Go To Juno

If you’ve not had a chance to see Juno yet, it’s worth a look. It’s a quirky, cute, whip-smartly written flick by screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman dealing with a tough and gritty topic–teenage pregnancy. It’s been nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and features extraordinary talent Ellen Page as the sassy and irreverent Juno MacGuff, along with several other strong supporting performances from the likes of Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janey and J.K. Simmons. Review cans be found here and here.

But please, don’t go expecting another Facing the Giants. The language and humor are a little earthy and raw and there are few explicit references to God or traditional morality. But the honesty is refreshing, and persons of faith will be impressed with many of the decisions that Juno makes as she finds herself growing up–and out–way too fast too soon after her overly-productive tryst with class geek and distance runner Paulie Bleeker played by Cera.

My favorite laugh-out-loud line from Juno’s stepmom played by Janey (delivered with the Midwestern bluntness characteristic of Dancing Elk, Minnesota): “Someone’s going to get a special blessing from Jesus in this garbage dump of a situation!”

I personally wouldn’t hesitate to allow older teenagers to see this, and in fact, it might serve as good discussion fodder. However, The Focus on the Family review site Plugged In Online begs to differ. They opined that the film “almost accidentally” comes across as pro-life and pro-adoption and that for teens “already swimming in the culture, Juno will only reinforce the complete lack of a moral compass.”

The complete lack of a moral compass? Did the reviewer watch the same movie I did? It’s true that Juno does not find her way with the help of scripture or a faith community (although she does get an assist from an abortion clinic protester), but she does seem well-attuned at times to the “moral law within,” plus the film strongly attests to the need for strong, supportive families to help guide teens through today’s moral morass.

In the ways that matter most, Juno navigates a series of less-than-ideal circumstances and manages to find true north. It seems that considering the times, Christians ought to affirm the good whenever and wherever they find it rather than constantly playing the perpetual scold.

Go to Juno. I think you’ll enjoy it.

6 Comments

  1. Mike the Eyeguy

    And, I might add, if Christians want their messages (such as pro-life) to be taken more seriously in today’s culture, they might want to consider creating good art–like Juno. Good art, as it seeps through culture, may open hearts and minds much more so than constant protest.

    And BTW, I don’t consider Facing the Giants to be good art, although it had its share of positive messages. It was, largely, preaching to the choir.

  2. th

    thanks for the review, Mike. I’ve been wanting to see it along with several other films for quite a while. I also tend to agree with you that most “Christian” art lacks traits of good art form – often being entirely too transparent and predictable – not to mention poorly directed and produced. I realize that most films of the caliber are financially limited, but financial limitations should always = limited imagination.

  3. Mike the Eyeguy

    th, thanks for the stopping by and the thoughts. Artists, as a whole, are not encouraged and supported in the church–especially the evangelical portion which tends to view such “worldly” pursuits as a waste of time. Fortunately, the artistic and literary contributions of RCs, Orthodox and Anglicans are more evident and abundant.

    I venture that there will probably be a few pregnant teens facing touch choices who might lean more on Juno’s example–and wisdom–than on what they perceive to be a judgmental church.

    There was a time–pre-Reformation–when the church did not shy away from claiming art and literature and extolling it to be a reflection of the glory of God. The church needs to recapture some of that spirit.

  4. Hal

    Sarah just rented this movie and I saw it the other night. I had wanted to go see it in the theater after your rave review, but alas did not.

    I thought they did a great job with it. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the portrayal of the abortion protester as being pretty much a moron, “babies want to be borned.” Hollywood always portrays Christians as morons, so that’s to be expected.

    Otherwise I thought it was a fantastic film. I would highly recommend all teenagers view it with their parents or whomever their mentor happens to be.

    I liked your favorite line too. The line that stuck with me was a little more raw. When she was in the hospital and complaining that she couldn’t get the spinal right away and a contraction came she said, “oww, oww, oww, f@#$itty owwww!” That may become my new exclamation of pain – when I’m alone.

  5. Mike the Eyeguy

    Glad you liked it. Yeah, I can understand your reaction to the portrayal of the abortion protester because I had similar thoughts. But I think maybe the writer and director may have slipped in some very subtle high school Asian humor too.

    I’m guessing there aren’t that many Asian students where you are but there are TONS here so maybe I’m a little more attuned to it. But it’s generally a joke even among the Asian students themselves that they are often nerdy and mispronounce things.

    Many have parents at home that barely speak English, and although they climb the learning curve fast, it still makes for some funny moments in casual conversation. I’ve coached many in soccer, and I have some very humorous memories of me trying to communicate instructions to them and the differences between what I said and what they thought I said.

    The other thing about that scene is the awkwardness that both the protester and Juno experience when they run into each other. Juno doesn’t really seem very judgmental of her at all. On the contrary, they talk casually about things going on at school in order to defuse the awkwardness of the moment.

    Also, however nerdy she may be, the protester still gives Juno the info that ultimately cinches her decision–“They have fingernails!”

    Of course, the fact that Juno’s stepmom is a manicurist only adds that much more ironic humor.

    Also, I thought the protester was portrayed much more sympathetically than the young girl who was the receptionist at the abortion clinic.

  6. Hal

    You’re probably right about the Asian student. We have an extremely low population of asians here, so I’m not familiar with that at all.

    You’re also correct in the comparison between the protester and receptionist. She was awful.

    Allyson thought this movie was just weird. The rest of us really liked it, and Sarah went so far as to say she wishes she could be friends with Juno.

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