“Juno” -
Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons

When a teenage girl is faced with an unexpected pregnancy, she enlists the aid of her best friend in finding the unborn child a suitable home in this coming-of-age comedy drama.I don’t get what all the fuss was about? Yes, this was engaging but it certainly didn’t rock my world. I think the idea that a first time writer crafted this is really where the hype came in. In this day and age, unfortunately, unwed mother’s in high school are simply not as rare as all that. Her parent’s being as understanding as they were was rare, it felt a bit like a Valley Girl remake, though Deborah never got pregnant, her folks were very “groovy.”

To see Jason Bateman grown up was kind of a shock, I’m sure he’s been all over TV but I’ve missed him as that isn’t my medium of choice. I wasn’t surprised when he and Garner as the happy couple turned out all too quickly to be the couple headed for divorce. Garner has an intensity that is palpable and almost painful to watch. They were clearly a mismatch and then adding Juno into that mix kind of makes you squirm.

Yes, betting there are lessons to be learned here, but more for filmmakers and writers than for the audience in this viewers opinion. I actually kind of wanted this one to get over with, it wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t sad either and I just didn’t love it.

“Dan in Real Life” -
Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, John Mahoney

Finally, a feel good movie! While Carell will never have the depth and comic genius of Tom Hanks or Jim Carrey, his is sort of a reality version. His humor is less expected and less quirky. This was wonderful and Binoche is always a delight. Widowed Dad to three girls is home for a reunion when he meets gorgeous mystery woman in the bookstore; he returns to the house to be introduced to the same woman (who completely captivated his heart) as his brother’s new and best girlfriend. Torture for the week as he sees the object of his affection romping with his brother, but can’t lay a glove. Even his daughter see the sparks fly. This is a fun take on guy meets girl, guy loses girl, guy gets girl back. The best line in the whole show is spoken by the teenage daughter’s boyfriend “Love isn’t a feeling, it’s an ability.” Brilliant, now if we could just live our relationships like that, it would be significant.