i FINALLY saw juno. and you know i am enthusiastic when i use all caps. my roomate and i drove (and got lost) a half hour to catch it before it disappeared from theaters. it was a lot different than i was expecting, but definitely lived up to the hype. ellen page impressed the hell out of me. she was so raw and unrefined; she just came off so natural. and what can i say about michael cera? i love the kid. adorable and vulnerable and all that good stuff. he’s just one of those actors that can play the nerdy kid but still be so attractive at the same time.

the only story line that threw me off a lot was the attraction/flirtation between juno and mark (jason bateman’s character). i just felt so uncomfortable watching that. but, you know what? that actually makes the film more appealing to me. it evoked an emotion that is hard to evoke. sympathy, adoration, these are fairly easy to get out of the audience. but to make the audience feel awkward watching what’s on the screen, is noteworthy to me.

the writing was quite brilliant. the pop culture references and numerous allusions to old school bands just made it that much better. it wasn’t a forced kind of indie flick. i didn’t feel as though i was watching an attempt at making a cooler, non-commmercial movie. because that’s what happens. a big company with big directors realize that indie flicks are good. the stories are more realistic. the characters are relatable. the actors are usually a lot more flawed. and people love that. we don’t just like to see the picture perfect couple go through their ups and downs and then resolve everything. and the movie execs know this. they try to capitalize on it by throwing their names in the hat, trying to pick up on some of that success. but juno wasn’t that. sure, it was nominated for an oscar and got ridiculous amounts of press. but it was deserved. def one of my favorite films as of late.