A Look at the Illustrious Oddity of "Juno" After 10 Years

Ellen Page in Juno

It started with a chair.

The idea of indie comedies dominating the box office and Academy Awards was still a foreign idea in 2007. It had only been a year since Little Miss Sunshine popularized a quirky style of cinema that was charming, but proved to have a short shelf life. It reached peak perfection the following year when Juno launched Hard Candy and X-Men star Ellen Page into the queen of twee characters, whose Diablo Cody-penned script was at best different, and at worst grating. There have been movies with dialogue as stylized as Juno, but few captured the essence underneath, for which the controversial tale of one Minnesota girl's teenage pregnancy became a different kind of coming of age story. It's likely why the film grossed $143 internationally on a $7.5 million budget. Even for those who hated it, it was hard to deny the unforgettable approach to youth and maturity. Many films would try to be as brazen in their quirkiness, but the singularity of Juno's magic continues to shine brighter than its imitators 10 years later.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013)

Scene from Dallas Buyers Club

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

What Happened to Jason Reitman?

Left to right: Rosemarie DeWitt and Adam Sandler

How did it come to this? After making an impressive career with films like Juno and Up in the Air, director Jason Reitman has done something disappointing. He has become somewhat of a shell of his former self. Where his past few films all had a sense of urgency that made me call him the contemporary Frank Capra, he hasn't quite captured the magic since Young Adult. In 2014 alone, he has released two films that have failed in one way or another. After Labor Day saw him attempt to do a straight-up drama in ways that were stilted, there was hope that it was a misguided effort. However, when Men, Women & Children matched the rating on critics aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes at 33%, the dreams of this being a potential Oscar nominee became shattered. What happened to Jason Reitman? He used to be so perfect.

Reitman Returns to Thought Provoking Drama with the First Trailer for "Men, Women & Children"

Left to right: Ansel Egort and Kaitlyn Dever

One of the great things about the end of summer is that it marks the beginning of Oscar season. While films like Inherent Vice, Interstellar, and Foxcatcher have their positions planned out, there is still the actual race. Despite what prognosticators will say, there are very few instances where predictions in July will be the same in January. There's way too much that comes out that takes surprising turns. For instance, did anyone see Gravity as a Best Director winner from the first trailer? Alfonso Cuaron fans maybe did, but all of the attention was on 12 Years a Slave. With the first trailer for director Jason Reitman's Men, Women & Children, he looks to be back and ready to surprise the world not only with a film about technology and how it isolates as well as potentially surprising performances. Is this going to be Adam Sandler's foray into the Oscar race? Knowing Reitman's abilities, it just might.

Review: "Dallas Buyers Club" is an Engrossing Portrait of the AIDS Epidemic and the Power of One Man

Matthew McConaughey

One of the biggest surprises in the Oscar race this year is just how successful a threat that director Jean-Marc Vallee's Dallas Buyers Club has become. In a year where conversation has been heavy around 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle, it is exciting to see a film that had limited appeal sweeping up wins from groups such as the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild (S.A.G.) and ending up with a Best Picture nod as well as five others. Then again, one of the biggest underdogs of this year's ceremony had an uphill battle and managed to turn in an impressively audacious look at AIDS and the vaccinations in 1980's America. It may not be the best nominee, but it does make itself worthy of mention.

Will the "Dallas Buyers Club" Trailer Combine Weight Loss with an Oscar Nomination?

Matthew McConaughey

If one person deserves a most improved trophy over the past few years, it is Matthew McConaughey. Where he had become a leading man in romantic comedies through the early 00's, he has finally become someone that I respect. In fact, I have argued twice before with Magic Mike and Mud for Oscar consideration. Of course, I have held out faint hope that of every potential movie that he has made during his recent reincarnation, the one that I have placed the most money on is director Jean-Marc Vallee's Dallas Buyers Club, which if nothing else has the distinct honor of being the film that the actor sacrificed his chiseled looks for a skinny, lanky HIV victim. If the trailer is any speculation on his chances, I feel like we may be looking at one of the first serious contenders.