Pregnancies

Warning: film spoilers straight ahead for Juno. Do not proceed if you've not seen and plan to see the movie.

Last week was rough. I mean, come on, we spent 11 days out of the office and then returned for a 3-day work week, much of which consisted of responding to emails, voicemails, inboxes, and filling outboxes...how traumatic. But Thursday night we decided to go to the theater at 85th and 1st and see Juno. I am a huge proponent of Apple Movie Trailers - on any given weekend afternoon, if I'm unable to write a word, unable to post an entry, unable to concentrate on anything in general, I will surf the Apple Movie Trailers and find potential movie options for Craig and me for months to come. Gosh, it's especially entertaining now, whatwith the 22" beauty of a monitor! But I digress. Not long ago, I happened upon the trailer for Juno. I actually called Craig into the computer room to force him to watch the trailer (unless I'm confusing it with another trailer??) and his response? "Looks brutal." Or maybe we saw it on tv or in front of another movie as a preview and that was his reaction. Either way, he fairly well understood up front that it would be something I'd want to see immediately. So, we headed to Choux, our favorite new coffeeshop on 1st, only to find it was closed (closed!) on Thursday night around 6.30, wound up instead at the sold out competitor (Starbucks), swallowed some latte and wandered to the theater. I was feeling pretty excited - it's a film written by a woman and has gotten nothing but outstanding reviews, so I really wanted to see it. Oh! It was so amazing. It won both of our hearts, mine and Craig's alike. It was funny, sweet, poignant, smart, clever, frank and nothing near the dark comedy I expected; instead, it was heartfelt, uplifting and hilarious! If I had to criticize, the first 10 minutes are a little forced. There is cryptic teen language and an awkward overall intro - aside from the cute teen guzzling an oversized plastic monster Sunny D, soon enough which you learn is because she's trying to overhydrate herself for a few pregnancy tests at a local mini mart. The opening credits, consisting of a part-animated version of the teen girl walking through the streets of her small town to get to the mini mart, stopping every so often to drain more Sunny D, last a little long. But once the film really begins and gets to the heart of introducing each character, a limited cast of all likeable characters, you're completely drawn in. Even the blonde best friend, who might tend toward the popular crowd but still finds her happiest moments with her offbeat pregnant best friend, is to love. Michael Cera plays an impressive high school geek with nothing but adoring qualities. He reminds me exactly of the love I shared with my best friend from high school for Brian Krakow. And the father and the step-mom become lifelike parents right away. There are small details that are not to be missed, such as the hamburger phone in Juno's room, and the fact that her real mom sends her a cactus each year. Some details are over the top, like the "chair" and the obsession with music that Jason Bateman's character shares with Juno. Speaking of Jason Bateman, his character coupled with Jennifer Garner is absolutely a believable pairing, from the fact of her need to monopolize the decor of their house all the way to the nonchalant eyes he convincingly tosses her way in the first several scenes and throughout. Their desire to have a child is constantly one-sided, and it would take naive doe-eyed innocence like Garner's to just miss Bateman's coolness.*I could walk through scene by scene but really the thing that fulfilled the film for me is that Juno gives up the kid. It would be an unrealistic fairy tale if she were to keep it, and it would wreck the beauty of the movie. But she doesn't keep it - in fact, she doesn't see it. She simply walks it around for 9 months elaborating sarcastically on the intricacies of life and its let downs, all the while wistfully carrying a crush on her high school sweetheart Michael Cera, and at some point she encounters a reality check via Jason Bateman's and Jennifer Garner's "grown up" characters. She's enlightened a couple of times, grows closer to her step-mom and her dad plays the fatherly hero. Throughout the movie there is so much love. It reads as such a smart journey. I'm so glad to have seen it and we'll buy it on DVD right away when released - I was overjoyed at how much Craig liked it, too. More than me, after the fact, he kept saying what a great film it is. We were hooked! Hopefully Juno makes it far along enough a path to win awards. It deserves to.*