I have a confession to make:I hated Juno.
And this is not because it came out the same year as Knocked Up, which I liked so much better -- and not because it received the critical praise and Academy Award nominations I thought should have gone to Knocked Up.
No, I genuinely didn't like it. I thought that the politics of Juno were pretty squarely pro-life (in a way they were not in Knocked Up) and I was surprised more critics didn't dwell on that. I thought the writing was too precious. And I was bored by the end. I couldn't figure out why this movie was such a big hit.
However, I will confess that I do have a crush on Ellen Page.
Maybe it's because I used to date a girl who looked exactly like her. (No joke. She would hate it when people would tell her this, but it's true. She had the exact same coloring, hair and eyes. Moreover, they both shared a helpless puppy dog look to them, that makes you want to take them home and care for them.)
So I went to see Page's new movie Whip It on Friday. And I can report that it was not that bad (in a cheesy, predictable, coming-of-age sort of way). Worth the extravagant ticket price? Maybe not. But I've seen much worse.
Moreover, I was relieved that Page didn't play the part of Bliss, a girl from a small town in Texas, in the wiseguy cooler-than-thou way she played Juno. Instead she goes for simple and sweet. And when she does so, she's far more likable.
Let's hope she keeps it up.
