Juno criticism
February 21, 2008 4 Comments
Word to this article about all of the flaws in the cutesy, somewhat nauseating critic hit Juno:
A sample from “Loose Lips,” which powers a key scene in the movie:
“So if you wanna burn yourself remember that I love you/And if you wanna cut yourself remember that I love you/And if you wanna kill yourself remember that I love you/Call me up before you’re dead, we can make some plans instead/Send me an IM, I’ll be your friend.”
Those lines treat the very real problem of teen suicide with the same glib insincerity that “Juno” adopts while addressing teen pregnancy. Reitman may be right when he says the movie found its ideal soundtrack.
And I don’t like the Moldy Peaches either. Blech.
Word, Juno sucks. So does this article. This reminds me of the old Sasha Frere-Jones debate. Why does music have to be “angry and show a lust for life” to be genuine? Again, this guy’s music tastes ossified in the seventies, which isn’t exactly forward-thinking.
He’s just saying that her music tastes aren’t consistent with her personality (just like her reaction to the pregnancy isn’t consistent). I don’t think that’s far-fetched. Consistency is an important rule of good character development. Plus, can’t he just criticize the soundtrack for being bad? He’s not making a commentary about old punk being better than new “indie” or what kind of music is the most genuine altogether. And he criticizes Sonic Youth’s musical appearance in the movie, too. DeRogatis reviews all sorts of new music, so clearly his music tastes did not ossify in the 1970s.
Again, what do music tastes have to do with one’s personality? He was right that the dialogue was beyond anything that could really be conceived of for high schoolers (and that even if it was conceivable, it shouldn’t be thought of as smart or endearing) , but the musical criticism screams of old-fogeyism; Belle and Sebastian are prolific and sublime and substantial, nothing like the twee crap like the Moldy Peaches. If this guy can’t see these obvious differences, he’s just another old dude way beyond his time.
Well, I enjoyed “Juno” but the disdain in which it is held here may force me to reconsider.
In any case, tonight I saw what I do consider to be a tedious and hollow movie featuring American teens as characters: “Charlie Bartlett.”
Michael Blaine
http://www.rudelystamped.blogspot.com