Yes, “Juno,” released on DVD this week, is a lot of the things you’ve heard: sensitively acted, sharply written by Diablo Cody and often laugh-out-loud funny. But it’s not without its flaws, including a few moments where the dialogue veers into self-consciously clever territory.
Still, it’s a lovely film — even lovelier the second time around — and one most viewers will savor, as long as they don’t let all the buzz set a bar too high for this charming little indie to reach.
All of the quality extras — 11 deleted scenes that, unlike the ones on most DVDs, are worth watching; a commentary track with Cody and director Jason Reitman; an amusing gag reel; and 20 minutes worth of screen tests — can be found on the basic release. The additional extras on the special edition consist of a quartet of featurettes and are the least-interesting offerings of the bunch.
The deleted scenes, which include optional commentary from Cody and Reitman, should not be missed, as they include a solo acoustic performance by Juno (Ellen Page) and some interesting information about what happens to Mark (Jason Bateman) after he splits from wife Vanessa (Jennifer Garner).
JUNO
Single DVD, $29.98; two-disc set, $34.98; blu-ray, $39.98
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Love it
Song
Jesse McCartney
“Leavin’ “
Remember when Jesse McCartney was all doe-eyed and earnest, going on about “beautiful souls”? Well, on his new single, “Leavin’,” it seems young Master McCartney has embraced his inner playa. The irresistibly catchy, R&B-tinged track, produced by Tricky and The-Dream, is a sweet slice of springtime fun that picks up where Chris Brown’s smash “With You” left off. It should give McCartney his biggest hit yet. – GLENN GAMBOA, NEWSDAY
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TV
John Oliver: Terrifying Times
9 p.m. Sunday,
Comedy Central
Another “Daily Show” correspondent branches out — sort of — with his first stand-up show. I say “sort of” because Oliver’s special isn’t completely original. It is, however, hilarious. The Brit may skewer obvious targets — politics, religion, environmental issues, consumerism. But his keen observations will keep you laughing — as long as you’re not a fan of George Bush. He uses photos showing Bush looking idiotic as he says “to hear that man speak is to wish upon yourself physical harm.” – CURT WAGNER, REDEYE
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Like it
dvd
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
$19.95
Chicago native Jeff Garlin, of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” strikes out on his own with the low-key, awkwardly titled “I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With.” A better awkward title would be “Random Events of a Failed Actor Plodding the Streets of Chicago.” Written and directed by Garlin, the movie feels like an extended spinoff version of “Curb.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing; “Curb,” brainchild of “Seinfeld” creator Larry David, is the best thing on TV since, well, “Seinfeld,” and Garlin is one of the reasons to watch.
THE WASHINGTON POST
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TV
My Boy Jack
8 p.m. Sunday, WTTW
Daniel Radcliffe (left) is breaking from “Harry Potter” in more ways than dropping trou’ in the play “Equus.” He’s hauntingly effective as Jack, a scrawny, bespectacled youngster eager to prove he’s a man to his war-mongering father, author Rudyard Kipling (a brilliant David Haig). In pre-WWI Britain, Kipling pulls strings to get Jack into the army with tragic results. Without being preachy, “My Boy Jack” delivers a powerful message about war. It also shows that Radcliffe will have a post-“Potter” career. – CURT WAGNER
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Book
Three Girls and Their Brother
By Theresa Rebeck; Shaye Areheart Books, 337 pages, $23.95
In her first novel, Rebeck skewers paparazzi culture and our national obsession with the hookups and breakdowns of the young and the beautiful. The book could have been little more than a frothy beach read, but Rebeck undercuts the fun with darker points about celebrity culture. The novel’s climactic last scene may be over-the-top, but a touch of surrealism is appropriate in a book about the often-bizarre celebrity circus. As we are reminded by watching Britney and other real-life “It Girls,” truth can be even stranger than fiction. – KRISTEN A. LEE, AP
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Loathe it
album
Mariah Carey
“E=MC2”
This album makes my head hurt. Mariah Carey, the Long Island mall queen who has never met a note she couldn’t stretch into octave overkill, opens her new album with a flurry of particularly painful shrieks, a showoff moment that goes horribly, cat-explodingly wrong. Carey’s 11th studio album has a downright clever title, but the music within turns out to be a lazy, generic mess. Much as she did on “Emancipation,” Carey fares best on the ballads: When she strips away the artifice, Carey sounds remarkably like Alicia Keys.
– SEAN DALEY, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
