Is this the Juno thread?

she sounds like a real spitfire

Having some real up-is-down moments on ILX here lately.

I think it all started when I loathed Redacted.

What confused me: why go to so much trouble to make Juno an Iggy and Patti - lovin' old-school proto-punk, and then have the soundtrack be all twee? Would such a person really be covering the Moldy Peaches on the acoustic guitar? I don't understand why they didn't make the _character_ a cornie indie type to match the movie.

Also: no Beat Happening on the soundtrack seemed a very strange omission.

http://data.tumblr.com/qSbsdLeKs45rve2nmd006oQO_500.jpg

I don't understand why they didn't make the _character_ a cornie indie type to match the movie.

Because the audience Juno is aiming for wouldn't get teary-eyed at Iggy Pop.

Because the audience Juno is aiming for wouldn't get teary-eyed at Iggy Pop.

Well, that's the audience they got, anyway.

To be fair, Michael Cera's character did seem to be the type of corny indie dude who would be all about twee Moldy Peaches covers, so maybe Juno was just humoring him at the end of the movie.

He had space wallpaper, which pretty much makes anyone want to bone.

Srsly of all the things that bother me about that movie, it is that she probably does not have the funds to buy him all those tic-tacs!

Ha, that occurred to me, too, Abbott.

This is like how my man hates The Little Prince because it didn't explain how the asteroid had a sustainable atmosphere.

why go to so much trouble to make Juno an Iggy and Patti - lovin' old-school proto-punk, and then have the soundtrack be all twee?

I wondered this too. But I guess the film doesn't need to share the character's taste?

The film pretty much is a 'hipped-up' afterschool special or Lifetime movie but the charm, as it is, lies in the hipping up, in little things like the Sonic Youth conversations. (I thought it was a pleasant movie, not a great one.)

It might have been more interesting, actually, to find old garage rock and punk/NYC songs that would have suited the film's mood. Some of Patti's or Lou Reed's ballads? "Days?" They did use "All the Young Dudes." (I loved that Juno thought she was introducing Mark to an interesting choice by playing an FM rock staple like that.)

http://z.about.com/d/tvcomedies/1/0/Y/-/-/-/george_michael_bluth.jpg

the horror. the horror...

(I don't necessarily find it that hard to believe that a teenager into Patti Smith and the Stooges could also love acoustic twee songs when it comes to present-day music. It would be easy to learn to play at any rate. "I'm Stickin' With You" fit right in.)

JK Simmons was the best thing about this film (which wasn't bad, moments of extreme annoyingness aside).

deRogatis sez

god, do i even want to read that?

Why was that 14 year old into the Melvins? Who even talks about the Melvins anymore who isn't like ... 36? Was that intentional or something?

DeRo's article starts out fine but descends into incoherence.

But I thought it was Mark who was the Melvins fan, not Juno.

Juno does seem impressed with the fact that his band opened for the Melvins, which suggests she has some familiarity with and respect for them. Which is maybe a little weird to like the Melvins but never have heard Sonic Youth?

Oh, well, she was aware of the Melvins' name and esteem, which isn't what I understand "into the Melvins" to mean. I think it's pretty normal for a teenager to know the names and have a vague idea of the importance of old bands that people namedrop, and then sometimes be subsequently disappointed when he or she actually hears them.

(And she does argue that 1977 was a better year for rock than the early-90s year that Mark names.)

why go to so much trouble to make Juno an Iggy and Patti - lovin' old-school proto-punk, and then have the soundtrack be all twee

xgau LOVES kimya dawson!

btw, i do not plan on ever seeing this movie

And for that matter, given that the Stooges and Patti Smith are her favorites, and she shows no interest in UK punk at all, why does she think 1977 is the best year of rock? Who are you Juno?????

A teenager with inconsistent tastes.

yeah, i could write that off as the kind of pleasant confusion that we all have when we're teenagers (when i was 14 i think i lumped in new order and ministry as "new wave.")

Yeah, like she heard somewhere that '77 was the cool year to say you're into.

than the early-90s year that Mark names

1993, man!
this made me laugh a lot

i guess i'm stuck halfway btwn liking this and not liking it b/c i did cringe at some stuff in the not-good cringing way

<i>i guess i'm stuck halfway btwn liking this and not liking it b/c i did cringe at some stuff in the not-good cringing way</i>

That's kind of how I feel.

i liked this. I didn't love it. it is overly clever for the first bit yes. it did not strike me as 'pro-life' in any sense; it shows a bit of wonderment at life, but if you have had a kid, that's just how things are. I hate Moldy Peaches but i do like that song they did over the end, I completely forgot about that being the one moldy peaches song I really like.

I did find the ending with the duet to be cloying to the point where I couldn't look at the screen anymore.

That deRogatis article is sublimely retarded. Taking down Juno because real teenagers aren't like that is sort of like taking down Sesame Street for having Big Bird as a pivotal cast member.

Dude I was complaining about that when I was five! (Not really but teh Viceroy was really complaining about the astronomical inconsistiencies of Le Petit Prince as a lad, I note again.)

Juno & adoptive father discuss the UK Top 50 of 1982. "I'm going with Depeche Mode of course ;-)"

Since I complained above, let me just say that I did actually like this movie! But I would have liked it more if I hadn't gone in expecting the movie of the year.

i hope you've learned your lesson about that then

I should have learned that lesson after I went "Bourne Ultimatum" believing that it was, as promised, a "taut, intelligent thriller."

And another thing:

portrayal of troubled "self-centered formerly-hip-in-the-music-biz boy yuppie / uptight and ultra-suburban but secretly vulnerable girl yuppie couple" in Knocked Up >>>>>>>>>>>
portrayal of analogous couple in Juno.

Taking down Juno because real teenagers aren't like that is sort of like taking down Sesame Street for having Big Bird as a pivotal cast member.

No, it's not. Talking birds in a kid's show that makes no pretense of being realistic =/= unrealistic, unnatural dialogue/behavior in a film being praised for its honesty and realism.

Jesus Christ, do I hate DeRo. The man is an absolute idiot.

As it's been said, teenagers don't exactly talk like they did in "My So Called Life," either.

I should have learned that lesson after I went "Bourne Ultimatum" believing that it was, as promised, a "taut, intelligent thriller."

i don't know whether this is an intentional or unintentional zing

I was a bit apprehensive at the criticism of this because A:, it seemed like all the criticisms of the movie seemed to echo each other, like they all came from the same list at whyjunosucks.com or something. And B: I took the recent backlash to be a contrarian reaction towards an obviously strong film. But I saw this last night and man did it suck.

No, it's not. Talking birds in a kid's show that makes no pretense of being realistic =/= unrealistic, unnatural dialogue/behavior in a film being praised for its honesty and realism.

Juno very obviously does not, and was not intended to take place in "the real world" and any critic who thinks it does needs to find a new fucking line of work.

Way to ruin a perfectly cute and often very funny movie (with a quality script & nice performances). So, what's the bar here for a teenage dramedy?