I’ve been enjoying Netflix a lot. Not just ‘this is pretty sweet’ a lot, but ‘dude, this is almost as cool as steak wrapped in bacon’ a lot. I’ve had steak wrapped in bacon, and it’s quite possibly the most manly combination of food in the universe - and therefore it does max out the delicious scale. So what I’m saying is that on a scale of 1-10, Netflix is definitely up there.
And now I want beef.
I put ‘Juno’ in my queue a while ago and forgot about it. One of those ‘huh, I’d like to see what that’s all about’ movies - so when it showed up last week, I let it sit for a couple days before I watched it. I had other movies like Batman and The Recruit to watch before some chick flick. Bah.
Anyway, I finally sat down and watched Juno. If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s about a 16 year old girl that gets pregnant and decides to put the baby up for adoption. The majority of the movie is what you might expect, a sort of comedic tension leading up to her decision to keep the baby (complete with awkward Christian girl protesting outside an abortion clinic), her parents reaction, and the life of a pregnant high school student.
The last time I remember seeing Ellen Page was in X-Men 3 as a sort of third wheel love interest.. Not particularly standoutish in either role or ability. Juno was definitely a better role - I liked her quirky sense of humor and jocular one-liners that characterized her attitude towards life in general. At the same time, that was really what threw me off. Throughout the whole movie, there’s an oddly casual attitude towards pregnancy and sexuality - like its something to be expected and dealt with as a component of normalcy.
During the search for good adoptive parents, Juno has a consistent “I just want to get rid of the thing” quote that chafed me like emo jeans after going through the dryer. During the ending credits, I sat on my couch and the only thing I could think of was ‘what am I supposed to do with this?’ The film, while well acted and produced, seems like a poorly veiled propaganda flick for Planned Parenthood. Or condoms.
I think it’s a good movie to watch, if for no other reason than to be culturally aware and informed - but I don’t really understand why so many people are saying it’s one of their favorite movies. It’s like loving the way everyone dies at the end of Saving Private Ryan - it’s dramatic, but deep down you’re disappointed Tom Hanks doesn’t get to back and teach history or whatever.
I’d give Juno a 3.5 out of 5 for good acting and a cool sketched intro credit sequence, but I don’t really jive with such a tawdry approach to teen pregnancy and sexuality.