Script Sabatoge: a review of Juno

As a writer, I constantly search for new and clever ways of expressing ideas that are often old and decidedly unclever. It is for this reason that I have empathy for Diablo Cody, the endlessly buzzed about screenwriter of Juno. She is clearly a woman with a sharp ear for humorous phrasings and vocab words. The trouble is she places all of these witticisms into her script, often one on top of the other, and in the process commits a cardinal sin of the inexperienced scribe: she never disappears behind the characters she has created.
This is particularly sad because, if you can drown Cody out, there is a very nice little movie here. Juno, which follows the pregnancy of a 16 year old girl, is blessed with excellent performances. Ellen Page gives off such an interesting energy in the title role that you spend the entire movie praying she won’t be type cast for the rest of her career. Michael Cera must have felt my fear of his over exposure after Superbad and toned down his performance to the perfect level. Jason Bateman is able to shift from charismatic to shady in one truly engrossing moment in the film’s second act.
However, each time it feels like the characters are about to have a life of their own, in comes some piece of oppressively quirky dialogue. When it doesn’t make sense for there to be dialogue the audience is treated to oppressively quirky voiceovers. It is as if the filmmakers don’t have faith in the depth of their story or too much faith in Cody’s ability to “punch it up.” Either way, the product suffers.
It is good that Diablo Cody is receiving recognition for her work on Juno. This means that she will have the opportunity to hone her raw talent and wit into true storytelling.