Friday night, after THE crappy day, my roommate had a fantastical idea--go see the new movie Juno in Daly City. The weather had settled down for the night, she had free tickets from her sister, and so we went to the 10:20 viewing of the film, which was packed, surprisingly. (I'm used to the Metreon, where seeing a movie at any time but the peak times means that there are about 6 other people in the theatre.)
Juno is a movie full of acerbic one-liners and a lot of love. Stereotypes are shattered (evil stepmom becomes ass-kicking stepmom to the right people), teens have brains and scope, and the music opens up a whole new world. I'm not much on movies where the music is the focus--it's hard to write a plot around that--but some movies do succeed. I'm thinking in particular of Stranger Than Fiction with punk classics and this one now with alternative rock. Sonic Youth does a rendition of the Carpenters' Superstar and the viewer is lulled into joy. I work with kids of this age sometimes, but they always amaze me, and they amaze me here, too, and are still believable even though they are written by grown-ups. Even the teen-speak isn't annoying (and neither is the homespun-speak), which surprised me--I hear 30+ year olds speaking, like, well, ya know, like that all the time on the bus and I want to strangle them. Didn't happen here.
This was a very distinctive film. Also, please be advised, as I wish someone would advise me of these things when I go to movies...there's a scene when Juno pukes blue Slushie twice, toward the beginning of the movie. When Alison Janney talks about a pot by the door at the dinner table, stop eating your popcorn for a second.
Otherwise, relish this film and keep it tucked somewhere in your soul. And...
"Don't you remember you told me you'd love me baby?"
Sorry. I couldn't resist.
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