If you're in the market for a combination of a great film with great, original music there are 2 that I would highly recommend, one in theaters and one recently released on video.

The first one, "Juno," is amazing if you haven't seen it yet, and just as good as the film is the music in it. First, the music:

The obscure sound of Kimya Dawson (someone I'd never heard of) takes up nearly half of the soundtrack with hilarious, quirky, and relevant modern folk tunes. The rest of the soundtrack's filler includes obscure covers by Sonic Youth and Cat Power (another one who's music I'd look for further outside of this compilation) and other classics like Buddy Holly, The Kinks, and Velvet Underground.

One of the greatest songs on the CD is one that seems as though it was just a throw in at the end. The stars of the film, Ellen Page and Michael Cera sing and play their own rendition of the Moldy Peaches' "Anyone Else But You" taken from a scene in the film, that easily outshines the original both emotionally and melodically. Even in just listening to the performance without seeing it in the film, the chemistry between them is still clear as day.

Now for the film:
I had a general interest in this film because of everything I was hearing about it and all the good reviews it was getting, but it wasn't something I was in a rush to see in the theaters. However, with the local theater near me holding "Bargain Tuesdays" with every showing being only $5, this was a spontaneous add after I saw an earlier showing of "Cloverfield" (Thanks to JJ Abrams for making a movie that's only an hour and 20 minutes, I wouldn't have been able to squeeze in a 2nd movie during the week otherwise).

This movie had similarities with another great film from last year, "Knocked Up," but something was better in "Juno." Ellen Page gave not only the best performance in the film, but one of the best I've seen all year (meaning 07 and 08). She let out the perfect combination of teenage omnipotence with teenage angst, not in an annoying way but hilariously yet realistically. This, combined with great supporting roles by Michael Cera ("Arrested Development"/"Superbad"), J.K. Simmons ("Oz"/ "Spiderman 1,2,&3" ), Allison Janney ("The West Wing"/"Private Parts"), Jason Bateman ("Arrested Development"/ "Teen Wolf Too"), Olivia Thirlby ("Juno"/??), and an unexpectedley moving performance by Jennifer Garner ("Alias"/ "The Kingdom") made the film hilarious, but not in an unbelievable way. I believe "Juno's" ability to pull this off has added to it's success by reaching slightly beyond the "40 Year Old Virgin"/"Knocked Up" crowd. And I love both of those films probably just as much as this one, but if asking for the difference between them, "Juno" really struck a chord with me in a time where it's hard to find a movie with characters worth caring about anymore.

Perhaps this connection comes because I'm only 6 years removed from high school, and like most everyone else, know a person who got pregneant in high school and was ostracized the way obscure and unique people stereotypically are in adolescence. However, it's hard to believe everyone in love with this film has had the same experience and shares this belief with me, so it nust have done something right. And, if this is the case, it also proves that this film can be not so much a lesson, but an eye opener to those older parents who have lost some touch with today's youth, or those who are in high school with a girl like "Juno" right now. Don't get me wrong, all that makes this film great is not a means to say teenage pregnancy is something that should be accepted. The safer term in relation to "Juno" may be for it to be embraced, instead of pushed away to other results that could be traumatizing to a teenager with the rest of their life with or without a baby ahead of them. Thankfully, this one is PG-13, so they can still get to see it before they're so quick to judge.

I'm sure I didn't act the same in high school even though I felt the same, as teenage angst and insecurity may often lead to. But, without question, if a film like "Juno" had been around to watch in Health class 6 or 7 years ago, that girl with the baby belly and her head hung low might have been in a much more content place.

(Part 2 of this post- Music/Film Review of "Once")