In the tradition of movie reviews by busy parents who never get to see adult movies until they come out on DVD, here are some thoughts on Juno.
I enjoyed this film for its quirky characters and neo-indie-folk soundtrack. Ellen Page was brilliant in the title role. And you have to appreciate a contemporary film in which the choice to give birth rather than to abort is celebrated.
But … the whole thing seemed rather contrived to me. Juno MacGuff is just a bit too smart, knowing and world weary to be credible as a sixteen-year-old. She’s in control even when she’s not — from initiating sex with Paulie Bleeker, to the decision to give birth, to carrying out the adoption plan with Vanessa Loring after Mark Loring backs out. Yes, she faces the consequences of her sexual relationship with Paulie by giving birth, but only up to a point. There’s no sense at all of emotional loss or mourning over her innocence, her youth, or the child that she bears and gives away to someone else. I don’t buy it.
We’re supposed to feel that Juno is heroic, that by her wit she deconstructs the artifices of her world and rebuilds it as something authentic and pure. But there’s a sort of emotional distantiation in Juno’s character that is deeply unnerving. Paulie cuddles her tenderly after she gives birth, they remain together, and the film closes on them playing one of those great off-beat folk songs together on acoustic guitars — but will the song go on? Does Juno possess the depth of character required to stick it out in a relationship when things go wrong and she isn’t fully in control? Or will she disconnect from Paulie some day as easily as she gave away her baby to Vanessa? In short, can Juno really love, or does she just want to be loved?
2 replies on “Movie Review — Juno”
Exactly. The fact that there really is no emotional loss, or even struggle n regards to her pregnancy and giving it up strikes me as very troublesome. My 15 year old daughter watched the movie too, she tends to be very mature and has a pretty good head on her shoulders – but seeing this movie had her thinking that being pregnant looked “cute” and “fun”.
Ouch.
I just saw this last week and had the same thoughts. BTW, you should probably use an adjetive other than “adult” to describe “movies” — you had me going there for a second.