Inaccurate Vernacular: Juno
January 5, 2008
Set in Minnesota (some of it in Saint Cloud) Juno has a certain appeal to it that reaches beyond the simple yet appropriate soundtrack, the impeccable cast and clever writing. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) has created a movie full of heart.
Juno McGuff (played by soon-to-be-nominated Ellen Page) plays a sixteen year old with her own unique blend of self confidence, smart-mouthed arrogance, cynicism, feigned independence, and aloof self-determination that is so right in so many ways. Page nails it. Writer Diablo Cody nails it. And Michael Cera has built an entire career upon it. Anyone who doesn’t like Cera has deep seeded issues which they need to resolve on their own terms. From Arrested Development to Superbad to Juno, Cera has shown an interesting arc as an actor. Every line of dialogue (while occasionally hokey) rings true for that age group and every action is utterly convincing; Cera may play variations upon the same character, but he invests that character with everything he’s got and plays it like his life depends upon it.
Juno has an interesting sneak attack, a way of skittering into your heart through the back door and falling asleep on the couch before you’re even aware of its/her presence. And it’s well aware of this. There’s an effortless charm, an intrinsic enticement that stems from being so awkward and so at ease that there is no alternative other than to fully embrace that which is uniquely you.
And that’s the charm of Juno: these characters know who they are and where their boundaries lie. They are not ones to be bogged down by relativism or morbidity. Instead, they celebrate their quirks, their limitations and their passions, without regard for what others may think. The film’s most poignant moment is when Juno tells Paulie Bleeker (Cera) that he’s the coolest person she’s ever met without even trying to be, and he confides “I try really hard, actually.” It’s a moment of honesty that few films — hell, few people — would dare.
These are people who understand they are not mass-marketable. They will appeal to their small coterie of friends, and they will cherish them for all their flaws and failings as much as for their virtues. But if they’re going to be disliked by the world at large, they’re going to be disliked on their own terms.
Characters like these could travel one of three roads: they could try to fit in with the so called “cool kids” and feel the sting of rejection, they could actively alienate people to prove a point, or they could become irrepressibly themselves in spite of the social acceptance they may forfeit. To many, the last two options may seem like the same thing in different words, but anyone who appreciates this film with their heart in addition to their brain will know that one will leave you empty whereas one will leave you edified. And those are the people who will champion these characters and smile uncontrollably during the film’s indefectible finale.
It would have been so easy for a film like this to degrade into silliness or ugliness, and yet somehow, Reitman, Page and Cody have colluded to create one of the greatest cinematic outcasts and one of the most unique, interesting, beguiling, and utterly irresistible coming of age films I’ve ever seen. It’s a winner, and it’s a classic.
**** (4/4)
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Yeah, but is there a banana stand?