[quote="[Mr. Lostman]"]So, basically, this is just Napoleon Dynamite only about a Young Girl Seventeen Sexually Knowing instead? :3[/quote]

I just saw this post. If any of you have not seen this movie, and want to know what it's all about, read this post.

[quote="sheerheartattack"][quote="[Mr. Lostman]"]So, basically, this is just Napoleon Dynamite only about a Young Girl Seventeen Sexually Knowing instead? :3[/quote]

I just saw this post. If any of you have not seen this movie, and want to know what it's all about, read this post.[/quote]

Yeah, but Napoleon Dynamite was more...
dumb teenagers: "omg napolean dynamite was soooo random! vote for pedro, GOSH!!"

Where Juno was more...
dumb teenagers: "omg Junooo was sooo fuckin' sharp! I dunno what a Sonic Youth is, but she was like the indie master!"

I think most people ignored the useless indie references that nobody cares about, and instead focused on memorable lines such as, "Next time I see that Bleeker kid, I'm going to punch him in the wiener," or the hamburger phone. Essentially, the same thing as Napoleon Dynamite, but less...[i]unique[/i].

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="sheerheartattack"][quote="[Mr. Lostman]"]So, basically, this is just Napoleon Dynamite only about a Young Girl Seventeen Sexually Knowing instead? :3[/quote]

I just saw this post. If any of you have not seen this movie, and want to know what it's all about, read this post.[/quote]

Yeah, but Napoleon Dynamite was more...
dumb teenagers: "omg napolean dynamite was soooo random! vote for pedro, GOSH!!"

Where Juno was more...
dumb teenagers: "omg Junooo was sooo fuckin' sharp! I dunno what a Sonic Youth is, but she was like the indie master!"[/quote]

I lol'd when she said she listened to another Sonic Youth album and complained that it was just noise.

I was afraid at first that Juno would be some sort of Napoleon Dynamite crap, with hipster dialogue with a beep-beep-boop indie rock soundtrack. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie has more sheer heart than almost any other movie I've seen in years. The freaking Grinch couldn't help but love this movie.

Anybody notice that a lot of her "hip" references/lines are wrong? It's interesting to think about whether or not it's intentional.

[quote="sonic3305"]I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie has more sheer heart than almost any other movie I've seen in years.[/quote]

I see how the movie can have "heart" by not flipping a shit on accidental teenage pregnancy. The family came together in a time of need and it all worked out in the end. Juno grows up. Hooray.

But what killed it for me was that...she just wasn't human! Think of the scene when she was on the phone with her friend, telling her that she JUST found out she's pregnant. What would a real girl her age be doing? Freaking out. Crying. Panicking. But not Juno - Juno's too busy thinking up sly, quotable one-liners, referencing random shit left and right for a laugh. It's so incredibly clear the screenwriter was just showing off.

That's why it would be a DAMN SHAME if Juno actually won for Best Screenplay (which it is nominated for). I just find it really annoying that so many people don't see through the bullshit that is over-written characters.

I mean, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief in certain genres...over-the-top action, some comedies, etc. But Juno really was a drama/comedy, right? That's why it needed to be a little real...and it really wasn't.

Anyone? Anyone?

I don't think blending drama and comedy necessarily requires that, GR. Take any number of sitcoms (the episodes where they have dramatic themes, of course) or a show like Scrubs, which will temporarily (or permanently) disband reality to make jokes. Like shows such as those, this movie was first and foremost a comedy, with a twist of drama.

Eh, I agree that it wasn't the best screenplay ever, it still did have really good acting.

Speaking of which, who else likes Arrested Development? I know I do.

[quote="Blank"]Eh, I agree that it wasn't the best screenplay ever, it still did have really good acting.[/quote]

What? I didn't even realize there [i]was[/i] acting in that movie. Being a comedy, I'm not holding it against them...but to laud the acting? Really?

Hell yeah Arrested Development. The first time I saw Juno I sort of ruined the ending of the movie for myself, because I was thinking "Oh shit, the movie's over, George Michael and Michael didn't have a scene together, wtf!"

I really do think that the movie has more heart than most others. Juno has the whole hipster thing going, but again, note the fact that she gets tons of "references" wrong, I really got the feeling that it's just a front for the scared little girl she actually was. Anyway, "heart" comes mainly from the performances, not the script (see: the original Star Wars), and I thought this one had it in spades.

The screenplay itself I find quite excellent. The first ten minutes or so of the movie are admittedly overly "hip/quirky" for me (that guy from the crappy Office remake can go screw himself), but I found most of it to be quite natural, at least compared to my sister and her friends who are all that age. I don't know.

I think this is definitely one of those movies that doesn't have any quantifiable level of heart or general goodness or anything. Some people will connect with it, for reasons I can't say I understand, and some people just won't connect on the same level.

I think it'll win the Oscar for the screenplay, mostly because the screenwriter's unique history (she was previously a stripper, a friend pressured her into writing the script down). I personally think Lars and the Real Girl is the best screenplay of the year, but that's just me. It might be Ryan Gosling's performance more than the script, I suppose.

Edit: The acting in Juno was (almost entirely) spectacular, nuanced and all-around awesome. Ellen Page is amazing for a 20-year-old kid.

So that's how they award Oscars. I thought it had something to do with talent, but boy was I wrong. If only we could get a damn crackwhore to write a script, it would be a guaranteed Oscar.

And yeah, guys. Ellen Page will be the next Meryl Streep, and John Heder is going to be the next Marlon Brando.

Check out Hard Candy if you don't believe me about Ellen Page. (Ignore X-Men 3, though ). John Heder will live the rest of his life working at McDonalds if there is any justice in the world.

The Oscars are almost entirely based on politics, popularity, and a lot of the time, what the Academy... "believes in." It's hard to describe. They have an agenda, they have what they stand for, and they want to support good causes, they honestly want to try to "help" people / world / whatever, by supporting films that support Issue X. I'm bad at explaining this. For example, if there's a horrible conflict going on that is not getting the attention of the nation, and a great film about that conflict comes out, the Academy would probably vote for that film, in order to get the consciousness of the nation on that issue. People think Hollywood is full of shit, and while it often is, this does actually happen with the Academy, they know they have influence over people and they like to do what they think is for the better of whatever.

On the other hand, they'll give Beautiful Mind best picture over Fellowship of the Ring because they're morons... and then they'll give RotK best picture as a "I guess we owe you this" award, instead of giving it to a superior film like Lost in Translation (imo lol).

So Juno'll probably get best screenplay, to show that people who have nothing and are reduced to stripping can still create something spectacular, etc etc, even though Lars and the Real Girl and Michael Clayton have slightly better scripts (imo again lulz)

[quote="sheerheartattack"][quote="Blank"]Eh, I agree that it wasn't the best screenplay ever, it still did have really good acting.[/quote]

What? I didn't even realize there [i]was[/i] acting in that movie. Being a comedy, I'm not holding it against them...but to laud the acting? Really?[/quote]

Exactly. The best actors don't even make you realize they're acting.

[quote="Blank"][quote="sheerheartattack"][quote="Blank"]Eh, I agree that it wasn't the best screenplay ever, it still did have really good acting.[/quote]

What? I didn't even realize there [i]was[/i] acting in that movie. Being a comedy, I'm not holding it against them...but to laud the acting? Really?[/quote]

Exactly. The best actors don't even make you realize they're acting.[/quote]

Let me clarify. It had nothing to do with natural or smooth performances, but everything to do with the fact that the movie could have easily been put on by your high school theater club.

Well, so could any movie.