Ok, I’m probably alone in this one, but I gotta rant. Tried to watch “Juno” today with an under-the-weather friend today. While we couldn’t finish it mostly due to his deteriorating health, I have to admit I was happy to walk out halfway through because of the unnerving verbal diarrhea spouting out of every character’s mouth. Every single character seemed to talk like our title character to varying, but all unrealistic, degrees. Whose father responds, “Next time I see that kid, I’m going to punch that kid in the weiner” when informed his daughter is pregnant? I mean, really. Has to be said, neither me, my friend, or the majority of the theater laughed at this movie.
While the story is inoffensive if not predictable (I made a guess about the ending and was right if the Wikipedia summary is to be believed) everything else seemed way too forced and juvenile, as if some hipster girl who loves “The Royal Tennenbaums” and owns a guitar decided to write a movie. I’ve been in bands, have seen the Melvins, and I love Dario Argento too, but making allusions to them in your movie just doesn’t seem necessary or earn you supercool points unless you are actually in high school. It just seems desperate and annoying, but I guess it’s enough to impress the Academy with most of the turd scripts floating around Hollywood.
I know screenwriter Diablo Cody’s background (supposed stripper, first film, etc) and think her success is impressive in only that she wrote such a mediocre film. I imagine the next one will barely be noticed. She’s the next Kevin Williamson, trust.
