Monday, April 28, 2008

Juno: The "Indie" Movie for People Who Never Watch Indie Movies

We saw Juno this weekend. It was ok.

Like Little Miss Sunshine (which I enjoyed more than I did Juno) it was a "mainstream" indie-style movie that I imagine seemed unique and fresh to people who don't venture beyond regular Hollywood movies.

The acting was great. The directing was great.

It was the screenplay I objected to ... that Oscar winning screenplay. As Tom pointed out, there were no real conflicts. Everything was solved too easily. Juno spent more time being flip and glib than anything and I found it profoundly annoying until the last third of the movie, when we were finally allowed some sort of insight into various characters.

Yes, it was pro-life. Go team. However, the baby essentially acts as a catalyst to get everyone to examine their relationships.

If you want a better movie, a real indie movie that makes points about people and relationships in a much more real way (albeit without any impending baby), rent Eagle vs. Shark.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh well, sometimes it's nice when movies don't have excessive drama

Julie D. said...

Not that I didn't find the movie moderately enjoyable. I did. It certainly wasn't what I would call Oscar winning screenplay material though ... and some conflict is necessary to keep interest in a movie.

I can name a plethora of other movies that were essentially just entertainment and that were better written: Shaun of the Dead, Galaxy Quest, Return to Me, About a Boy, Tokyo Godfathers, and my list can go on and on.