Last weekend I finally saw the movie Juno, and all I can really say is, “Aw, that’s adorable.” Sure, it’s a well-directed film with some great performances dealing with serious issues, but the overriding motif is cuteness. “Indie cute,” as a friend of mine called it. The soundtrack is made up of teeth-achingly sweet ditties featuring acoustic guitars and “I wish I were 6 years old again” vocal stylings. Both the film and the soundtrack are highly reminiscent of 2004’s Garden State, another youthful love story written and directed by a late-twentysomething, the uber-cute Zach Braff.
And Juno’s aesthetic owed much to the films of another youngish indie darling, Wes Anderson. Juno MacGuff would have found a kindred soul in Rushmore’s preciously precocious and alienated Max Fischer. Anderson’s latest film, The Darjeeling Limited, depicted three grown brothers engaged in the most adorably angsty exploits I’ve ever seen on screen.
But it’s not just Gen X that’s perpetuating this trend. The New
York Times ran an article recently about how today’s male actors lack the strong-jawed gravitas of previous generations. Instead of Cary Grant and Henry Fonda we have the baby-faced Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise, none of whom seem able to shake their adolescent look. It’s just as bad with the Hollywood women—just look at the pixie-cute Julia Stiles-Kirsten Dunst (who I swear are the same person), Renee Zellwegger, Michelle Williams, and their kin. Sure, there are some long-limbed female stars out there, but I think there’s an undeniable leaning toward childlike features—cheeks you want to pinch. 
That same NY Times section saw a story about how romantic movies have been sub par in recent years. But I think the problem here is the makers of these films have just given over adult intelligence in favor of cuteness. Look at Fool’s Gold, with two cute—but not beautiful—actors romping around like misbehaved children.
Add to this the insane popularity of the website CuteOverload.com and the wealth of commercials during the Super Bowl that featured darling animals and I think you’ve got a full-blown movement in popular culture to the fuzzy-wuzzy, heartwarming, cuddly, and adorable.
What does all this mean? I’m not sure. Maybe Americans today long to exist in a state of prolonged adolescence and feel comforted by images of cute things. I, for one, don’t know how much more of the cloying sweetness I can take. Will someone please bring sophistication back?
Movie stills, top to bottom: Juno, Garden State, The Darjeeling Limited, Fool’s Gold
7 comments:
What are some movies you liked that came out in the past few years?
P.S. I would say that Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are "hot" rather than cute or beautiful.
Quiet, you. I'm not saying I didn't like these movies, I'm just saying they share the quality of cuteness, and I think that's interesting.
Cuteness sells.
Juno is a much much better movie than Garden State.
Secondly, to explain this "cuteness" and, simultaneously my opinin of "uber-cute Zach Braff", let me tell you about this t-shirt I once made for Ashley Peterson, which says simply "Zach Braff is a pedophile"
With so much cynicism in our politics and a war on, I think cuteness may be about the only thing the culture can take right now. I'm not defending it though. You know well my thoughts on cuteness.
By the way, you can tell Dunst from Stiles because she's the one who has--to steal a description from my friend Sam--goblin teeth.
Frankly, I think we need MORE cute. More bunnies and kittens and talking babies. Yeah. And let's throw in some horses and more of those Fanning kids. And more cutesy duets. In fact, the Fannings can have a sing-along with a talking baby (voiced by Zach Braff) and puppies that bark along to the tune. Then birds can fly in chirping a song from Snow White or Sleeping Beauty or hell, any fairy tale. Doesn't matter. Then we'll throw in a choreographed dance scene with those kids from High School Musical and Hannah Montana. Man... I should get started on this...
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