Why would you drive out to East Jesus nowhere?

So I missed Juno upon its initial uproar and backlash and backlash to the backlash. But now! Now...

Away from the rabble, my thoughts are these:

Allison Janney rocks. Let's just get that out of the way. From CJ


to Loretta


to Brenda* (best stepmom ever?)

...she is confident and no-nonsense and beyond loyal. Perhaps, she's typecasted. Who cares? Who wouldn't want to be paid to kick ass?

J.K. Simmons is very close second.

Schillinger was in Guys and Dolls. True.

Bateman and Garner have a lovely chemistry (they've worked together before), even when portraying a couple in flux, uneasy and not a little scared and in the end not suited for each other in their very big, very beige house.

They front-loaded the quirk in the first half of the moive and it was a little much. But the remainder is grounded and positive and loving. For all her snark, Juno is likable. Paulie is likable. Her family is fab (her sister's name is Liberty Bell?!). You even sympathize with the perfectionist goddess Vanessa and her punkass hubby. (I mean, he was honest and quick about it and didn't denigrate her.)

Okay, the ending is twee. Really twee. But it was much needed twee after watching Into the Wild (flick #1 of the Friday Double Feature) and the face of a gaunt dying Emile Hirsch as the end shot (Thanks Sean! That was disturbing!)

And I want Paulie's house.

Oh, what about Into the Wild? It's beautiful and sad and waaaaayyyyy too long. And I couldn't help but think that if the kid had gotten some therapy and gone on an Outward Bound trip when he was in college, maybe he would still be alive. Dying that young is always senseless.




*What is it about ultrasound techs? The one I had a couple months ago (not for baby-seein' -- let's not get crazy here) had zero personality and got the scanner goo all over my shirt and did a shit job of cleaning it off.