We watched the delightful comedy "Juno" yesterday evening, mindful of the warning that this is the only Best Picture Oscar nominee of 2008 that has a happy ending. It was touted as this year's "Little Miss Sunshine", which I enjoyed as well, but felt a slight disappointment when I watched the latter movie because I had already laughed at the key scenes in the many times I viewed the trailer. It is a problem when we watch so many movies during the Oscar season, trying to squeeze in as many screenings, that it is inevitable that we can watch the same trailer in excess of eight times.
I was cautious not to lay too high expectations on the movie, a lesson learnt last year, and I was quietly delighted. Both with the modern and clever script, and also the cast, especially the young Ellen Page, who embodied the weirdly charming lead character of Juno. She is a misfit and she reminded me so much of a dear friend with the same quick cutting wit. A total individual.
I wondered whether it would be a good idea to recommend it, but what angle would I take? Like Juno, she takes joy in being different, and for me, it was like watching her younger years unfold in front of me, except the storyline of the teen pregnancy. Not that Juno was mindless, but that she would be a little too clever and poised for something like that.
It is difficult to recommend a movie as "You will love this movie because the lead character is so you". What if they didn't like the character? Wouldn't that land me in deep social soup? Would we like seeing someone who we or others identify with ourselves, who is not a hero of sorts? It's like saying we're all Charlottes from the TV series "Sex & The City". Some may identify themselves with Samantha for her frivolous behaviour that may make a skank look cool, but prim, proper and prudish Charlotte? Have you ever heard anyone say "I'm definitely Charlotte" if they were asked to pick someone who they resemble most from the cast?
It's not like Juno is Charlotte. She is far from it, but she does have her idiosyncrasies and she is no social darling. I can safely and bravely say that there are elements of Charlotte in me, but am I totally like her? I don't know. It's up to someone else to make that judgment. Do we have fundamental dislike for characters that expose parts of ourselves that we least like? Why do we feel uncomfortable when someone links us with someone that we have never identified with, and come to the conclusion that the person is probably and most likely deluded. Is it like B.O. that only someone else can identify, not us?
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