Did Juno I love the Oscars?

Dh & I went to see "Juno" today. I was a little apprehensive, given the subject matter, but I was reassured by the positive reviews I've read from other infertility bloggers. I know there's been controversy over the way adoption & abortion are presented in the movie. That didn't really bother me. I think what bothered me most was the fact that a smart, savvy girl like Juno got pregnant in the first place... not the fact that she had sex, but that they obviously didn't use birth control. But then I guess there wouldn't have been a movie, right?

Jennifer Garner had me in tears in just about every scene she was in. I could so relate. I also like how they started out with Jason Bateman as this cool guy, & gradually you (along with Juno) realize he really needs to grow up.

One reason we wanted to see this movie today is tonight is Oscar night, & we've only seen one of the nominated movies so far -- "Michael Clayton." I would be interested in seeing the other three, but I want to read "Atonement" before I see it, & dh isn't really interested in "No Country for Old Men" (which I hear is extremely violent) or "There Will be Blood." We both loved "Michael Clayton" & I thought George Clooney was fabulous in it (fabulous looking, we already know, lol), but it sounds like tonight's Best Actor Oscar will go to that other great piece of eye candy, Daniel Day-Lewis. ; )

We saw "Away From Her" awhile back -- about a long-married childless couple facing the wife's Alzheimer's disease -- & absolutely loved it. The fact that it's a Canadian production (written & directed by Sarah Polley, of "Road to Avonlea," all grown up, and based on an Alice Munro short story) is also a source of great pride. Julie Christie (who is nominated for Best Actress -- as is Ellen Page, who played Juno) is wonderful in it & looks fabulous, grey hair, facial lines & all -- 40+ years after winning her first Oscar for "Darling" in 1965. I only wish that Gordon Pinsent, who plays her husband, had been nominated too. He may not be very well known in the States (which I suspect is why he wasn't nominated), but he's something of a national treasure in Canada.

Dh & I both love going to the movies (our first date was to see "Altered States" with William Hurt, & for years afterwards, we would try to go to a movie with William Hurt in it on our "anniversary" date), & Oscar night is sacred in our house. My own love of the movies, & of Oscar night, comes from my mother, who started taking me to the movies at a very early age, & let me stay up to watch the Oscars with her when I was almost as young. The first Oscar show I can clearly remember watching was the year "Patton" won all the awards (spring 1971, I would guess, when I was about 10). We were at my grandmother's in Minnesota for spring/Easter break & went to a friend's house so we could watch the show in colour (colour TVs still being something of a novelty then).

About a year later, I found a paperback book that had profiles & photos and lists of all the award winners & nominees in Oscar's history. I absolutely gobbled it up. I was hooked. If you asked me back then who won Best Actress in 1937, I'm sure I could have told you, and even today, I'd probably still be able to hazard a fairly good guess (Luise Rainer? Bette Davis?). Funnily enough, I find it harder to remember the names of the winners from last year than those from 50 or 60 years ago.

I don't think I've missed one Oscar show since then... although there have been a few close calls. The year I was in Grade 12 (spring 1979), I was working part-time at Woolco (which was later bought out by Wal-Mart). (My very first part-time job, the summer I was 17, was working at the concession stand at the local drive-in theatre, making popcorn, serving drinks, etc... which I loved... but I digress...!) The broadcast started an hour before the store closed, & I can remember craning my neck to see if I could catch a glimpse of what was going on from the televisions in the electronics department, & rushing home to watch the rest of the show (no VCRs in those days). Another year, my mother came to visit & I inadvertently bought tickets to see "Phantom of the Opera" the same night as the Oscars. We set the VCR, arrived home in time to see the last few major awards handed out, & then watched the whole broadcast the next evening, fast-forwarding through all the commercials & the dreaded dance numbers -- not a bad way to watch, albeit knowing who all the winners were already.

1998, when I was pregnant with Katie, was the year "Titanic" won all the awards -- my mother had just been to visit, and she & I went to see it together. (The doomed Titanic -- another omen for the pregnancy, perhaps??) Much as I love the Oscars, it's always a struggle to stay awake until the end of the show, and being pregnant (& often in bed by 8 or 9 in those days), it was even worse... but I did it, & I will do it again tonight, lol. Even though I will pay dearly when the alarm rings at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning...!