Juno vs. Realism

I went to see Juno this weekend. Mum wanted to hang out, my friends said it was good, Ellen Page has rocked my socks a bit for a while, and it was a pretty enjoyable movie, all in all. I liked it quite a bit, and fangirled most everything Juno said. ("I still have your underwear." "I still have your virginity.")

But then in the car, the discussion started. Grandma, who often has a let's-just-call-it-unique perspective on life, decried the lack of realism. "Juno's parents were too calm about her being pregnant. And that boy who liked her- like he would still want her after she got pregnant?" I patiently explained that I thought part of the whole point was that Juno was not the norm; that was her appeal, how quirky and unique she was. And that, while Paulie Bleeker may have liked Juno even when she was pregnant, he did basically nothing to help her, so how was he violating the norm, again? And, most of all, I think there was a definite reason for not seeing Mac and Bren Macguff's reaction to Juno being pregnant, as well as for not showing any emotional aftereffects for Juno, giving up her baby: that wasn't actually the story.

As far as I can tell (having seen the movie only once,) anything could have happened to Juno, other than getting pregnant. She could have gotten in a car accident and been paralyzed. She could have had some sort of disease. She could have been orphaned, sent to live with a crazy aunt in West Virginia. Whatever. The story here is that

1. Juno is a quirky, independent young woman.
2. Juno has a problem that could drive her into shame, isolation, and a dead-ended life.
3. Juno, keeping in line with her quirky, independent nature, seeks for solutions to her problems.
4. Juno, in the process, learns much about who she is and isn't, what she wants from life, and the nature of relationships.

And that's it. It's Juno, that's what the movie is called. Not What Mac and Bren Thought About Juno Getting Knocked Up. Not The Importance of Being Pro-Life. Not Girl, Keep Your Legs Crossed.

It's just a movie about a girl. And there is realism, actually; there's realism where a female protagonist doesn't have to be perfect to be normal; she doesn't have to be incredibly sexy AND smart AND have all the guys after her AND a few interesting childhood traumas to be the status quo woman. She can be okay in school, have a few friends, not always make the best decisions, and still be someone that we can love, because she's herself and no one else.

So some details are oversimplified. Fine. You want that stuff to be explored? Go make your own movie. But don't forget that Juno is no one but herself.

* * *
Juno MacGuff: You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events.
* * *
Vanessa Loring: You think you're really going to do this?
Juno MacGuff: Yeah, if I could just have the thing and give it to you now, I totally would. But I'm guessing it looks probably like a sea monkey right now and we should let it get a little cuter.

* * *
Su-Chin: I'm having a little trouble concentrating.
Juno MacGuff: Oh, well, I could sell you some of my Adderall if you want.
Su-Chin: No thanks, I'm off pills.
Juno MacGuff: That's a wise choice because I knew this girl who like had this crazy freak out because she took too many behavioral meds at once and she like ripped off her clothes, and dove into the fountain at Ridgedale Mall and was like, "Blah! I am a Kracken from the sea!"
Su-Chin: I heard that was you.