets her take the lead and decide what she wants. For her part, Juno seeing his fear, gets upset and disappointed (which btw, is really well played by Page as that she lets these emotions run sequentially across her face), and leaves him with a cutting remark, deciding to go it on her own.
Granted, the brownie points that Paulie gets in that scene are detracted somewhat in his latter scene with Juno by the lockers, where she's railing at him for taking Katrina De Voort instead of herself to the spring formal. It's here that we get a glimpse into Paulie, where he alludes to the fact that Juno seduced him (and in truth, she did) and implies that if she hadn't, she wouldn't be in the position she is in now (i.e. pregnant).
Paulie, for all his faults, could have been a hell of worse. He's an underwritten character, and Michael Cera does an admirable job in making him likeable whilst still an awkward nerd. And oh btw, he does support Juno. After she gives birth and is emotionally and physically devastated, without saying a word he crawls into her hospital bed and holds her while she cries. A powerful and sweet scene, and one that makes the viewer root for the Juno/Paulie pairing.
Loved Juno then, love Juno now. I was very happy when Diablo Cody won her Oscar. Would have been happy for Ellen Page winning too. I'm looking forward to the next Reitman/Cody collabo.
I'm with Mark from the 22nd. Sums up my feelings very well. This wasn't just a story with quirky dialogue. This was two hours of dialogue, with a little bit of plot thrown in, to keep it moving. To me, dialogue should not drive a story.
I am somewhat looking forward to the next Reitman/Cody show, because I have a sick desire to know how much it is going to hurt.
I feel like waay to many people focus on the quirks when there"s just so much more to it! people are giving it such shallow treatment! Always enjoy watching this movie a lot! It definitly stays with me.