Juno is Fox Searchlight Pictures (Fox's 'indie' wing...the studio that brought you The Last King of Scotland and classy ensemble The History Boys, amongst other low-key successes) first film to gross over $100 million in the US, and it's followed up in similar fashion across the pond. It makes a captivating and endearing eight and a half fertilised ova out of ten.
I am turning this review into a Multimedia Experience. As you read, I would like you to listen to this song, which turns up about two thirds of the way through the film. The soundtrack is made up of good honest American acoustic pop stuff, and compliments the film so well that you could probably just listen to the song and not bother reading this, but don't do that. I will give you a brief pause to open up the link and press play.
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Alright, on we go. Juno was written by the improbably named ex-stripper (no, really) Diabolo Cody. The razor-sharp script really does make this film, and it's a surprisingly polished effort from a debutant writer. Cody is obviously a great talent, and she well deserves her nomination - at least - for best screenplay at the Oscars. That said, on (literally) one or two occassions she lets her comedic instinct run away with her at expense of the realism that makes the rest of the film so easy to watch. It's not bad writing, and it's still funny, but it's not quite right...it glitters but it's not gold; it's fool's gold. But then, you only notice fool's gold when you put it next to the real thing. There was a lot more of the real stuff - outright humour of the natural, subtle kind that I love so much - than there was of the other sort; more than I was expecting. This is a Funny Film, as well as being a charming and touching one.
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But then, like the anenome and the clownfish, the script relies on performances just as the cast rely on the material. At this junction I was going to give a mention to those cast members who particularly stood out, but you might be as well to just read the credits. Oscar nominated Ellen Page is excellent as the charismatic titular teen, as is JK Simmons as her laconic father. I'll stop myself there before it becomes a list, but everyone concerned is superb. This film really relies on the feeling of ease and realism generated by both the cast and the director; if it felt too produced it wouldn't have the charm. In the director's chair was Jason Reitman, and he does an admirable job in letting the film tick over...his role in the film is like that of a good referee. You don't notice him during the action but afterwards, when you see how he let everyone get on with it and kept the flow going, you appreciate the effort.
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Juno isn't a complex film. It's not an ornate avant-garde masterpiece. It's a clever, captivating film with a devastatingly sharp script wonderfully performed. This is a canny film and, importantly, it's fun and easy to watch. The ninety minutes flew by. You should be two and a bit minutes into the song, if you read at the same speed as me. It's simple and it's earnest and heartfelt, and you're enjoying it.
