Juno

2.5/4 stars

It seems like once a year there's an indie movie that all college students simultaneously go crazy for. So, when I say that Juno is this year's Little Miss Eternal Sunshine, this is more a simple fact about the state of current events than a complaint. Nonetheless, while I've seen a lot of quirky, clever films in this genre, I've never seen one that tries so hard to nail it as Juno. It's interesting how the indie film/indie rock/indie culture aesthetics work together to build hype for a movie like this. I knew for instance from the start of the film that I'd be hearing Piazza New York Catcher at some point, and I wasn't disappointed. The film is similarly unchallenging in almost every other respect. In the title character we've got probably the most blatent Mary Sue ever put on film. The movie doesn't really bother to give us characters with flaws (except for the strawmen we're clearly supposed to dislike) but icons that epitomize what the filmmakers see as cool. All this isn't to say that I didn't find Juno enjoyable (though at times it became far too absorbed in its own cuteness), but rather that it isn't substantial enough to live up to its hype.

Written January 27, 2008.