That’s What She Said

Few independent movies become smash hits, but every once in awhile a few break free from mediocrity and achieve recognition.

“Napoleon Dynamite” was huge. So huge in fact, that the movie’s stars Jon Heder and Aaron Ruell came to speak at OWU my freshman year. This year “Juno” is following in Napoleon’s dancing footsteps.

I remember reading about this movie long before the trailers were playing. As a regular reader of most entertainment magazines, I heard of this former stripper named Diablo Cody, who had penned a screenplay that was supposed to be fantastic.

It was about 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (played by Ellen Page) who had been impregnated by her geeky best friend (portrayed by the always delightful Michael Cera). Instead of keeping the baby or getting an abortion, she does the responsible thing and carries it to term and gives it up for adoption. It seemed like a bad episode of “7th Heaven.”

So when I started seeing previews and watching interviews with Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, the married couple who are to adopt the child, I realized this movie had serious potential.

I was right. This movie is fantastic. “Juno” is witty and sarcastic but not too over the top like it is struggling for laughs. As a character Juno has a charm about her that I have not seen in any other recent movies about teenage girls. She had a good sense of the real world, at least for a 16-year-old, and she was more level-headed than any of the girls I went to high school with.

I knew when I walked out of the theatre this would be one of my favorite movies. And, O.K., that’s not saying much because as I write this I can look over at my shelf and see my movie collection and see about 100 movies and about 50 television DVD sets. But I digress. I knew this movie was special.

I do not like to toot my own horn but I was right. “Juno” has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including a best actress nomination for Ellen Page. She might not win because she is up against veteran actors like Cate Blanchett and Laura Linney, but at least she beat out Keira Knightley for her work in “Atonement.”

All together the movie is nominated for four awards. Diablo Cody is nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Jason Reitman is nominated for his work as director. And to top that off, the movie is up for the Best Picture award.

If you have not seen the movie yet, I suggest you head down to The Strand because it will be playing through the end of the week. Plus I can almost guarantee you will laugh throughout the movie. You might even cry. But that would only be because you were laughing too hard and you could not breathe. Juno is a winner even if it does not take home any awards, so go see it.