Juanita

I'm surprised more people haven't remarked on the extraordinarily bad editing and continuity in this film.

I liked the story and I really wanted to like the film as well. But the editing was really sloppy. At one point there is a static shot of Juanita outside the Paper Moon with her bags packed that's only shown for a second or two. I didn't know what to make of that, as it's completely out of context, until I started to realize that the rest of the film suffered from the same sort of ham-handed editing.

This is a nice picture. Fundamentally it's about second chances and changing your life up. The title character leads a life, you could say, of quiet desperation. A string of not so great husbands, children who take her for granted, and a job that underappreciated her time and effort has left her desperate for a change. So, without a real plan, she gets on a bus and heads...somewhere.

Her accidental journey leads her to the Dakotas, where she finds a new job and a new romance. Still, leery of falling into her old routines with others, she keeps people at arms length. But gradually she finds her trust returning, and even her family life improving as her children learn to survive without her enabling their worst character traits.

This last point is a bit on the rosy side. I mean, in an ideal world leaving people to fend for themselves would end with them taking responsibility for their lives, but there are somewhat less ideal endings to that story. Even so though, I think the story is nice, and an important reminder that we aren't always as stuck in our life as we might sometimes think. Life is long (when it's not being short) and the world is big, and our lives can be what we decide to make of them.

I liked the look of this so settled down to watch it but after it had ended I felt pretty conflicted about the parts I liked and what I didn't like about it. The next thing I did was look up the book that it was based on. It turns out there are 2 books telling Juanita's story, book one is Dancing On the Edge Of the Roof and book two is On The Right Side Of A Dream, both by Sheila Williams. This explains why Juanita's ending is not very satisfying, it turns out she has more adventures to be told and a return to Paper Moon. Perhaps there will be a second movie to finish the story.

Alfre Woodard is a wonderful actress and an extremely attractive older woman but after reading the notes on the book I realised she is way too old for the part. Juanita is 41 years old, Alfre is 66 years old (even though she does look a lot younger) and she is 20 years older than Adam Beach who plays Jess. I know this wouldn't bother a lot of people but it bothered me.

It made me laugh that she called her fantasy lover by his full name every time she imagined him and I am a big fan of movies that break the fourth wall. I love it when the characters tell us directly what they are feeling or thinking.

She seemed to spend no time at all in Paper Moon, that went over too quickly without being convincing about how she forges close relationships with the residents.

I'm off to see if I can find copies of the books and read more of Juanita's story. I think I will find them more fulfilling than the movie.

Loved the concept of an empty-nester single mom taking time out to explore the world. There are so few movies these days that seem to be the perfect fit for the 45-55 year old female demographic.

Loved the idea but just didn't work. Some of the supporting actors were just not up for the task. Needed better direction but I never found it boring!