Of course, I'm referring to Juno, my favorite movie of 2007 (which isn't saying much, because I didn't get to see many movies in 2007, but still ...). The sweet coming-of-age story about a pregnant teen, her supportive-yet-flummoxed parents, and the confused yuppies who want to adopt her baby probably would have won me over if it had been set in Grand Rapids, Mich., though I'll admit that the Minnesota setting sealed the deal. Still, the sharp dialogue, complex characters and intriguing twists in both plot and characters made it a memorable night at the old cineplex for Mr. and Mrs. Gopher.Yet when I was listening to a recent podcast from ESPN.com's Bill Simmons (a.k.a. The Sports Guy), I was saddened but not surprised to hear Simmons and one of his writer friends ripping Juno, expressing joy that it didn't haul in a truckload of Golden Globe awards. Simmons is a former TV writer who now lives in LA and likely is frustrated at the amount of time it's taken him to climb the Hollywood ladder, so it didn't shock me that he might be all too eager to look for any opportunity to burst the bubble of a first-time screenwriter like Cody. And there's been plenty of angst directed at Cody among the Twin Cities hipster community, because, after all, she's made it big and they haven't, and wasn't it Morrissey who sang how we hate it when our friends become successful?
But I was heartened to see that Juno received a number of Oscar nominations, including best picture, Page for best actress, Jason Reitman for best director, and Cody for best screenplay (should be a slam-dunk in my mind). And our girl Diablo was on Letterman tonight.
Haters beware -- you're merely exposing your own petty jealousies when you stand in the way of the Juno juggernaut.
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3 comments:
I thought Bill Simmons died 3 years ago. I haven't heard that name in so long.
I don't think it is neccessarily jealousy or frustration which would lead someone to have criticism of Juno. Overall it was a good movie, although I can't get behind it as much as the critics. I saw it New Years Day and I found the dialogue from the main character actually too sharp and did not ring true, at least in the early part of the movie. It was almost too witty and not natural for the conversations occurring in the film. I understand the character was a independent youth most likely in denial of her situation, but she seemed too flippant with dialogue and references that would come from someone closer to 30, if not older. I mean, how many teenagers know who Soupy Sales is?
Obviously, i'm in the minority, but I have no reason to dislike the film. Otherwise, I wouldn't have paid to see it. I may live in Minnesota, but i'm definitely not part of the hipster community here in Minneapolis. I just wonder if I ever saw Cody at the Skyway in her dancing days.
Looking at the competition, it does probably deserve the best screenplay, but best film to me was There Will Be Blood.
Linus -- the point you mention is the only part of the movie I criticized when my wife and I were discussing it afterwards. Juno was starting to get on my nerves because her flippancy as you state was just so over the top.
But halfway through, I thought her character became more fully realized, maybe as the focus shifted to the yuppie couple in St. Cloud (looked more like Maple Grove or Minnetrista to me). Once the other characters started to grow and become three-dimensional, I wasn't as distracted by the oh-so-perfect lines that Juno was throwing out every 13 seconds.
Thanks for checking in -- come back often!
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