Juno (2007) & 2000's Romanticism
Juno (2007) has been one of my favorite movies for a couple of years now. I’d say it’s probably my third favorite movie of all time behind Ratatouille and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and that’s where it’s listed in my Letterboxd top four. My fourth favorite movie rotates on an unplanned basis but is currently Richard Ayoade’s Submarine. I just recently rewatched Juno for the first time since I originally saw it on HBO Max in late 2023. Did it hold up? Yes, and for a reason I wasn’t expecting.
Juno’s soundtrack contains a plethora of kitschy indie music from the early 2000’s as is appropriate for a movie of its loudly proclaimed “quirkiness” and some of the songs from the soundtrack have been in my commonly played playlists since I first watched the movie. Other than that I’ve had no real reminder of the actual contents of the film, which I think is one of the main things that shaped my perception of it. Effectively, my love for Juno has been running majorly on “vibes” for about two years at this point and I’ve never really taken the time to pinpoint why.
It was on my most recent (and technically second) viewing of the movie that I started to realize the exact “vibes” that drew me into the characters and plot in the first place and dignified a space in my top four. Every individual person in Juno has their own idiosyncratic and almost impossible to trace way of speaking that immediately alerts you to the fact that you are watching a movie--specifically one written in 2006. While this style of writing dialogue may seem forced in its unrealistic-ness to some, it’s one of the main factors that really makes the film for me. All of the characters talk like absolute losers, and yet I find them effortlessly cool in every scene
Really what brought me back to Juno after two years was this image I had constructed of it in my head. All of the sets in the film have a kind of warm familiarity to them for me despite the movie being from the year I was born. There’s this kind of eclectic messiness to Juno’s (the character played by Elliot Page, I mean) house and her locker at school that feels comforting in a strange way. The movie makes me think of being a young child in a very peculiar way and gets me nostalgic for a time that I wasn’t alive to experience in the first place and I think that’s special. Really when I pinpointed this feeling was during a scene near the beginning of the movie where I thought to myself, “man, I would love to be a high school girl in 2007 calling to schedule an abortion on my hamburger phone.”
Verdict:
10/10
Everyone should watch this movie because I say so.
I agree. I think that Juno is a great movie for the reasons you said. Its writing is of its time and though objectively the dialogue, for example, is not the most complex or the highest form of art, there is a lot of character in the film. Every character feels like a real person that you've met. Where a lot of modern movies struggle, such as any recent Marvel movie or the past five Pixar flops, this movie thrives. It is overflowing with personality, and for that I commend it.
ReplyDeleteI have never watched Juno but I agree that many 2000’s movies hold the ability of nostalgia. The “vibes” of many 2000s movies seem to encapsulate the quintessential high school experience for many. I’ve also found that the 2000’s high school setting that you described can add greatly to the feeling of the movie. I agree that a movie’s soundtrack can make a movie memorable or just okay depending on the music that they choose. I look forward to watching this movie.
ReplyDeletePersonally as someone who hasnt watched the show, I think it’s cool how you explained why Juno is one of your favorite movies. I like how you mentioned the soundtrack because music really does set the “vibe” of a film and can stick with you long after watching it. The way you described the characters weird but funny way of talking makes sense too, it gives the movie a unique style even if it isn’t realistic. I also liked your point about the sets and how they feel warm and nostalgic, even for a time you didn’t actually live through. That shows how powerful movies can be in creating a certain mood that stays with you.
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