Juno

I saw Juno today.

I’m cut from a far different cloth than some of those that think and interact in the same circles I run in, so let me first start by saying…I loved it. I truly did. A wonderful movie, well acted, well written, with very engaging characters caught in an emotionally riveting story. Needless to say, however, I don’t think this movie is for everyone - it most definitely is NOT for everyone. But I do think it is an important conversation piece for our times that is quite deserving of its Oscar nomination. And quite frankly, I don’t think there are enough superlatives to describe Ellen Page’s performance as the title character, a sixteen year-old girl who finds herself pregnant and confused.

With all of that said, here’s what I admired most about the film. I never sensed it was preaching at me. It could have found one or one hundred things to rant about and preach on, but the film chose instead to relay a variety of different topics that we all could converse madly about for hours. I think that’s what blew me away the most. No one told me what to think or how passionately I should think about it. There were no action steps, no “this is how you should think” speeches or “shame-on-you’s” when it was all said and done. Interestingly enough, when the film was over, there were people coming in to the next showing before we were able to get out of our chairs from the previous showing because so many of us were engrossed in conversations ignited by the film. That’s good film-making.

I don’t know if it’s a film I can outright endorse, however…mostly because it is very frank talk about very difficult and sensitive subject matters (teen sexuality, teen pregnancy, abortion/adoption, fidelity, marriage). But I can say that if you are mature enough to handle it, then this is an intriguing, well made movie that just might make you laugh, make you cry, and make you think.

Movies & More

Just a few random notes:

Wendy and I saw “Once” this week. It may have only been shot for $150,000, but it was great filmmaking, wonderful passionate music, and a movie that has stuck in our imaginations. Personally, there is a scene in a music store where the two main characters collaborate that just sucked me in. I wholeheartedly recommend it to my artistic and creative friends who find joy in passionate filmmaking and don’t get hung up on foul language…although the Irish really don’t say the f-word right, so it’s really not swearing…is it?

I read Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott last week on a recommendation from a friend and just had a great howl. She has a chapter on jealousy that should be read by every artist (and non-artist, really). I haven’t laughed that hard reading since Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller. She inspired me to write more and let it all hang out there. Good stuff. I also recommend this to anyone who loves good literature or is bent to create (whether it is writing or whatever).

I also had the pleasure of reading Kansas City Jazz by Chuck Haddix and Frank Driggs. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the heritage of my dear Kansas City and was in awe by the K.C. musical innovations and influences that made jazz what it is today. I was most interested and drawn to a female pianist from the heyday of jazz in Kansas City named Mary Lou Williams. Not only was she a phenomenally talented pianist who played with Andy Kirk’s Clouds of Joy, but she was one of the most sought out arrangers of her day (arranging for the likes of Woody Herman, Duke Ellington and Count Basie). Her musical longevity is uncanny and her influence on bebop musicians such as Charlie “Yardbird” Parker and Dizzy Gillespie is well documented, yet she sits in the shadow of our American Musical History. Thanks to Haddix and Driggs, I was able to “discover” her in 2007!