Not all that I was expecting, but...

Rating: 8/10 (21 September 2008)

I was quite curious about this movie. Any comments of it till now are very positive and the fact that the screenplay was written by a blogger and former stripper, only increased my curiosity. But just yesterday I had the opportunity to watch it.
Movies are like books. There isn't bad literature coz everything is valid. And I think the same thing about movies. I'm a person who watch any kind of movie, and I try hard to understand the primary artistic tone of each one of them, even if it's the worst movie ever. I do this because regardless the quality of the film, sometimes the intentions are good. Of course there are unbearable films, but the idea, if well crafted, could offer an excellent result.
I really must say that the movie is not all that I expected. I watched the movie and all its extras with pretty attention trying to understand the whole creative process and its intentions at its best, and truly I could not understand the reason for so much talk about.
It is a smart movie, no doubt. It's a realistic drama, the existence of clichés are minimal to not being noticeable. And the performances, with no exceptions, are outstanding and convincing. I read and heard few people talking about the performance of Jennifer Garner, but I think that the simplicity and subtlety of her role is very important for the dramatic tone of the film, it's evident especially in the scene where she feels the baby for the first time at the mall, is one of those scenes that any soundtrack is dismissed because it's exciting for its own, and that scene actually is a plus in her entire career. Ellen Page for me is Juno, and Juno is Ellen Page. I cannot imagine any other actress for the role, but like Brazilian reviewer Rubens Edwald told, who watched Hard Candy will realize that Ellen's acting is not very different between both characters, and I totally agree with him.
Nor do I say if the original script (which was written by Diablo Cody) deserved an Oscar. Maybe yes, because Diablo's idea for writing a story that has not yet been told and also with clichés away, really works. I also believe that the power of the characters and the script really works for the fact that much of it was written by Diablo's own experiences. The characters are fictional, but were based on real people and events of writer's own life. With exception of a few characters, all seem to have come from the same cake tin. They are intelligent, cunning and quick-reasonings, and all are references to Diablo's personality. Even the actors say it in the extras, saying that there's a bit of Diablo in each character. That's why they seem so similar to each other and I don't think this is very interesting when we are talking about a screenplay because the great dramatic content of a story is exactly for the existence of distinct personalities created by one person - the screenwriter. I think this is the big negative point of the movie, the personality of the characters are not as deep as it seems, because everyone has a personality very similar to each other and all of them are very similar to Diablo.
Maybe I really don't understood the movie as it should be, or maybe my teenage time has really been quite different, because I couldn't find in the film all the elements that much of the audience could find and talk so much. I also believe that the film was a lot surreal when the parents accepted the pregnancy of Juno in a so easygoing way, mainly, when she decided to deliver her child for adoption as simple as it happened.
Do not judge me bad for some of my bad reviews. It's just that, in my particularly point of view, I don't feel that the film is a masterpiece as it is reported. But even then, I found the movie interesting for being subtle, light, with excellent performances, intelligent dialogs (much more intelligent than in real life), an efficient direction and a script that, although some daydreams, is quite fluid.
It's not all that I was expecting, but also there's nothing so bad or negative to talk about it.