Relax, it could be much worse
Juno is not your typical teenager. She thinks outside the box and for once in a teenagers life, she may very well have it all figured out. When she gets together with her new love, Paulie Bleeker, to have a sexual experience, she gets more than she and Paulie bargined for. Juno soon finds out that she’s pregnant with Paulie’s baby. Her first thought, abortion. When she tries to have an abortion she soon realizes that this may not be the best direction. Her second choice (and final one), adoption. Armed with her best friend Leah, she searches through ads trying to find some adoptive parents. She soon runs into a couple named Mark and Vanessa Loring. Determined to find the best home for the unborn child, she approaches the grateful couple and begins what appears to be a fast nine months to her baby’s new parents. Juno begins to find out though that she has nothing figured out correctly. I will say no more to save you from finding out the rest of the film.
By far this is probably one of the most realistic, adorable, beautiful films that I’ve seen in 2008. Ellen Page played the perfect Juno. She lived and breathed the part like it was actually her life. Her tone, her flow, everything about her in this film screamed, “Why didn’t she win the damn Academy Award!” She certainly deserved it. While Page was certainly great in this role, you have got to credit it Diablo Cody for adding such new-age dialogue. If you don’t think it’s really how the youth of today speak, ask my 13-year old sister. Girl speaks just like that, OMG. Without Diablo getting in touch with her youthful side and completely writing the part perfectly, Ellen Page may not have pulled off the role at all. So, as it should be, credit good writing. It tells the story correctly through a high school girl’s eyes and mouth. As for direction, Jason Reitman did a splendid job with pacing this film, really bringing in some hip aspect to this coming-of-age film. He created this spectacular vision of Juno and brought all the characters to life. Without the good writing of Diablo Cody and the great direction of Jason Reitman, this film would not have worked. It’s visually playful, witty in spoken word and acted like nobody’s business.
Other kudos must go out to Jason Bateman (who played a suffering adult), Jennifer Garner (who brought down the house with her desparate plea for motherhood), J.K. Simmons (who I would want as a father if I were ever in a situation like that) and the lovely Allison Janney (who I can’t get enough of when she starts speaking. The woman has such a touch with a motherly role). The supporting cast must have taken their roles, embraced them and lived them. There’s got to be some truth behind their acting because they did it all so well (sorry Jason Bateman, I hope there is no truth behind this role). Regardless of how they did, the fact is they all pulled it off perfectly.
Outside of the equally as good film, There Will Be Blood, it’s a shame that Juno did not win for Best Picture. There are two films now that were better than No Country For Old Men. This proves that the Academy truly can’t see a good movie when they’re staring at it.
Anyway, off my soap box, if you’re looking for a great film for a Saturday evening, and a film you would like to own, look no further than Juno. It truly does justice to the comedy/drama genre.
Blu-ray in the vase
Okay, you won’t get the above reference until you see the film, but you certainly will get a gorgeous movie on Blu-ray. Packing itself with over two-hours of special features on a separate disc, and sporting some very nice high-def action, you won’t be disappointed in the Blu-ray one bit. The audio is always a beautiful wonder for me. I love good audio and Blu-ray has some of the best.
Anyway, outside of beautiful digital high-def for your wonderful HDTV’s in your life (or HDTV), you’ll find the following features waiting for you:
– Commentary By Director Jason Reitman And Writer Diablo Cody
– Deleted Scenes
Mrs. Rancik
Juno Hitchhikes
Intro To Family
Carry Chair To Bleekers – Sit In Car Drinking
Café Triste
Bleeker’s Bedroom with Juno
Lorings In Bathroom
Mark Plays Guitar
Juno Plays Guitar
Montage
Mark’s Loft
– Gag Reel
– Gag Take
– Cast & Crew Jam
– Screen Tests
– Diablo Cody Is Totally Boss Featurette
– Jason Reitman For Shizz Featurette
– Honest To Blog! Creating Juno Featurette
– Fox Movie Channel Presents: Casting Session – Juno
This is the best Blu-ray I’ve seen in a while. Without a doubt it has taken over as my number one favorite. I’ve yet to see this many quality special features on a Blu-ray. The featurettes, the deleted scenes, the gag reel, everything on this list is almost great quality. Imagine someone putting effort into their work, hmm.
Great features, almost as good as the film itself.
OMG, Do you swear to blog this is good? I swear to blog.
Fantastic story, great performances, high-definition heaven and great special features to boot, you cannot go wrong with Juno on Blu-ray. You simply cannot go wrong with it. It truly is the perfect collection for your Blu-ray library.
As a parent, this is the best guide I have for my daughters when they get older. I guess I better start emotionally, and verbally, preparing.