Toronto - Alllllll aboooard the hype traiinnnn! Choo Choo! That was the sound of the hype train taking off for this season’s feel good indie movie - Juno. I wasn’t able to catch this movie over the Christmas period, but when I saw that it was playing at Lam’s Theater for the 10:45 show, I couldn’t turn it down.

Man.. what an INDIE film. Totally agree with Wade’s assessment of the film. This film is littered with all the classically traits of a feel good indie movie that will cater to all the disillusioned teenagers, internet bloggers and yuppies who want to be trendy instead of the vacant souls that they are.

Here is the checklist:

• dominating music soundtrack consisting of bands with indie cred
• underrated actors from cancelled, yet popular tv shows (arrested development, freaks and geeks, firefly, etc)
• youth who are mature way beyond their years
• main characters who don’t fit in with the regular people…outsiders
• quirky people
• big time A lister actor wanting to expand their range/gain cred for staring in a low budget movie
• Small town folks .. do these feel good movies ever take place in like, Toronto? Nope, its always buttfuck, Saskatchewan

All in all, it was a pretty good movie. I am just noticing a trend these days with these movies that seem to come out once a year and gain all these accolades and stuff. I mean, the music argument happens so much in these types of movie like Wade says..Juno knows way too much about the punk scene for a 16 year old. I highly doubt in the 3 years she might of discovered that music that she would know enough to argue about 1993 vs 1977. She is 16, I am sure when she was 10 she was listening to Hannah Montana and Hilary Duff. No doubt about it. That whole music scene reminds me of an episode of the OC (1×02 - the one where the model home burns down) where Adam, Seth and Marisa are in the car and Seth was saying some shit about ‘Death Cab in the Cutie’ and then dismisses Marisa for not having any taste, then Marisa’s like well “I listen to Vandelles, Ramones and Sex Pistols”. Of course, at this point we are all suppose to be like wow Marisa’s really cool. Whereas all the boys are probably like, shouldn’t she be in a bikini by now?

Basically, I’m saying this whole ‘I know this type of music - therefore i’m hip and alienated’ shtick has been overplayed in the recent years. Having said that, I probably engage in some sort of music conversation all the time, so maybe I’m just being a hypocrite.

As far as the other parts of the movie goes (acting, plot, etc) it was all pretty good. I can’t deny that this was a well told tale, and Michael Cena certainly mastered that subtle awkward teenager act he’s been doing since Arrested Development. Ellen Page is very talkative, but I guess she had to carry the movie. My friend is in love with her, so I won’t write anything critical although there really wasn’t much to criticized. She’s pretty short though.

Oh, the soundtrack.. it’s pretty good too. It has introduced me to this infectious tune called ‘Anyone Else But You’ by the Moldy Peaches. In case they sound familiar, the lead male singer’s name is Adam Green. You may remember him from the ‘Jessica Simpson’ song a few years back.

Wade’s take on Juno

4/5

 

 Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You [2:58m]: Play Now