'Junebug' Movie Review: Two Hours Can Truly Change You (This Movie Is Proof)

Maybe one of the most important things that we should hold onto from when we’re kids is our dreams. Sometimes as we get older, we loose sight of the things that we once held onto and guided us. As we get older, sometimes we let go, and we get lost.

Maybe it’s a lack of self confidence or maybe it’s just growing up – but we let go. We forget the things that made us who we are. Maybe the beauty of life is that we have people to remind us and we don’t become skeptics. We need someone to remind us what the beauty of dreams is.

Junebug is that movie for me.

For Juniper the road to remembering what she once wanted starts with her parents delivering her “wish box” that she’s forgotten about. Work is chaos, life is chaos, and she doesn’t think that she has time for anything in life that could bring her pure joy.

She’s lost the color in her world and is surviving in a world of neutral colors and routines.

Junebug has settled for the place that she is in her life. Ethan, her boyfriend, wants to give her a pen for her birthday. Her 40th milestone birthday. Luckily she was a best friend that reminds her that she deserves better. And then luckily she remembers that and eventually lets him see the door.

Reading her wishes that she’s left behind, she awakes to her younger self and thinks she’s lost her mind. But maybe the connection to her younger self is what she’s been missing. She doesn’t want to believe that she’s seeing herself and her younger self just wants to help.

I think that the beauty from the beginning of Junebug is the instant reminder that connecting with who we once were. Connecting with our inner child is a beautiful things if we just allow ourself to accept that just because you grow up, doesn’t mean that you have to let go.

When you are an adult, yes, you have to make compromises, but I don’t believe that you have to compromise ones soul.

Alex Ripley is also running from life. After a savage review of his art work, he’s not really been seen from since. He doesn’t want to illustrate. And he doesn’t want to say why. But Junipers younger self doesn’t want her to give up.

TBH only 28 minutes into Junebug, I was a mess. I was filled with tears. The moment that Autumn Reeser brings Junipers acceptance of seeing her younger self to life was something that broke me. It was such a simple moment, a simple facial expression, and yet it was everything. It was a moment that I had to press pause and wonder – what had I forgotten about being young? What had I forgotten about my dreams?

The way that Autumn Reeser brings the characters that she plays to life is something that you don’t see in a lot of actresses. She’s got this moment in all of her movies where you forget that it’s Autumn and you believe that she’s speaking to you and for you. You believe that this character somehow is everything that you want to be, that it understands all of the pain, anguish, joy, and laughter that you experience. And the way that Reeser brings her characters to life reminds you of just that.

Aaron O’Connell isn’t someone that I have watched in a lot of things, but quite frankly I enjoyed him and I believed in the chemistry that him and Reeser share on the screen. Their characters challenge each other and that is beautiful. The way that they make each other stop and take a second look at the hopes and dreams that each one has – one can only hope that you can find that kind of chemistry in real life.

I know that with all movies, there is going to be some part that is going to break you – that you’re going to have to make a choice. You’re going to have to decide who you are rooting for and what it means. You’re going to have to take a second to think about if your “ship” is worth fighting for. For me, it normally takes a second to get there, but instantly I was there. Together or apart I was fighting for Juniper and Alex. I wanted them to succeed in everything that they needed and wanted.

The subtle nuances in this movie – the way that there are a lot of little changes that you see when you are paying attention – you see that this movie is a break from the norm. But what I loved the most about this movie was that it wasn’t about just the romance or the dreams that one has or even the embracing ones inner child – it was about the beautiful moments where you realize are a cumulation of things.

Life is a cumulation of things. You just have to take a second to believe in those things and yourself.

It’s if we take the time to see that all the moments can connect us to who we are, well, that’s the beauty in life. Life isn’t about settling, it’s about connecting and believing.

And may we all have the ability to reconnect with our inner child to guide the way.

Side Note: Mila Jones, you are a light and a star. You really made this movie too.