Real to reel

Local observations from a movie, music buff

Hipster heroines
Witty and touching ‘Juno’ works because of its female lead, writer and main character

By Dan Ochwat

Wearing irony on her sleeve (or more accurately, her Slinky t-shirt), high-school hipster Juno, the lead character in the movie of the same name, can be remarkably funny and clever.

Her whip-smart one-liners pop off the screen and will grab the most critical attention, but what makes “Juno” a good movie isn’t the “crackling dialogue,” as they’ll say, but how it turns the teen romantic comedy on its ear. It’s a fresh, modern, smart film — a Hilary Duff character couldn’t comprehend it.

This isn’t meant to shock the “Say Anything” loyalists, but Juno is a female Lloyd Dobler. They are very different movies, to be clear, but character for character, there are traits that align. Juno, the character, is a quick-witted, smart and strong nerd-hero chasing the boy in a way Dobler chased the girl. In that sense, the film is a bit of a romantic comedy role reversal. (Also, there’s something in the feisty, breakthrough performance by Ellen Page, who plays Juno, that reminds me of the star-making turn John Cusack owned in Dobler.)

“Juno” gives us a smart teenage girl in the movies — something that is, sad to say, refreshing in this day and age of “The Hills” and Lindsay Lohan. Yes, with all of her hipsterisms, Juno can be a tad annoying, but at her core, like Dobler, she is modest and strong and kind of adorable.

As a movie, “Juno” has more adult themes and is a lot more dramatic than “Say Anything.” Written by newcomer Diablo Cody, a Chicago-born, tatted-up stripper-turned-blogger-turned screenwriter, the film follows Juno after she gets knocked up by Paulie Bleeker and his jogging shorts, played by the always hysterical Michael Cera. On her own, she decides to seek out adoptive parents (played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) and strikes up a relationship with the parents-to-be.

When Juno’s busy “dealing with things way beyond her maturity level,” as she says, the movie goes deeper than a romantic comedy. It looks at the isolation of being a pregnant teenager roaming the open-eyed halls of high school. While pregnant, Juno no longer can be a kid, trading in the bicycle for a minivan, and, the fact is, she is a kid. She’s still trying to figure out love and Sonic Youth.

“Juno” also develops an excellent subplot between Juno and Bateman’s soon-to-be-father character, who is a hipster at heart who needs to grow up. The film, like every indie comedy, mocks suburban life for its obvious mockability, but it’s lighthearted and teases the parental figures as any kid would tease their own parents. The important message is about parenting in general, whether step, adoptive or natural.

Jason Reitman, who helmed “Thank You for Smoking,” directed the film and proves he is a filmmaker to watch, but the stars are the women: Page, Cody and, of course, their creation of Juno. You get the feeling that no one else could play Juno but Page, and that no one else really owns Cody’s sly dialogue but Page. For example, Olivia Thirlby, who plays Juno’s best friend, comes off very unnatural when tongue-slinging with Page.

As for Cody, while the film at first grates on you, with these kids practically speaking in some clever code, it really does settle nicely, weaving in touching beats and a pretty risky storyline. The writing, to me, feels similar to Judd Apatow (with quotable lines rivaling “Knocked Up” and Apatow-produced “Superbad”).

And like Apatow, it’s more than the laughs that make the film work, it’s the sweet touch. “Juno” is a nice film thanks to its female focus. It will also introduce you to the band The Moldy Peaches. It turned me onto ’em.

New Year’s concert calendar
Some interesting things this month, including Chicago’s famed Thrill Jockey record label throwing a two-day birthday party festival, and, not to mention, a couple of very cool New Year’s Eve shows.

First though, a new band I really dig is Vampire Weekend (see page seven for an interview with the band). The Brooklyn crew works in world music influences with pop and indie rock sounds and is playing Schubas 12/11 with All Smiles and Grand Ole Party. Should be a great show. Also, something that caught my eye is Shellac (the heavy but minimal Steve Albini band, which happens to have the best album cover this year for its “Italian Greyhound” release) playing 12/13 through 12/16 at the Hideout. Some days offer up multiple shows. The band rarely plays live, so this could be special.

Like Shellac, equally interesting and locally significant is the Thrill Jockey birthday party, a two-day music fest on 12/14 and 12/15 at Logan Square Auditorium. Some of the top acts on the label that will be playing are The Fiery Furnaces, The Sea and Cake, Califone, Eleventh Dream Day, Arbouretum and more. Another festival is the return of the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, playing Schubas 1/16 through 1/20. It will tout some excellent bands like The Walkmen, White Rabbits, White Williams, Nomo, Young Galaxy and John Vanderslice.

Other cool shows this month include the excellent indie pop lineup of Office, Mannequin Men and The 1900s. And, on 12/31, New Year’s Eve, three venues have the best shows to resolve ’07. Possibly the best flat-out rock and roll band today, Spoon, is playing the Metro. A band that I fell in love with thanks to the internet, Black Kids, with their Cure sound and kid-like energy, will be playing The Empty Bottle. This Jacksonville, Fla., band doesn’t have an album printed, but they have built up so much buzz that they’re going to sell out a New Year’s Eve show. They’re fun and will make a massive splash for sure in 2008. See them now, and you can say you saw them in ’07.

Finally, two very underrated acts that have pleasurable, mainstream sounds but hit it out of the park are Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s and Catfish Haven. They’re teaming up to play Schubas on 12/30 and 12/31.

Keep sending me your music or anything else on your mind at danochwat@hotmail.com. I’ve also joined the MySpace army, so give The Real Chicago some love at http://www.myspace.com/danochwat

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