Monday, February 11, 2008

Critque the Critic


When I first saw the trailer of Juno, my immediate intuition told me that it would just be some meaningless chick flick comedy. However, after learning of its nomination in the Best Picture category for the Oscars, my curiosity was immediately sparked. From the little knowledge I possessed of movies - since I only ever watched mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, and some anime films - I found it surprising for a comedy starring "Shadowcat" from X-men and Evan from Superbad to be nominated for the Best Picture award. But, since it had been nominated, I gullibly assumed that it must be a good movie, and I decided to see it.
It turns out that I was right. Juno was definitely not the kind of movie I expected to see.
So, for this assignment, I had to critique a critic. I don't really know any critics at all, so I chose the only source that I recognized to be "credible" on Metacritic, which comes in the form of A. O. Scott from the New York Times, which can be found here.

In the first fifteen minutes of the movie, I was becoming ever more convinced that the academy awards may have made a mistake about Juno. The jokes and sarcasm seemed very crude and full of innuendos - not that I have anything against that, but it just didn't seem Oscar material.

At first her sarcasm is bracing and also a bit jarring — “Hello, I’d like to procure a hasty abortion,” she says when she calls a women’s health clinic — but as “Juno” follows her from pregnancy test to delivery room (and hastily retreats from the prospect of abortion), it takes on surprising delicacy and emotional depth.
But, this opinion started to change after Juno ran out of the abortion clinic. I felt that it portrayed a kind of seriousness and maturity that was different from the first ten minutes.
I then started to see how:
“Juno” ... respects the idiosyncrasies of its characters rather than exaggerating them or holding them up for ridicule. And like Juno herself, the film outgrows its own mannerisms and defenses.
As the movie progressed, I noticed a dip in the sarcasm as the plot became more oriented towards Juno's emotions about having the baby and her feelings towards Paulie Bleaker. The initial heavy use of sarcasm from Juno seems to act as a kind of barrier, which is replaced, by a:
naïveté that peeks through her flippant, wised-up facade is essential, since part of the movie’s point is that Juno is not quite as smart or as capable as she thinks she is.
But, although the humor and sarcasm may have initially seemed rather distracting, I do feel that it was a necessary part of the film.

The snappy one-liners are a brilliant distraction, Ms. Cody’s way of clearing your throat for the lump you’re likely to find there in the movie’s last scenes.

The contrast between serious and comedic aspects of the film is what made Juno entertaining as well as a touching. Juno's progression from being overly sarcastic to one of her final scenes lying on the hospital bed with Bleaker is a very unpredictable but also welcoming change.
So, in conclusion - stated by Scott, which I totally agree with - the underlying them is:
not anti-abortion but rather pro-adulthood. It follows its heroine — and by the end she has earned that title — on a twisty path toward responsibility and greater self-understanding.
Although I didn't really critique the critic, I don't really think I could have very much anyway. I agree with what Scott has to say about "Juno", and I do believe it was a very good movie - enough to be Oscar worthy.

1 comment:

Mr. K said...

Yujie,

Very nice job, and not just because I agreed with you about most of what you said about Juno. You were very good at blending Scott's ideas with yours so that we got a clear picture of your view of the film and the review.