Is it worth all the hype?

zgringa

While I would admit that there were definitely a few laugh-out-loud moments in Diablo Cody's dialogue, there were a lot of inconsistencies with her characters. Is Juno being portrayed as a "wise beyond her years" 16 year-old, or are we supposed to understand that she is just your typical teen who acts on impulse without forethought of the consequences? She seems mature when she is faced with a very difficult situation (Mark coming on to her), and she handles it with ethics and aplomb. Yet somehow, she is so naïve that she never saw it coming in the first place (despite the warnings of her step-Mom). Heck, if she's smart enough to figure out how to deal calmly with this accidental pregnancy, why on earth didn't she use protection with Paulie in the first place? If she's supposed to be just a regular teen, then why have all the hip-quips and precocious attitude? And is it just me, or is it hard to see why Vanessa and Mark Loring are even still together when we first meet them? They couldn't be more different than Felix and Oscar, and yet The Odd Couple was entertaining because it was about comedy and conflict. The slow demise of a marriage is sadly real, but not entertaining.

Diablo Cody definitely has a talent for creating quirky characters with off-the-wall dialogue, but can she also create ones that are relatable? "Juno" had a "Napoleon Dynamite" feel to it…interesting to watch because the situation was real and possibly mundane, but the characters were so strange it was like watching aliens in human costumes. Juno's Dad is much more hip than any Dad I've ever met. Juno's step-Mom, except for her obsession with dogs, is way more cleverly sharp-tongued and protective of Juno than you normally see in a biological Mom. I'm guessing that Leah's taste in portly middle-aged teachers is meant as a joke; because it is so exaggerated it becomes farcical. I think the only character that even seems close to a real person is Paulie Bleeker. Don't misunderstand me; all the actors gave an outstanding performance. I just think that the media should hold off on crowning Diablo Cody the next Quentin Tarantino. She may be a professional when it comes to marketing and self-promotion, but she's not the only stripper out there who can write…pandorazblog is better than Cody's P*ssy Ranch.

score 6/10

zgringa 31 December 2007

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1790674/