Still Thinking

You know, the very best films are the ones that you keep thinking about long after you're done watching them. The first movie that really followed me around for days, got under my skin, was The Ice Storm. It's an Ang Lee film based on a fabulous book by Rick Moody. There was just something about that movie (and book) that keep my mind running for at least a week afterwards. Great score by Mychael Danna too. Anyhoo, I feel like Juno fits into this category of 'movie that gets under your skin.' And I had a really interesting conversation with my friend P over the weekend that actually made me reconsider my initial thoughts about the film.

So yeah, spoilers, ho!

P seemed to think that Bleeker's character was more a symbol than anything else. A symbol in almost a mythological way. You know, how the chicks in mythology are sort of idealized, but you don't get to know them that well. And you're thinking, what's so great about Penelope or Helen of Troy or whoever? Why bother coming back after so damn long? I'll tell you why, because those characters are symbols. You don't really need to see them being totally Supercool and awesome because they don't need to prove anything to you, thank you very much. I think this is a fascinating insight and I thank P for explaining it to me. Keep in mind, however, that I still disagree and think that Paulie should have been drawn more sharply, but that's my own humble opinion.

Also, congrats to Diablo Cody on her Oscar win, and Kudos to the tattoo artist who did the pinup girl on her shoulder. Hott.

A writer's perspective on Juno

Last week, J and I went to see Juno. This is a charming, delightful film that has gotten itself nominated for a bunch of things, including Academy Awards. And while I loved the film and would see it a dozen more times, I had a writerly (that's what J called it) problem with it.

Don't read any further if you haven't seen Juno and you really want to.

Because there are spoilers here.

Yes, that's right, spoilers.

Below here.

So stop reading.

You know, if you don't plan to see the movie.

Everyone okay? Good.

Juno is brilliantly acted and had some of the funniest dialogue since Superbad. Michael Cera, a Superbad alumnus, plays Paulie Bleeker, father of Juno's baby. He is an amazing actor and a superfunny one at that, but he wasn't in as much of the movie as I thought, and I was a bit disappointed by that. It turns out that his relative absence was not just a personal issue, I thought it really hurt the dramatic arc of the movie. The whole point is that Juno becomes disillusioned by stuff I won't go into here, and has an argument with Paulie so they're on the outs.

Rapidly losing faith in humanity and love, she has a heart-to-heart talk with her Dad--a staple of any girl coming-of-age film--wherein she asks him can love survive in this crazy-ass world. After the talk, Juno comes to realize that she loves Paulie. It's her big epiphany.

Problem is, Paulie hasn't been in the dramatic action all that much so we're left wondering why she loves him. I know, his distance is part of the point; Juno keeps him at an arm's length throughout the pregnancy. This is her journey alone. I get that. But then give me something to base this love on. A handful of scenes doesn't really do it for me. Give me a flashback, a memory, some more pictures, something else. Just because the best friend states Juno loves Paulie during a conversation early in the movie, it doesn't mean I believe it or her.

This is a topic that has come up among the members of my online writing circle (OWC). The idea that you can write a story in which two people declare love for each other at the end must have a build-up to show where the love comes from. Don't just let me assume that they're soul mates. Show me that they are.

I dunno. Maybe I just like Michael Cera a lot.

I don't want to take away from Diablo Cody's achievement either, which is pretty monumental. Hell, I'd like to be the next DC (but with novels, not scripts), but as a writer, I thought I needed to say something about it. Because, as a writer, I feel like I need to say SOMETHING all the damn time.

~Hero