I had a dream last night that I hooked up with Ellen Page. That part was pretty cool. Then I dreamed she got pregnant, which wasn't cool, but was also way too meta for my little dream-brain to handle. It's about that point I realized I was dreaming. That was cool, because it opened the door for some fantastic Lucid Dreaming action. Alas, it wasn't to be. I was so excited about my lucidity that my brain couldn't handle all the demands (and really, I was pretty content with Ellen Page anyway) and I woke up.
Juno is a strange movie. Every critic, even the ones I trust like Roger Ebert, classifies it as a comedy -- and almost apologetically so. How can a film that is a comedy be on the top of so many critics' "Best of 2007" lists, they wondered?
That answer, of course, is simple. Juno isn't a comedy. It's a drama that has funny moments -- LIKE ANY PROPER DRAMA. Today's dramas are so... dramatic that they forget they also have to be interesting. Humor has its place in any genre, but the genre itself is dependent upon what drives the plot. That's where No Country For Old Men fell through. The characteristic Coen Bros. sardonicism was missing (it was, of course, a tremendous film; I only laughed once, though.) Comedies can be easily recognized by the side trips characters take for the sake of laughs; Juno has none of these. Not a single shot in that film is unnecessary. Not a single lingering moment is extraneous.
Was it the best movie of 2007? Absolutely. (Was 2007 a lousy year in cinema? Definitely.) I would have utilized Michael Cera more, at the cost of his being permanently typecast for the rest of his very young career. Ellen Page has portrayed a pregnant teenager, a superhero, and a kidnapping victim. Michael Cera has portrayed an awkward nerd, an awkward nerd, and, in Juno, an awkward nerd-jock. (He's a runner. On second thought, considering I never knew a runner who wasn't more nerd than jock, I'll drop the qualifier.)
I'm sure he's more skilled than that, and I really do find him one of the more exciting young actors working today.
As for me, I'm going back to bed for a little Snooze time with Ellen.
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