“Juno” (2007), Again
I watched best-screenplay Oscar winner Juno again with my husband G. Grod, who hadn’t seen it, after we saw it on Roger Ebert’s Best Films of the Decade. I’m not sure I agree with Ebert on that, but it is a sweet little film.
Ellen Page is not quite believable as the smart-ass, suddenly pregnant Juno, but Michael Cera is adorable as the geeky boy/friend (this is before he played that role into the ground), Olivia Thirlby is a dream of a best friend, J.K. Simmons is an awesome dad, and Alison Janney is a stepmom for the ages. Even though Juno, both the movie and the character, is too clever by half, with some mouth-crowding unreal dialogue and a plot seized and claimed by anti-choice groups, it nonetheless charms and entertains.
Funny, sweet and a little bit sad, I was surprised to find the best element of the movie was Jennifer Garner’s moving and unshowy performance as the hopeful adopter of Juno’s child. According to imdb trivia:
Jennifer Garner dropped her A-list salary to a percentage point agreement for Juno when it was expected to be a small, low grossing indie film, but the decision paid off when Juno became a breakout smash at the box office - giving Garner her best payday yet.
I did, though, want Garner to unpuff her lips and eat a sandwich or two.