All about the comedies

You think I'd have realized by now that whatever I expect to be my "big great experience" on any particular day will not ending up being so.

I thought today was going to be all about Paul Haggis's new film In the Valley of Elah, and it was good... (more on it at another time) But for me today was about two comedies I saw. Maybe I just really, really needed a comedy. There are a lot of very heavy films in the festival this year.

The first comedy was Juno an amazing movie by Jason Reitman of Thank-you for Smoking fame -- which also had it's world premiere at the TIFF a few years ago.

Anyway... Juno. It was the most original and unique take on the teenager gets pregnant story I've seen. Unique mostly because of the writing and the main character played by Ellen Page, who I've only seen in really dark films prior to this, like Hard Candy. (If you ever want to see a film that will make you feel really uncomfortable, rent Hard Candy. Deep exploration of revenge and moral choices and perhaps karma -- not to mention castration...) Her character in Juno was so quirky and different and totally unique -- as were her parents played by J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney. Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Superbad) has a small part and he's adorable as usual.

The other great comedy was Lars and the Real Girl with Ryan Gosling. Another totally unique and different film with great performances. Yes, it's about a man who falls in love with a sex doll... But it's actually very sweet and says a lot about the positive side of human nature. Some people will find this movie over the top, but I think that's kind of the point. You can't take it 100% literally.

Anyway... Two good films to check out when they hit theatres. I know they both have distribution deals in both Canada and the US. Juno probably sooner. Oh, I'm wrong. According to IMDB I have that backwards. Looks like Lars will be out some time in Oct and Juno in December in a limited release. Perhaps after the amazing reaction Juno got at TIFF they'll release it more widely.

Sorry this post isn't more interesting or coherent. I need sleep!