First of all, I wish to apologize to all my adoring fans for neglecting to post any blogs in the recent past. I know there are millions of you out there, just rearing to catch a new glimpse inside the brain of one Jacob Ulasich - or at least one or two. Frankly, I just haven't felt like I've had much to write about, and there's little worse in blogging life than going to post and feeling like you don't have anything.
So, Cassie and I watched Juno last night. I had heard it was really good, of course, but some people I knew said it was just okay. Personally, I think it's far better than okay. I loved it. It's awkward moments made me laugh out loud, it was filled with good characters, good acting, simple (probably realistic) interaction. It was just all-around really cool. But what I really liked were its really poignant moments where the story wrestled with the tough questions of love and of life and encouraged not only viewers to do so as well, but young people, who might relate with the fringe attitude of the main character, Juno, who relates "I don't know who I am anymore." It's not just about discovering identity, the cliche theme for troubled youth. It's about discovering what you're made of, what you really care about, what kind of choices you're going to make, what life means to you. Questions that go deeper than an eneagram test. That made it poignant. That made it gritty. That made it something to wrestle with, something to enter into.
I also liked how this film depicted the naivite of youth, without degrading or patronizing young people. It showed how young people were capable of making responsible decisions, but it also portrayed how adults realistically just tend to know a lot more about relationships, marriages, social do's and don'ts, and it's something you can only learn through experiencing the world. It struck me as a very good balance.
Lastly, the ultimate question of the film, can two people keep on loving each other indefinitely? On the surface, not the most groundbreaking question we've ever faced, but the film's response to the question? Basically, we hope so, and we'll sure try. And I really like that. Another balanced response, positive, without dismissing the realities of multiple failures in our culture. Hopeful, without pretence.
In the end, for me the film was about shedding the bullshit. Looking past the mood-swings, the naive idiocy, the strangling difficulties of relationships, and deciding once and for all, what do I really want to live for, and what do I really want to live with? All of that, encased in a charming, rootsy, kind of film, with an odd quirkiness that is totally my style and a fine-honed sense of humor that I found incredibly entertaining. It was great.
