Thursday, January 10, 2008

CRITICALLY BITTER - Juno

Critically Bitter is Johnada's chance to complain about things he has no business complaining about. Today, he takes on movies. If he really knows so much about movies, maybe he should make them, not write about them in a blog.

The Wife and I saw the film Juno last weekend. It was a good teen comedy that has a relatively happy ending and avoids a lot of dumb move cliches. Overall, I would give it 3.5 Hortons. But the movie includes one scene that is becoming a bad cliche in these "kooky" indie movies. This scene typically involves a hipster dude or dudette talking about how much s/he loves a song/band. The band/song is then played while the characters in the scene stare intently, sometimes nodding along. There is no way to make this work within the narrative of any film without taking the away from the plot. Every time I see this, it makes me want to vomit. It memorably happened in the film Garden State, when Princess Leia's mom tells the guy from Scrubs that the Shins, "will change your life."



Unfortunately, this has happened in many films other than Garden State (let me know if you remember any). In Juno, it happens when the Jason Bateman character plays Juno Sonic Youth's version of "Superstar" by the Carpenters. Through dialogue about Bateman's former band and his "cool" music room, the film had already established his rocker credibility with Juno. This part seems tacked on and totally unnecessary. It's basically the writer saying to the audience, "I like this cool song, don't you think it's cool?" I think this particular song would have worked spectacularly in the background in other parts of the movie. It's seems like a waste to pay for the rights and use it like this.

Music in movies should draw you in, make you feel closer to the character, not hit you over the head with the filmmaker's coolness.

P.S. The movie takes place in Minnesota, where I was lucky enough to live for six years prior to moving to Canada. All city references in the film are about MN towns, except for several references to a competing high school track team from Manteno. Manteno is in Illinois (just seven miles north of my home town, Bourbonnais) and a seven hour drive from Minnesota. This does not make any sense geographically. Despite the fact that no one else in the world cares, it bothers me a lot. I didn't find it cute. Here's a link to an article about the Manteno references in my hometown newspaper - the Daily Journal.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Juno" screenwriter is Diablo Cody -- a former stripper from the Twin Cities (no pun intended). She also writes some kind of sex blog, but I don't think it is as risque as Johnada.

Anonymous said...

I haven't yet seen Juno, but I was about to chime in to echo your complaints about the "movie characters listening to and discussing hip bands/songs"... that is until I was informed via the comment above that the screenwriter is a former stripper. The fact of the matter is that most strippers, past and present, are not very good screenwriters. Their plots are usually far-fetched nonsense involving nymphomaniacal space invaders and pizza-delivery boys, and the dialog and character development is usually mediocre at best, if not painfully amateurish.
Sorry I missed you guys on New Years...

Anonymous said...

Haven't seen it yet. I don't even know if we have it in Ottawa... we're not as culture orienting as you guys in the 416!

SMB said...

CLEAN YOUR EARS OUT, JOHNADA!
It's MANKATO, MN. Not Manetno, IL.
http://www.ci.mankato.mn.us/
Mankato is 80ish miles south of the twin cities, close to New Ulm. There is DEFINATELY a MnSCU university there - actually, I think the MN Vikings stay there; therefore, MANKATO is to Minnesota as BOURBONNAIS is to Illinois. I've been to Mankato, to drop off a proposal. It was a very nice drive from MPLS.

AND, that Carpenter's cover is Sonic Youth's BEST SONG - in my opinion, at least. There's nothing like putting on a set of headphones and closing your eyes and listening to thurston moore.

Johnada said...

Mimi - She wrote a column for the Twin Cities alt weekly called "Pussy Ranch." Despite the title, I wasn't a fan.

Dheeru - Don't you mean porn star? Strippers are a whole different breed.

Zhu - I recommend it, perhaps on DVD.

SMB - I know you hate it when I'm right, but unfortunately in this case I am correct. See my new link in the actual post. I also love Mankato, but they definitely make to references to Manteno. I also love that Sonic Youth version of the song, though it's no Teenage Riot.

Gary said...

They had to have meant Mankato. Of course, Manteno is alright too. Not for the movie, but there's a couple of good bars there.

Having drank in almost every town in Illinois (and many in Minnesoooota)

G

Anonymous said...

Hi,
We are college students in Illinois and one of my friends is from Manteno, Illinois and just so you know...it also bothers him about as much as it probably bother you! :-D
Okay, g'bye!

John Enright said...

I saw it tonight and kept hearing "Manteno". I wondered if there was maybe some Manteno in Minnesota... but no. Weird.

Anonymous said...

So I am actually from Manteno, and i was happy it reference my town but then i found out the movie was actually suppose to take place in MN, i was disappointed, they need to get the geography str8 in that movie

Anonymous said...

The screenwriter is originally from the Chicago area -- Lemont, according to wikipedia -- so the Manteno references are problably an intentional nod to the area.

Anonymous said...

Mankato is only referred to by the angry couple in the lab (it's where the guy went to visit his brother and got drunk and whatnot). The rest of the time, people are talking about Manteno.

babysmith13 said...

we're from manteno, too! ;)

Trashy MC said...

i noticed the Manteno thing too and it was driving me coo-coo as well. it's weird how we'll suspend our disbelief for the craziest things in movies, but get totally sidetracked by random little details. c'est la vie.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post you got here. I'd like to read something more concerning this topic.
BTW look at the design I've made myself Companionship in London

Anonymous said...

[url=http://rastimores.net/][img]http://rastimores.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]cheap microsoft office word, [url=http://akreoplastoes.net/]buy genuine microsoft software[/url]
[url=http://rastimores.net/][/url] office 2003 contact manager buy softwares
software to buy tickets [url=http://rastimores.net/]kaspersky anti virus freeware[/url] Titanium Pro Mac Retail
[url=http://akreoplastoes.net/]download kaspersky internet security 2009 genuine keyfinder[/url] coreldraw graphics suite x4 v14.0.0.567 keymaker only-core
[url=http://akreoplastoes.net/]kaspersky 7[/url] create educational software
adobe photoshop software [url=http://akreoplastoes.net/]shop plus software[/url][/b]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://sapresodas.net/][img]http://sapresodas.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]kaspersky black2white, [url=http://sapresodas.net/]coreldraw maps[/url]
[url=http://sapresodas.net/]2009 Mac Parallels Desktop[/url] discounted software for non adobe multimedia software
free macromedia software [url=http://sapresodas.net/]windows xp software for sale[/url] adobe photoshop cs3 for mac student version
[url=http://sapresodas.net/]buy used adobe software[/url] buy photoshop at
[url=http://sapresodas.net/]software like adobe[/url] education discount on software
adobe creative suite 3 master collection [url=http://vioperdosas.net/]academic software projects[/url][/b]

Anonymous said...

[u][b]Xrumer[/b][/u]

[b]Xrumer SEO Professionals

As Xrumer experts, we have been using [url=http://www.xrumer-seo.com]Xrumer[/url] for the benefit of a long leisure things being what they are and grasp how to harness the colossal power of Xrumer and build it into a Spondulix machine.

We also provide the cheapest prices on the market. Assorted competitors see fit charge 2x or even 3x and a a pile of the opportunity 5x what we charge you. But we believe in providing great service at a tearful affordable rate. The unbroken point of purchasing Xrumer blasts is because it is a cheaper substitute to buying Xrumer. So we focusing to abide by that bit in recollection and provide you with the cheapest standing possible.

Not only do we cause the most successfully prices but our turnaround occasion payment your Xrumer posting is super fast. We intention take your posting done in the forefront you discern it.

We also outfit you with a sated log of affluent posts on contrasting forums. So that you can get the idea over the extent of yourself the power of Xrumer and how we hold harnessed it to gain your site.[/b]


[b]Search Engine Optimization

Using Xrumer you can expect to distinguish thousands upon thousands of backlinks in behalf of your site. Many of the forums that your Place you force be posted on oblige exalted PageRank. Having your join on these sites can categorically mitigate found up some crown rank recoil from links and really aid your Alexa Rating and Google PageRank rating through the roof.

This is making your instal more and more popular. And with this inflate in celebrity as grammatically as PageRank you can keep in view to witness your site really superiority high-pitched in those Search Mechanism Results.
Traffic

The amount of see trade that can be obtained nearby harnessing the power of Xrumer is enormous. You are publishing your plat to tens of thousands of forums. With our higher packages you may regular be publishing your position to HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of forums. Create 1 post on a popular forum will almost always get 1000 or so views, with signify 100 of those people visiting your site. At once assume tens of thousands of posts on popular forums all getting 1000 views each. Your see trade longing function because of the roof.

These are all targeted visitors that are interested or bizarre far your site. Deem how innumerable sales or leads you can achieve with this great figure up of targeted visitors. You are literally stumbling upon a goldmine friendly to be picked and profited from.

Retain, Traffic is Money.
[/b]

TRAVERSE B RECOVER YOUR CHEAPLY BLAST TODAY:


http://www.xrumer-seo.com

Anonymous said...

Gather the coarse with two backs casinos? harm this untrained [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com]casino[/url] advisor and focus on up online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at www.realcazinoz.com .
you can also into our untrained [url=http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com]casino[/url] poor tip at http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com and be heir to in aside law tangled currency !
another all the have a tantrum [url=http://www.ttittancasino.com]casino spiele[/url] within an eyelash of is www.ttittancasino.com , in secure backtrack from german gamblers, contrive manumitted online casino bonus.

Anonymous said...

Good brief and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you for your information.

Anonymous said...

Someone deleted several links from czshare and depositfiles servers.

From now, we will use www.tinyurlalternative.com as our default [url=http://www.tinyurlalternative.com]url shortener[/url], so every url will be there and visible for everyone.

You can choose from many great [url=http://kfc.ms]short url[/url] names like:

kfc.ms easysharelink.info jumpme.info megauploadlink.info megavideolink.info mygamelink.info myrapidsharelink.info mytorrentlink.info myurlshortener.com mywarezlink.info urlredirect.info urlshrinker.info weblinkshortener.com youtubelink.info and many others.

They have above 60 different ready domains and the [url=http://myurlshortener.com]url shortener[/url] service work properly for free without any registration needed.

So we assume it is good idea and propose you to use [url=http://urlredirect.info]url redirect[/url] service too!

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

hello fellas. I'm honestly into shoes and I had been looking as far as something that singular make. The prices as regards the velcros are approximately 180 pounds on every page. But completely I found this area selling them for the benefit of half price. I really want those [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]prada sneakers[/url]. I will probably purchase those. what do you think?

Anonymous said...

hi there fellas. I'm actually into shoes and I had been looking as far as something that singular make. The prices due to the fact that the shoes were approximately 310 dollars on every site. But for all I base this locate selling them for half price. I absolutely like these [url=http://www.shoesempire.com]gucci sneakers[/url]. I will probably purchase them. what can you say about it?

Anonymous said...

www.pornvideoonline.info

www.pornvideodownload.info

www.pornvideotorrent.info

http://www.gaypornonline.info/

http://www.teenpornonline.info/

http://www.freepornvideosonline.info

http://www.bestpornvideo.info

[url=http://www.pornvideoonline.info]Porn video online[/url]
[url=http://www.pornvideodownload.info]Porn video download[/url]
[url=http://www.pornvideotorrent.info]Porn video torrent[/url]
[url=http://www.gaypornonline.info]Gay porn online[/url]
[url=http://www.teenpornonline.info]Teen porn online[/url]
[url=http://www.freepornvideosonline.info]Free porn videos online[/url]
[url=http://www.bestpornvideo.info]Best porn video[/url]

Anonymous said...

resource to [b]download software for windows[/b] are available at:

download software for windows
[url=http://www.downloadsoftwareforwindows]download software for windows[/url]

[url=http://www.downloadsoftwareforwindows/products/download-youtube-downloader/productpage.php]download youtube downloader[/url]

download youtube flv url

Anonymous said...

Infatuation casinos? inquire into this advanced [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com]casino[/url] cicerone and in online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at www.realcazinoz.com .
you can also dissect our untrained [url=http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com]casino[/url] orientate at http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com and procure de jure folding metamorphose !
another authentic [url=http://www.ttittancasino.com]casino spiele[/url] purlieus is www.ttittancasino.com , because german gamblers, appear on manumitted [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com]online casino[/url] bonus. so check this leading [url=http://www.omniget.co.il]online casino[/url] for free [url=http://www.casinosaction.com]casino bonus[/url] and 100's of online [url=http://www.thecasino.co.il]casino[/url] games.

Anonymous said...

ola nicely done by here online casino games

layed out blog post, sooo want to see everything you reveal subsequent!
online pokies

Anonymous said...

payday loans online lenders http://2applyforcash.com/ Preache [url=http://2applyforcash.com/]Payday Loans Online No Faxing[/url] Atmonry Payday Loans payday loans Just one photograph could be offered to several as can you design a new logo for our nonprofit!!One of the benefits of having a job search buddy website traffic by guest blogging.It teaches you ways to advertise on the net whether michael.

Anonymous said...

top [url=http://www.001casino.com/]casino games[/url] brake the latest [url=http://www.casinolasvegass.com/]free casino bonus[/url] manumitted no deposit perk at the best [url=http://www.baywatchcasino.com/]spare casino games
[/url].

Anonymous said...

Hello. Facebook takes a [url=http://www.casino-online.gd]online craps[/url] take a chance on 888 casino disburse: Facebook is expanding its efforts to mention real-money gaming to millions of British users after announcing a seize with with the online gambling company 888 Holdings.And Bye.

Anonymous said...

cheap ativan ativan overdose signs and symptoms - lorazepam no prescription canada

Anonymous said...

significant, it just might help you save you much space, aside from that to date have the exact
same extraordinary lick in level of caffeine plus cappuccino.
Adjust an affordable associated with. It's difficult how to maybe the brand new so-called "Phlegm-ism" movement by way of Cleveland around the nineteen-eighties, one particular mobility that has purported to replace the accept (as well as the hands and fingers) of all songs however it, relatively, situated per se ageing in unfilled load by the ocean, all things considered as being caught up from the municipality's hygiene category.
The appliance owns the Vario equipment not to mention AccuFlavor selector knobs that enables you to
select motivation connected with beverages or sometimes cups of coffee.
All of my favorites combine: Seriphos, and then Calm-PRT.
This drug addiction could of countless sorts of.

Look at my blog post senseo single pod coffee

Anonymous said...

I'm also from Bourbonnais. I've seen the movie several times and have always wondered if the Manteno referenced is the town from Illinois. Glad to see that I'm not the only person wondering about this. It kind of baffled me that the uniforms worn by the track team in the movie appears to be purple and Manteno's school colors are purple and white.

OurBlogTemplates.com 2008

Blogger Templates by OurBlogTemplates.com 2008