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The Joneses
Juno


The Joneses
(2009)

David Duchovny and Gary Cole are great here, but what could have been an all-out satire on consumerism and suburbia ends up touchy-feely. Before it takes that turn, it looked like it had the potential for Meet the Applegates levels of black humour.

**1/2


Juno
(2007)

I was expecting this to be a victim of over-hype, but for the most part Jason Reitman’s film is deserving of its success, with stand-out performances from all concerned (in particular, plaudits go to the ever-excellent Jason Bateman and a marvellously warm turn from J K Simmons). 

 The ending is a bit "cute", but that's not necessarily a bad thing; Reitman and writer Diablo Cody clearly weren't aiming for a gritty slice of realism from the get-go.

****

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