JUNO
STATUS: Primaries schrimaries.
FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: This short, sweet video explaining why the Hollywood writers strike is taking place.
Yesterday in my office we had a huge debate about the movie Juno. One of my colleagues really disliked the film, not because it was a bad film, but because he says everyone is making it an important film, which he argues it’s not. It’s just a sweet, ironic movie that deserves to be called good, not great — at least in his book.
I liked the film. But I think I may grow to hate it over time. That’s because Juno’s main character, a teenager named Juno, is so completely unrealistic. And yet ironic, witty, wise-beyond-their-years teens are becoming the standard in Hollywood. And in literature. I’m not sure we’re that far away from manuscripts and movies where every teen has to talk like a hipster, listen to 70s punk, and own shelves full of retro crap. Maybe those will be the only ones that sell.
Case in point: I re-read the beginning of WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS recently. Holy OMG. It’s well written but it’s soooo slow by today’s standards — especially the beginning. I don’t think a publisher would glance twice at it. Yet this book was a staple of my childhood. I loved it. Still do. It has important things to say about love, loyalty, god, faith, family, sacrifice, and more. But how do you convey stories like that nowadays unless they’re packaged in tragically hip wrapping?
I dunno. Maybe you don’t.