Okay, but not great

Rating: 5/10 (8 January 2008)

I didn't think that Juno was a very good movie.
GASP!
All I heard the first day back from break was how everyone absolutely LOVED Juno and how it is so groundbreaking blah, blah, blah. But I had some MAJOR problems with it and here they are from "not as annoying" to "most irritating" reasons: 4. The runners. Yeah, yeah, I know it is symbolism showing the repetitiveness of life and the dullness of the town in which the story takes place and breaking free of the day to day occurrences, etc. etc. But come on, they showed up about a billion times during the movie, and I knew whenever they did, there was going to be some sort of awkward conversation or far-fetched incident that for some reason the directors felt they needed to introduce with a group of short-short wearing teen boys. In addition, the chair symbolism also felt INCREDIBLY forced and didn't really make sense.
3. The relationship between Juno and Mark (the guy that was going to adopt her baby). I found it kind of gross and unnecessary. I guess it added some interest to the plot, but it seemed like they put it in just to add minutes to the movie. I would have liked to seen more of Rainn Wilson (the cashier guy), I think that that could have added a funny ongoing plot line/character relationship.
2. The ending. The movie had been building up to her having the baby and what was going to happen with it and how Michael Cera's character and Juno fell in love, but then they all of a sudden decide not to see the baby. She just kind of slipped that in there in the narration and it was REALLY unsatisfying. Also, the very end with them sitting on the curb playing guitar was very predictable and dull.
1. Most annoying of all, though, was the character from which the movie's title derives from and centers around. Juno, as a character, was SO annoying; I could hardly stand listening to her talk. The lines she said were so forced and unrealistic, it kind of took me back to the days of Gillmore Girls. Some of the things that she said were so unbelievable for a 17 year old to even think of, I just couldn't get into the character. I'm not saying that Ellen Page, the girl who played Juno did a bad job-- in fact she did a fantastic job actingit's just that the character of Juno was so bizarre and nonchalant about the pregnancy, I just couldn't believe that she could be a real person.
It was not all bad, though. There were some pluses to this film: 1.Michael Cera. He was totally cute and funny in a nerdy way, and said my favorite line in the whole movie:
Juno: "'Cause you're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try, you know"
Paulie Bleeker: "I try really hard, actually."
2. The soundtrack. It was fun and really controlled the whole feel of the film. Definitely a plus.
3. The acting overall. All of the characters were well cast, especially Juno's step mom and Paulie's mom. They were my favorite characters in the movie, and I loved the contrast between the two women.
4. Two words: Hamburger Phone
All in all, a mediocre movie at best,who's acting was the only thing that kept me from leaving the theater altogether. Some may agree, some may disagree, but that's just my opinion.