The number one quality Juno possesses, and which has led it it’s popularity, is that it is highly fashionable. You would have to have been in a coma to not see that this film was carefully designed to be as fashionable as possible. For now. And that is the key. Fashion is transitory. Fact. Do I really need to list the ways in which Juno is fashionable? I think not. And when the fashion moves on so will a boat-load of Juno’s “quality.” It is the most self-consciously trendy thing I have seen since this year.

As to its originality I can list the influences all day long. There mere fact the it is, in numerous reviews both positive and negative, “this year’s Little Miss Sunshine,” suggests to me that Little Miss Sunshine will even outlast Juno. Same with Napolean Dynamite which also comes up all the time. And the Gilmore Girls. The FACT that this movie is widely discussed primarily in the context of these other, similar films suggest to me that there is no other way to discuss it but through it’s similarity to these other films. Because without this context, it virtually disappears.

As far as the marketing aspect, go the New York Times website and tell me how long it takes before you see a little orange box with the green word, “Juno” in it. It has been like that for months. What they teach in marketing is that if you tell people, “this is the cool thing that everybody is into,” enough, people who hear that will think, “I don’t want to be left out,” and flock to it. Social capital. This is real. Why do you think NBC uses the slogan, “must see TV?”

Maybe someone can tell me. What is new, ground-breaking and wholly original about this movie? What has it added to the history of cinema? Why is it better than say, Zodiac? I never said there weren’t fine performances in Juno, or that it wasn’t emotionally satisfying in the short term. I just want to know what about it leads one to believe it will be considered great in the long term?

Obviously we have different criteria for what constitutes a great movie. That’s what it boils down to. I personally look at the merits of the film itself, and that is all. None of those other factors you point to change the objective traits of the film itself, and are meaningless in the evaluation of the film. I judge the film, not the phenomenon. Just as I will not concede that the 2007 Grammy winning Dixie Chicks make the best music in the country, and that Thomas Kinkade or Normal Rockwell are the best artists of the 20th Century, I will not concede that Juno is the best film of the year. Or even close to it. If I play any role in the immortality of Juno it will be as an early advocate for a sensible, reasoned evaluation of the film, with a perspective that reaches beyond recent memory, and which led to it’s rightful placement among the innumerable over-rated, faux “indie,” feel-good fluff films of the early 21st Century. Juno will not be studied in film schools my friend. Media and marketing classes, no doubt. Sorry for raining on your parade. Nothing personal.

But I guess I would say that since I didn’t appreciate it. If all movie scripts have Gilmore Girls dialogue in 10 years I will probably be proven wrong.

I will say that it has caused quite a stir amongst my group of friends and debate as to its quality, which, as Hunter says, will keep it on people’s minds.

Also, regarding Juno’s “lasting” prospects, the bigger a popular film’s backlash online, the more it’s embedded in minds. So, in essence, you are helping Juno’s immortality in pop culture. Shock, horror.

That said, I think that inherent to these films is something rather ephemeral. I think that part of what allows these movies to play the role that they do in American consciousness is explicitly because of their makeup. Juno is cute, self-affirming, seemingly “clever or fresh,” and perhaps even “touching,” but it’s not a great movie that really shakes the audience.

I think the only thing to say in these situations is that time will tell.

Also, I think that Larry is seeing something of a disparity between Sideways and Juno because of generational appeal. And that really spreads across social fabribs. College sophomores were less likely to get really excited about Sideways. Though, I have been a little surprised with how highly Sideways was regarded at the time with how it is being remembered now. And Peter, I think that Greek Wedding is remembered now primarily as a business example. No one seems to like that movie nowadays.

Box Office: The more people that saw the movie… Juno is now in the top 350 biggest films of all time domestically.
Top 10 lists: Notice that films that end up on 100’s of year end top ten lists always have lasting effects.
Award nominations: One or two nominations don’t mean anything, but when a film is nominated for a few awards at ever show, it usually has lasting effect.
Generational Effect: Films that hit a certain generation like Juno, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, leave a lasting effect on that generation.
Viewer reviews: Everyone but you and a couple of your friends love this movie. Juno is currently rated in the top 125 movies of all time on IMDB. Will that fall? maybe, but I doubt it will fall out of the top 200.

All facts point towards Juno becoming a lasting film.

Those films are memorable to you (and probably most of your friends) because a large part of your life is devoted to film, and you probably associate with other people with similar taste in films.

I remember the two previous movies only because I remember seeing them in my local video store. Neither film was ever recommended to me by any friends/family/etc. Juno, on the other hand, is being mentioned by nearly every person I talk to (even those who’s favorite movies include Bad Boyz II and Transformers).

I think Juno will end up being a movie that everyone remembers, not just one that is remembered in the way that Robert has previously described. With that being said, I don’t think it should be compared to MBFGW and Sideways, simply because I don’t think they’re on even the same level as Juno.

And yes, those movies are well on their way to being forgotton. Trust me. Especially Sideways. Blair Witch comes up only in reference to other similar POV video, viral-marketed movies. There is nothing of lasting value in those film. They are good maybe once. Never saw MBFGW, and don’t intend to. The expression “flash in the pan” comes to mind. And I’ve been following this stuff WAY before there was an internet. Love it if you want, but next year it will just be something else.

“Remember that movie about that girl who got pregnent? The one with the phone.

Knocked Up?

No, the one with the guy from Arrested Development?

Jason Batemen?

No the other guy. Michael…something. What was that called? June…bug? Something like that. It was pretty good, right? Maybe we should rent that?

You mean Juno? Oh my God, remember how awesome the soundtrack was?! It had the Cat Power song you like. I don’t what happened to that CD. I think I think I must have let someone borrow it.”

I don’t care how popular it is right now.