A British film about teenage pregnancy would feature the following:
- Bleak, run-down council estates sprinkled with Sky dishes.
- Chain-smoking from all cast members, including the unborn child.
- Kathy Burke.
The “gymslip mum” (© Fleet Street) would grunt monosyllables at the father, a half-tracksuit, half-trainer oik prone to casual violence. A hopelessly miscast Lee Evans would play a well-to-do city type, wrongly named in standard mistaken-identity plot #94 as the baby’s father – with hilarious consequences. The ham-fisted resolution would include a guest appearance by Richard Branson and a pile of used tenners.
Juno, on the other hand, is a Canadian/American film about teenage pregnancy. Made for tuppence, it’s nominated for four Oscars including Best Picture. There’s a Best Actress nomination for Ellen Page’s excellent portrayal of the title up-the-duff character.
I think the film’s operative words are “sweet” and “sassy”. It’s written by someone called Diablo Cody, which is surely all the incentive you need to go and see it. If that’s not enough, two of the cast were in Arrested Development.
Three films in three weeks, all of them crackers. It can’t last!
Avaragado’s rating: four things of orange tic-tacs
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