Quotations of Misinformation

Let me tell you something, I don't believe in soulmates: In fact, I don't believe in lots of things, but soulmates are the issue most relevant to this discussion.
Why ?


a) With the billions of people in the world, why would there only be one person who's right for me? Surely there's more than one person who

-Looks like a cross between Jenna Fischer and Ashley Tisdale
-Sounds like Jenny Lewis (in fact, add some of into the looks too)
-Acts like Pam Beelsey, but indier (is that a word?). Not too indie mind you. I don't want to be dragged to shitty concerts, going outside is already enough of a hassle
-Has a love for whiny pale white dudes.*

b) If there is one, then what are the odds of finding said soul-mate among said billions of people? And what makes you think they'd want to get within the same time-zone as me?


Although I am in fact buoyed by a friend saying that are 'probably' a 'few' girls that wouldn't find me totally crazy. I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or as an indication that his education and powers of deduction and reasoning have failed him.
I talk about this, not because it's interesting (it's not), but because it's such a relevant theme to Juno. Despite all it's posturing as a post Knocked Up indie comedy, is still more a coming of age movie than anything.

Or maybe it's me trying to have a Juno like epiphany.



Speaking of delusional, I'm not sure if it's official yet, but word is that Pregnancy Movies are the new Faux Indie movies. As such, I guess it was inevitable that enterprising genius, would decide to combine the two together into some kind of creative amalgamation. A bastard child, if you will (see what I did there!).

Firstly, from one side there's the whole pregnancy conceit. Juno, played by Ellen Page has a harsh welcome in adulthood when she's impregnated by friend/lover/George Michael wunderkid Michael Cera. Obviously** two sixteen olds aren't going to be good parents, hell, they're still kids themselves, thus, Juno unilaterally decides that the child, once expelled from her loins, will be adopted (in this case the parents are Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner. meaning that kid will grow up awesome).

Cera and Bateman where initially what attracted me to Juno, as I knew them from the wonderful Arrested Development,but the wonderfully cute*** Ellen Page steals the show, portraying the quirky Juno perfectly, managing to be both world weary and naive at the same time.

In addition to the literal smorgsboard of 'oh, it's that dude!' supporting actors, I have to mention Rainn Wilson's short turn as a convenience store clerk. Sure, his character was funny, but seeing him opening the movie was fucking brilliant.

If pregnancy was the father of Juno, then that would make the whole indie movie conceit the mother****. Aesthetics (particularly the brilliant opening credits), treatment of the plot, and the music, which is almost entirely an acoustic/whiskery kind of affair.

As I just mentioned, the plot is handled so well, and feels like the coming of age story that Napoleon Dynamite should have been/almost was. Whilst Dynamite centers around more outright lunacy, Juno is much fixated on the awkward moments that define a character, and how the character moves on from these events. Even roles that initially seem to be little more than comedic value evolve into something far from it.

Whilst it takes a while to get into it's rhythm, once it's there it's pretty consistent. Despite Dwights appearance, the first fifteen minutes are kind of painful. As the plot winds up, it just tries too damn hard to be cool, and you just feel you should like it out of pity. (In that sense, it's a little, actually a lot like me.)

Juno managed to get the best bits from both it's parents, and managed to warm this old cynics heart. Granted, 't was only for a few hours, but there where some definite signs of gold like heat emitting from it.
Perhaps it's simply because it's my kind of movie, and if said hypothetical soul mate existed in movie from then it would probably be something like Juno. It's the kind of movie that makes me smile on the inside. It's the movie that fed 1000 'Feel Good Movie' of the year quotes, and I agree with them.

And that my friends, is scary.









*That's samburnett [at] gmail (dot) com.

**Actually, after taking public transport today this fact may not be so obvious,

*** Shut up. I checked her age, she's 20.

****Sure, pregnancy should be the mother, but the term 'indie movie' should never, ever be given a masculine indicator.