Battle of the Netflix Stars #8

Bout #8: Battle of the Ultra-Hip Movies About Sardonic Young Adults (in which Michael Cera plays Michael Cera)

Movie:	Juno	Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Year:	2007	2008
Director:	Jason Reitman	Peter Sollett
Star Power:	Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, and my man J.K. Simmons	Michael Cera, Kat Dennings
Plot:	After a one-time tryst with her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Cera), quirky teen Juno MacGuff (Page) discovers that she is pregnant. Deciding that she can't go through with an abortion, she searches for adoptive parents for her unborn baby and quickly finds Mark and Vanessa Loring (Bateman and Garner), who seem like the ideal couple to raise her child. Over the following nine months, Juno discovers that the Lorings may not be as perfect as they seem (especially man-child Mark), and that Paulie may be closer to perfect than she originally thought.	Nice guy Nick (Cera) is dumped by his vixenish girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena), for whom he makes countless mix CDs that she promptly discards. Tris's girlschool frenemy, Norah (Dennings), routinely nabs the unwanted discs for herself and fantasizes about Nick, her "musical soulmate," whom she's never met. That all changes when Norah randomly kisses Nick later that evening as part of a ruse designed to get mean girl Tris off her back, not realizing that her fake bf is Tris's real ex-bf. The paths of these characters continue to cross throughout the evening, as well as with those of Norah's drunken friend, Caroline (Ari Graynor), Nick's fun-loving, gay band members, and Norah's quasi-boyfriend (Jay Baruchel), as everyone tries to find the site of a secret gig by Where's Fluffy, a mythical underground band.
Pros:	Jason Bateman, who can always be counted on for a solid acting job and serious cuteness; J.K. Simmons, who is always delightful; Olivia Thirlby as Juno's best friend, for reminding us what a teenage girl is honestly like	Dennings and Cera's chemistry; genuine and believable performances by everyone
Cons:	The music. It makes me want to punch babies. And then there's nearly everything else. I'll try to sum up below.	If you're not from (or have ever lived in) NYC, you may feel a bit detached from the story, as it sometimes feels less like a love story and more like a love letter to the city and its music scene.
My Thoughts:	I think this has to be one of the most overrated movies I've seen in recent years. I remember just feeling alarmed after seeing it and subsequently asking my teenaged nieces, "Do you think that movie made teen pregnancy look not-so-bad?" Even more alarming was that they never properly answered the question. Although I nearly shut the movie off during the first half-hour (in which we are all hit over the head with how super cool and "different" Juno is), I will hand it to Ellen Page. It's amazing that I can still see what a good actress she is despite the fact that I want to strangle her character with the cord of her oh-so-ironic hamburger phone. In fact, all of the performances are quite good; it's the story with which I have serious issues. First of all, Juno plans a sexual encounter with her friend out of "boredom," but neglects to use protection, and is then surprised to find out she's knocked up. What? Diablo Cody goes out of her way to make sure we all know just what a sharp gal Juno is, so this set up makes the movie flawed from the get-go. Secondly, the lack of believable characters makes all the good performances moot. Juno's parents are way too casual about her predicament. And Juno herself...well, everything about her is just RIDONK. Fo shiz. Thirdly, the ending pisses me off to no end. (SPOILER ALERT!) There is a fleeting glimpse of Juno finally having some feeling for the baby that she has just given up and will never know, and then it's suddenly spring and she's riding her bike and making super cool indie music with her super cool indie bf again, and all is right with the world. I'm sorry, but what message does that send? Maybe it's just supposed to be a quirky comedy and not send ANY message but if that's the case, then that's just irresponsible. And it isn't nearly funny enough to get away with that.	It's actually great to put this movie next to Juno because, unlike that movie, this one accurately captures what it's like to be young in the new millennium. It gets across all the sarcasm, boredom, and disaffection with seemingly everything but music in a way that's just simple and true, whereas much of Juno (especially the dialogue) felt like parody written by an adult who doesn't understand these "crazy kids" today. I've heard some people criticize this movie for having "no substance," but how much substance do you want for a story that unfolds over one evening? If there is too much going on, you end up with Adventures in Babysitting (a movie I thoroughly enjoy despite its high cheese factor), instead of something more subtle like Dazed and Confused. N&N isn't quite as good as D&C, but it is more focused and offers up a real story between two main characters who are easy to root for. I've also heard some people criticize the ending. (SPOILER ALERT!) Some don't understand why, after finally making their way to the Where's Fluffy show, Nick and Norah decide to go home. Come on, cynics! Where are your hearts? Can you not see that this long and winding search for an elusive band is just a metaphor for everyone's long and winding search for love? Well, Nick and Norah found it.
Final Grade:	C-	B