My biggest fear about this film was that it was going to be “Napoleon Dynamite” ala femme and I didn’t get the appeal of Napoleon Dynamite at all. There’s quirky and then there is over-the-top quirky. Thankfully, this was nothing like the aforementioned film.
This is a great little 1.5 hour flick well worth your time. It takes a few minutes to pull you in, for the first 20 minutes I was on the fence as to whether I was going to get involved. I couldn’t tell whether there was a decent film buried among the quirky tunes and cheeky, cynical teen dialog. Be patient, a good story is in there.
Page is perfect,her mannerisms, her delivery, her presence. All totally believable. It’s a story that drags you into this 16 year-olds’ world and about 30 minutes in you realize that despite this kid’s cheek and smart mouth, you really do like her and keep your fingers crossed for her.
Maybe a couple of the quirky tunes I could have done without. I don’t know, they seemed a little over-done to me but that’s ok. I love the fact that she played Mott the Hoople’s All the Young Dudes, a favorite of mine that had radio play when I was about her age. It would have been great to have had a friend like Juno when I was sixteen. She certainly helps make her friend’s (all 2 or 3 of them) lives interesting and entertaining.
Jason Bateman. This guy is always able to play the perfect smarmy, good-looking, charming-then-arrogant creep isn’t he? I sure hope he really isn’t this way in real life. Every time I see this guy the character he plays makes me want to punch him in the face (credit the writers I guess) I knew the guy was going to be a jerk from the first scene for his character (Mark).
Jennifer Garner finally gets to play in a very different role. Totally feminine and full of mother-wanna-be goodness.
I loved this film. It isn’t a chick flick either, just a quirky comedy/drama about a young lady who doesn’t know who she is,finds herself with child, grows up (just a little bit) and learns to deal with it. Entertaining, witty and totally believable.
One fear: Some clod will try to turn it into a TV series, maybe a “Joan of My So-Called Life” kind of thing? Leave it alone, this story is perfect at 93 minutes.
