Juno Review

        I feel that the 2000s is the last great era for the teen/high school films. While the whole teenage experience is so much complex compared to how it was in decades past, it’s mostly tough to try and replicate it in the times that we live in. I’ve already talked about Mean Girls a while back and I haven’t had the chance to look at Superbad. While I’ll state that Mean Girls is the best high school film of the 2000s, Juno is the best teenage film of that decade. 

1. Four Seasons of Juno

        Might as well detail how I encountered the film, I believe that my mom took me and my brother to watch it, since she wanted to watch it. I didn’t quite get it since I was transitioning from being a kid to a teenager. Like, the film is sort of like a gateway to being a mature teenager or being more aware of what’s going on beyond my usual interests that kept me going. Much like Napoleon Dynamite, I kept going back and rewatching the film. Due to how Fox Searchlight Pictures managed to make the films be so different from what I was acclimated at the time. 

        Well with that, the film is about Juno. Who would’ve guessed right? Now, you and I both know that the actor who portrayed the title character is no longer a woman. Due to the fact that I don’t know how to properly refer to Elliot Page as a person who transitioned, I’ll just refer to Juno as is. So, we follow Juno as she gets knocked up by her friend Paulie. We see just how she deals with being pregnant and ultimately deciding to give the child up for adoption. 

        As far as I know, this is the first film that manages to talk about the idea of teenage pregnancy and showcase it for a domestic audience. A massive shift in the teen films where the main basis were the idea of freedom and introspection. I can imagine that it had some level of controversy due to how taboo it was to have that be the basis for a film Mind you, it’s been going on and probably will go on but oh the audacity of having be on the silver screen for a bunch of curious teenagers to see. Like, I believe that a few years later after the film came out MTV released the show 16 & Pregnant, along with multiple spin-offs. 

        What makes the film work is that Juno is the forefront of the whole movie. We get to see an understanding of who she is as she’s pregnant. As well as how her family and friends take it as she breaks the news to them. I feel that the moment when she breaks the news to her parents is probably the only moment of grounded realism is shown in any movie. One would expect that they’re upset and want the head of Michael Cera’s character. Their reactions are just subdued and accepting since, well the deed was done and it’s more reflective of the character that they’re raising. 

        To elaborate, it’s the kind of thing that they’d expect of Juno since they initially thought that she got expelled from school. Additionally, what makes Juno the character work is that she’s not attractive, she’s not a shining beacon of a teenager, but just a regular girl who got pregnant. For one thing she’s immature as she has a nonchalance attitude of the whole ordeal. She’s a slacker who has a care-free attitude and slowly wises up when she meets the adoptive family. So much so that everything that she does for the baby doesn’t involve the guy that she banged. 

        It's what makes her a complex person since she’s in high school and practically has to mentally grow up quicker with what she wants best for her child. The best moment involving her character is when she’s arguing with Paulie. Both snapping at each other for not being involved at the ultra sound and taking another girl to prom. For Juno, she has to deal with being pregnant while Paulie doesn’t have to worry about the baggage of being the unintentional center of attention. I would’ve at least liked more moments with him, but I’m okay with him just being the foil for Juno as she realizes that she has genuine feelings for him. 

2. Growing Up

        Much like all the other films that I covered for the month, this film is ultimately about growing up. Some may consider this movie to be about pregnancy, it is at the forefront. Although, when you peel the layers to this one it’s really about Juno wanting the idea of a good family raising her child. We see the family as Juno and her Dad visit them to see if they’ll be okay with the adoption arrangement. 

        I love how there’s a seemingly good connection between the wife and husband. Jennifer Garner nails the role to the tee and Jason Bateman does a good job too. The moments between Juno and Bateman’s character Mark is seemingly quirky until you realize that it gets uncomfortable. They bond over the music that they like and stuff that is considered underground. It’s one of those things where Mark hasn’t grown up and Juno doesn’t know the line between showing an interest and knowing boundaries. 

        It shows just how much Juno is like Mark and not like Garner’s Vanessa. Juno doesn’t want to be involved with the baby and acts like herself with her friend. The moment when she sees Vanessa at the mall reinforces that she is the clear example of the perfect mother. There’s even a moment that I like involving the both Mark and Vanessa as they’re painting the nursery. She is wearing a band shirt that is covered in paint while Mark is kind of protecting his shirt with a flannel one. Indicating that he doesn’t want to let go of his dream and be a Dad. 

        Juno really gets put through the ringer when she sees the inevitable breakup of the adoptive family. It’s a tough scene since she gets a wake-up call that she had no good reason to visit the husband and seemingly has her world view break at that moment. I feel that her Dad is her voice of reason and the scene involving the both of them is heart-warming and what probably got J.K. Simmons his Academy award. He assures her that someone will love her regardless of any circumstance and it helps rebuild Juno’s world. 

3. Overall

        Juno is the rare example of being a great teen film and one of the best films of the 2000s. 

Clueless Review

        We’re halfway through my look into the high school/teen films of the past. I’m switching perspectives with this one and the following one. I don’t know if it was intentional but it’s interesting how I’m showing both the male and female perspective with these films. Perhaps it represents the changing time or just a concept of a story told in a different perspective. This one is probably considered the best in the 90s and it’s indicative of just how casual it is.

1. Cher Explains it All

        Just an observation before I start, it’s really something to admire just how far the whole sub-genre can change within the succeeding decades. Mind you that the first one that I talked about reflected the 60s but released in the 70s. Like all of them are time capsules in a way that showed just how the time was and that it’s timeless when looking at them for the first time or marathoning it. One can say that the films are dated in some sense due to lingo being used and whatnot but are classic since the stories are all too relatable. 

        With that, we follow Cher as we see everything in her perspective as she narrates her life to us. I was shocked that she’s so loaded that she has a touch screen computer to figure out what outfit to wear. We see that she’s a polite girl that’s a little bit ditzy. Not an airhead by any means but is willing to go beyond to have her own grade change within a semester. What I like about her is that we see and hear how she perceives her world. She doesn’t understand some things and gives us her own opinion on why it’s not clicking for her. That’s really the key thing that makes Cher such an interesting character. 

        One moment that represents her is when she is asked to participate in a debate about Haitian immigration. Topical nowadays but oh well. She manages to talk about the topic but then transition to a relative topic that only makes sense to her. While one could interpret it how the class is applauding her for her talk, in one way that’s just indicative of who Cher is. While she isn’t that in touch with what’s going on around her, she manages to make it relatable to her. Which is her big flaw since she’s delusional with everything and it kicks off her slow change in the film.  

        I think in one way some people think that this movie doesn’t really have a story. It has a very introspective look into how Cher perceives the world and inevitably changes her perspective on life. You can say that the main story starts when the new girl Tai enters the school, both Cher and Dionne take her in and change her so she can be acclimated to her new environment. Right down to even selecting the boy who they want her to go out with. That part doesn’t work when she falls for the skater Travis. This is where we see the shift for Tai and Cher. 

        As I mentioned earlier, she doesn’t understand certain things even though she puts on the façade that she gets it. She falls in love with a new guy in school and even goes above and beyond to flirt with him even though he’s not smitten. It’s not the fact that the guy is gay, but the fact that Cher can’t see that since everything that she’s doing isn’t working. She doesn’t pick up on his nuances and instead just goes with it without really taking anything into thought. 

        I would never have imagined that this film would be Paul Rudd’s debut in acting. He plays Cher’s stepbrother Josh and is the wisest family member that tries to level with Cher. The moments between them are cute since Josh teases her with how superficial she sees things instead of being aware of the bigger things in life. The perfect moment is when she’s watching cartoons and he’s on CNN. It’s the standard brother sister relationship, but some have reservations that the relationship gets questionable near the end of the film. Not that it gets explicit, but the fact that Cher has a realization that ultimately brings them both together.

2. Fashion

        Aside from the interesting character arc that the film has going for it. I must commend the costume design that practically makes the film into a time capsule of the 90s. Now, yes it’s a chick flick and so there’s a heavy emphasis to make Cher and the other’s be pretty and presentable. What I like is that there’s more to the actual clothes than just being that. Specifically, that we see that another girl Amber tries to copy what Cher wears but could never exactly pull it off. Since Cher is very meticulous with how she looks, one could represent that what she wears represents how she feels. 

        For instance, when there’s a party that everyone goes to Cher dresses up in a nice red dress. This is where we see Cher try to have Tai go with the guy that she picked for her. Of course, it doesn’t end well since the guy falls for Cher and she bails out of his car. All of it ending as she has a gun aimed at her head as she’s getting robbed. Another is when she wears white to her date but again, it doesn’t exactly go well since her date isn’t interested in her. 

3. Legacy

        The movie was successful when it came out and it put the stars into the spotlight. With Alicia Silverstone, she was supposed to be the next great actress for Hollywood. It’s such a shame that just after this is when she appeared in Batman and Robin. Not to say that the film ruined her image, but the fact that she was a bankable star, and the studio easily had her in the film to make it more broadly interesting. If there’s one thing to critique the film is that this is probably her only best and memorable role in her career. There has been a tv spinoff of the show and another being developed by CBS. 

        Now everybody knows Paul Rudd with his various appearances in comedies and with a particular insect hero. I talked about both of his appearances if you want to check them out. The film was referenced in the actual adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma in the 2020 version of the film. Cher’s famous yellow plaided was featured in the film, albeit designed to match the times that the story takes place. 

4. Overall

        Clueless is one of the touchstones of the 90s and is one of the most beloved films that I’ve seen. 

 

Ferris Bueller's Day Off Review

        Since I’m talking about high school/teen films of the past, John Hughes needs no introduction. I’ve already talked about his premier film The Breakfast Club and I’ll restate this that he owned the 80s with his characterization of the teenage mind. It says a lot that no studio in their right mind would ever try to remake one of his movies, since it has that nuance of teenage angst that not many writers or directors seem to quite capture nowadays. So, it’s tough to even try to rank his films particularly the ones that I’ve watched. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is easily one of his best films besides The Breakfast Club. 

1. Tour in Chicago

        The whole film is like a time capsule of the eighties. Of all the films that John Hughes wrote and directed, this one is the most 80s of them all. Right down to Ferris’ computer and the obligatory reference to MTV during its time when it aired music videos instead of the perpetual rerun of Rob Dyrdek’s Ridiculousness. We see right from the start that Ferris is faking being sick and his parents believe him. Except his sister Jeannie who’s jealous of him. 

        So yeah, the film’s title practically spells out what the whole movie is about. Ferris Bueller takes a day off and invites his best friend and girlfriend to explore Chicago. It wouldn’t be a John Hughes movie without a mention or nod to the windy city. In every aspect, beyond that this is a teen film. The whole movie is as Hughes puts it “a love letter to the city”. And can you blame him, since we have that great exterior helicopter shot of buildings in the city that set up how cool it is.

        This is Matthew Broderick’s best film bar none. While he did have some good roles like in Glory and The Lion King for instance, this is the film that immediately everyone thinks of whenever his name is brought up. In one way, the character is the public’s ideal guy and the right one who manages to evade and to stand up against authority. Just him breaking the fourth wall is something else since we see him give the younger audience a list on how to fake an illness. I haven’t watched a lot of 80s movies to know this, but it’s groundbreaking for a character where you have a protagonist that is so rebellious to the point of wanting to influence kids to be like him.

        Since we have this character be the audience’s hero, Mr. Rooney the principal is the perpetual bad guy. It’s such a shame with what happened to the actor since he had a massive fall from grace in the 2000s. In this film, he sells just being a shady principal who’s out to get Ferris. Like, his whole character beyond just running the school is to catch Bueller and to make an example of him throughout the student body. It’s silly for one thing and most of the scenes involving him is comedic like a cartoon. 

        The moment when Rooney goes to the Bueller’s household is something like a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Right down to him being confronted with the family’s pet Rottweiler. At some point you really must admire his objective to find Bueller, going through questionable means to get him. Might as well bring up the adults in the film but all of them including the Bueller’s just don’t realize Ferris’ influence in the area. All of them heard about his sickness but his parents are completely oblivious to the fact that the others are aware of it. 

        With everything happening in downtown Chicago, Ferris takes his best friend Cameron and his girlfriend Sloane around the town to have a good time. Of course, we have the antics of Ferris and Cameron attempting to dine in a fancy restaurant and attempting to avoid his father from spotting them. Right down to hijacking a parade, it’s one of my favorite scenes. It’s all great in the bigger context of the movie. Even though the film has Ferris Bueller in the title and his face in the poster, the whole movie is really about his best friend Cameron. 

        Lastly, I almost forgot about Ferris’ sister Jeannie. She’s there, well she is the typical jealous sibling that can’t stand the idea of Ferris getting everyone’s attention. I love the moment where she admires Ferris but immediately gets jealous of how he gets away with anything. The best scene involving her is when she’s in the police department and talking it up with Charlie Sheen. Basically, getting the message to worry about herself and not her brother. 

2. Cameron

        I was shocked to find out that Alan Ruck was 29 years old in the film. Hard to believe since he looked young, and he has a great chemistry with Broderick. You really believe that both are best friends, right down to prank calling Mr. Rooney to have Bueller’s girlfriend be excused from school. One would question why a film called Ferris Bueller’s Day Off would have as a focus his best friend be along with the ride. Like, he steals the show and provides that dramatic edge when Ferris tries to get him to hang out with him.

        And I love how it contrasts with both feeling “sick” in the opening minutes. Ferris, being jubilant with his brief freedom, juxtaposes with Cameron who’s a hypochondriac living in a sort of sterile room. One could interpret that Cameron is like a punching bag since he lets Ferris take his Dad’s Ferrari and basically friend-nap him to hang out in the city. To me, it’s Bueller’s obligation to help him get an idea of what the basic idea of freedom looks like. We see how he sorts of acts like his friend throughout the whole adventure as he starts to ease off a bit. 

        I think the best scene in the whole movie is when the trio visit the art museum. Just the way it’s shot, and the music playing is borderline profound and emotional. That’s the power of movies right there. Anyways, what I love about this scene is that it looks very minimal with the paintings and how the trio practically tag along in a school field trip. We see that they are looking at the paintings and mirror a sculpture. In one way, you can interpret the scene as the kids embracing their childhood and the trio are about to transition with their adulthood. 

        The following shots really sell the difference among the characters. Cameron looks at this one painting called “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte”. We see that Cameron looks intently at it, while Ferris and Sloane kiss in a blue lit room. Cameron looks deeper to the point where we see the painting over the canvas fibers. All of it symbolizes to us that Cam feels that he’s nothing. Being ignored by his Dad and just not having the courage to stand up for himself, all the while Ferris is attempting to break him out of that mindset. 

        It's kind of surprising that Ruck’s performance wasn’t nominated during the awards at that time. I’d say that he’s the best character aside from Ferris, since he’s neurotic and he wishes to be just like Ferris. It’s rare to have a side character be as profound as the main subject. He’s the result of what Ferris wanted out of him, to me it’s an act that shows just how much of a friend Bueller is to him. More so when seeing the Ferrari speed off in reverse and crash is the perfect way to cap off his whole character arc. 

3. Legacy

        Duh it made money and is universally beloved by everyone. It was a big hit when it came out in 1986. I think what speaks to the film’s relevance 30 odd years later is the fact that it’s quotable beyond belief. And the overall message is still relevant even as the times has changed. Every now and then the film is referenced in some commercial or another. One made me believe that there would be another one. Only to realize that it was designed specifically for the Super Bowl, my mind has failed me on multiple occasions. 

        There have been attempts to continue the story of Ferris, but only in a mocking way whereas Alan Ruck said that he wants his character to die in the film. Perplexing as I’m typing this down, there’s a film in development about the two parking attendants that took the Ferrari for a joy ride. A movie of what they did during the events of the central film, it’s sounds like a bad idea, but Rogue One comes close to making one tidbit in a massive story interesting. 

4. Overall

        Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the many hits of the 80s. A classic that is relevant for anyone who wants to live a little. 

 

American Graffiti Review

        I’m back to talking about movies. Sorry for the long radio silence throughout August, but when you review a massive franchise like the MCU’s Infinity Saga, you deserve a long break. For now, we’re not looking at comic book movies and instead I’ll be talking about dramas. Specifically, the ones that focus on teenagers and high school. I’ll be looking at how it evolved from the 70s through the 2000s. I doubt anyone in my age range has heard of this film but has heard of George Lucas’ sci-fi film. This is what I think of his first hit American Graffiti.

1. Summer ‘62

        It’s hard to even imagine that George Lucas made something that doesn’t involve any sense of science fiction. This film was sandwiched between his debut and the one to really rocket towards the public’s consciousness. Crazier still is seeing a young Harrison Ford before he made it big as Han Solo and his subsequent roles to follow. How one would describe this film is that this is sort of like an anthology. Where we have multiple stories intertwined with one night in the town. 

        We see that a group of friends consisting of Steve, Curt, Laurie, Terry and John meet for one last time before one of them goes off to college. With how the individual stories are presented, none of it feel as though it’s whiplash by having to go through emotional tones when hopping from character to another. And what I mean by that is the pacing in the film works in sequence as the whole night looms into the early morning. It’s an exercise for any new filmmaker to try and balance the storylines without it being too clunky as far as having the vibes or feeling towards feel natural instead of abrupt. 

        Since we’re seeing five storylines crisscross from one another, what I like is that the characters all go through a change from teenagers to young adults. Like, it’s the whole point of the coming-of-age films where we see just how these young people experience a change to being an adult. Part of it is shown in the film as one of the geeky characters borrows a car to pick up girls while another puts up with a younger sister of a friend. These experiences are timeless despite having the film take place in the 60s.

        It's a tough task to try and to explain the individual storylines, but all of them keep the movie going as it never stalls in the least bit. Some of it is relatable as one of them gets roped into a wrong crowd while trying to find an elusive girl and another wants to meet new people as he’s gearing up for college, which justifiably upsets his girlfriend. I feel that the whole film is like a representation of pure innocence before the inevitable change in culture. Like, seeing the whole film with how it’s presented can’t be replicated anymore, it’s all quaint with what I’m trying to get at.  

        And that’s one of the biggest accolades that I’ll give to the film is that it makes you feel that it is the 60s. Just with how everything is presented from the fashion and right down to the cars. I’ll go more in depth with the cars, don’t you worry. More so that within the movie we hear the ever-omniscient radio jockey as he plays diegetic tunes in the film and messing with the callers to pass the time. What I like is that I interpret him as while being an adult to play comedic jokes for his audience. 

        Like for instance when Curt is hanging out with a bunch of greasers, they hear the DJ known as the Wolfman and comment that one of them wants to be him when he gets older. Curt goes to the radio station and asks the jockey if he can make a dedication request. Curt sees the man and gets sage advice to live out his life even as the young man doubts what he wants to do with his future. I feel that’s the only real lesson to be taken away from this movie, since everyone is preoccupied with doing something now in the context of the film. 

        If there’s one critique, I have with the film is that I didn’t like the ending. Might as well give it away but I’ll keep it brief. Curt flies to the East and we have a subtitle of what happens to the characters and what they’re doing. Part of it I feel is a downer since we see them in their youth only to read that one of them died and another is missing. I feel that just the shot of Curt looking down would have suffice since his world is now small and he’s going to somewhere that is bigger. 

2. American Hot Rods

        Aside from the ensemble characters spending one last night in the town, the cars are just something to really admire. I just love the yellow Ford that is driven by John, I’m a huge sucker for those kinds of cars. Specifically, the use of cars not only highlights the era of the time but also show that it’s a status for the kids when they’re driving them. John’s of course has that edge since it’s the fastest among everyone’s and Steve’s a luxury one that is driven by Terry. 

        It's one thing to admire and to see just how much car culture was back then. While you can’t tell between which one is a Chevy or a Pontiac, it was the people who were driving and talking showed that they were youthful with what they drove. The best moment is seeing the two races between John and Harrison Ford’s Bob is great since it was the ultimate rite of passage to having the fastest car. And of course, seeing how one of the guys getting mooned by the girls. 

3. Legacy 

        The film was a massive success when it came out and it put George Lucas on the map as part of the 70s ensemble of new American directors. Part of the reason why the film was successful at that time was the sudden nostalgia for the movie’s setting. It’s a common thing in movies and in other media and it’s a trend that is still going. Nowadays there’s a fascination with the 80s and 90s, inevitably the 2000s are next. The reason why the period piece films work is just through the fascination of seeing the culture being presented and infusing it with the music in the soundtrack. 

        It's kind of interesting seeing the young cast with where they were and seeing their subsequent films where they ultimately got popular. Of course, Harrison Ford got progressively more beloved in his roles in Star Wars and in Indiana Jones. Richard Dreyfuss became a staple in Spielberg movies appearing in Jaws and in Close Encounters. No one at the time would expect that Ron Howard would do the double duty of being an actor and a director. What’s interesting is that he shot the pilot of what would become Happy Days and then appeared in this film. The pilot would eventually become a series, and it was one of his biggest roles until he transitioned into directing his films. I think it’s a full circle thing where Howard would handle adapting a character that is a Lucas creation and ultimately making a movie out of it.

4. Overall

        American Graffiti is overshadowed by Star Wars, but it’s a classic of the 70s that shows a time when everyone was innocent.