Juno, Yes!, Lars, Yes!, Zodiac, Hell No!
Since SKY already outed my NPR addiction, no one will be surprised that on a sick-day I’m in bed listening to WXXI. It started on drive home from the doctor’s with a 1370 Connection discussion about property taxes and the New York state budget. (Boy are there a lot of angry people out there. And I’m sorry but I have no sympathy for billionaire Tom Golisano’s $13,000 property tax bill.)
Then we moved into Talk of the Nation and a discussion about Oscar snubs — a pretty boring topic until a caller complained that the movie Zodiac was snubbed. To my (and I’m sure SKY’s) great shock and amazement Neal Conan’s guest Matt Singer, host of Independent Film Channel News, AGREED!
Matt said this 4-hour supposed-thriller appeared on many critics 2007 best picture lists. Then Matt went on to complain that Juno – which he said was entertaining — didn’t deserve a nomination.
Now as much as I love Cate Blanchett, if he had complained about her nomination for Elizabeth: The Golden Age I would have been right there with him. Cate is an amazing actress. And she did chewed up the scenery and make Clive Davis look like a Keanu Reeves/Tom Cruise one-note actor in this sequel. But the movie was a wreck! (Seriously, at the end Davis turned into Captain Jack Sparrow. I even asked MGH when the Kraken was going to appear).
Now, A.O. Scott once wrote that there weren’t as many great movies these days because there weren’t as many terrible movies. He theorized that disasters and masterpieces “arise from the same impulses: extravagant ambition, irrational risk, pure chutzpah, a synergistic blend of vanity, vision and self-delusion.”
Perhaps, Elizabeth falls into the category. But the Zodiac (and we also love David Fincher) was just a rehashed obsessed-cop story (I know he wasn’t a cop). Not even our favorite Jake Gyllenhaal could save it.
Matt — despite the party atmosphere out at the Sundance Film Festival — you shouldn’t drink before going on the radio. Especially NPR. As your punishment you must listen to be wax-poetic about Juno.
Despite a bit of a Hollywood ending, Juno is a smart, funny and thought-provoking movie. The dialogue is exceptionally fresh and engaging. The acting is also first-rate. And how can you you not respect a screenwriter who goes by the name Diablo Cody.
Now if you haven’t seen it, you’ll probably have a difficult time believing a movie about a pregnant 16 year old could be all of those things. But just consider the teen girls we usually see in movies - the shallow, selfish, stupid sex objects or sidekicks.
Juno is the opposite of those things, but still very much a teenage girl. She clearly has a whip-smart intellect and refined self-awareness. But she really is not a girl, not yet a woman learning to live with those assets (and her newly acquired body) and figuring out how to communicate and make decisions as an adult.
Okay, I’ll stop the Juno-love-fest.
Matt, maybe if you suffered through as many stereotypical portrials of your gender (or lived with or dated a 30-something teenager) you would appreciate Juno more.
Oh and if you didn’t like “Lars and the Real Girl” stay off NPR because that movie also tops my 2007 best picture list. (We still cry for Bianca.)
To prove we’re not all negative, here are some David Fincher, Jake Gyllenhaal and Cate Blanchette movies I do recommend.
- Se7en (1995)
- Elizabeth (1998)
- Fight Club (1999)
- The Gift (2000)
- Bubble Boy (2001)
- Donnie Darko (2001)
- The Missing (2003)
- Proof ( 2005)
Filed under: Best of
