Wow, lots of good discussion here about the movie…I think that’s fabulous. My husband and I had Juno recommended to us for many months, and just saw it last night.
I loved Ellen Page, she’s a gem. I thought the premise of the movie was awesome. I heard that it was “rough” and did a good job of “speaking to teens in their own language”. But then I watched the movie…
I was so disappointed in the content. I am 32, not a spring chicken, but not an old lady either. I must say that I have never in my life heard ANY teens (or the lewdest adults I’ve encountered) speak like that. I have 4 older brothers who were mostly “bad boys” growing up and we come from a poor family that lived in “the hood” part of the city we lived in growing up. Honestly, I’ve never heard half of the trashy dialogue my whole life, that I heard in 90 minutes of Juno. I understand that some teens do speak that way to each other and was in many ways true-to-life, or else it wouldn’t have been such a popular movie when it came out.
I think the biggest thing I took away from Juno is that it’s a movie for kids who are somewhat faithless and directionless in a world where so many homes are broken single-parent/remarrieds.
I applaud the idea that you have to go out and seek the lost, meet them where they are (no matter how low it may be) and speak their language. I hope and pray to our Lord and the Blessed Mother that my children never speak the vulgar, vile language and have the immature, cynical attitudes toward sex, pregnancy, motherhood, parenthood, marriage, etc. that Juno did. I’m convinced that teens/tweens/young adults *who need to hear *the positive messages Juno has (way down deep in the script) will benefit from it. I don’t believe it’s a movie that will benefit every teen.
I’m interested to hear from other moms out there who think of themselves as devoted wives, homeschooling mothers and proud proclaiming Catholics, whether or not they think Juno would be good for their kids or not. If so, why? For this mom, I’d have to say, “no way jose” in as nice terms as possible. While there is life in my body, my three kids will never be able to “relate” to Juno or virtually any of the characters in the movie…except that nice “protester” girl at the abortion clinic.I’ve heard it said that it was one of the most positive portrayals of a pro-lifer in movie history. Now that’s saying something! Bottom line for me: Juno has merit and worth for some people, but not for me or my family with solidly Catholic morals and standards. It’s just not happening.