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When I first read the buzz about Juno, I feared that it would be just another slacker comedy—a movie about a pregnant Napoleon Dynamite. But this edgy teen comedy—written by former stripper and first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody and directed by Thank You for Smoking’s Jason Reitman—is anything but ordinary.
As the film opens, 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) has just discovered that she’s pregnant—after just one awkward moment of boredom with her geeky, track-running pal, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). After she’s frightened away from the thought of aborting a baby who already has fingernails, she decides to have the baby. So, knowing that she’s not capable of caring for the baby by herself, Juno sets out to find the perfect parents for the little sea monkey growing inside her. In the pages of the local Penny Saver, she finds Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman), the perfect suburban couple who, Juno is convinced, will give the baby a loving home.
Supported by her dad (J. K. Simmons) and step-mom (Allison Janney), Juno faces the pregnancy—and the increased scorn from the kids at school—as she tries to understand grown-up stuff like love and responsibility.
Though the topics of unwanted pregnancy and teen insecurity are definitely nothing new, Juno gives the topics a completely fresh—and entertaining—perspective. The dialogue is clever, crisp, and filled with slang. It’s sharply written, without any fluff or unnecessary filler. And although the fast-paced dialogue does take a little getting used to, once you adjust to the unusual style, you’ll have no problem keeping up.
Ellen Page makes the movie memorable with her stellar performance as the offbeat pregnant teenager. Juno is tough and fast-talking, dry and sarcastic—but not to the point that she’s annoying. And she’s surrounded by a strong cast of supporting characters, played by actors who fit right into the film’s eccentric style—like Simmons, who stands out as the stunned yet supportive dad, and Janney, who has a few moments of her own fast-talking brilliance. The only characters who don’t fit in are the ones who aren’t supposed to fit. In a cast full of quirky characters, Garner and Bateman feel a little bit uncomfortable in their roles as the seemingly perfect suburbanites—and it seems as though they’re not quite sure if they’re supposed to be lovable or irritating. In fact, it made me feel pretty conflicted, too—and I enjoyed the movie a whole lot more when they weren’t on screen.
The best thing about Juno, though, is that it’s different. Unlike most recent teen comedies, Juno is funny without being outrageous. Sure, the main subject matter is somewhat adult, but, for the most part, the film itself isn’t nearly as shocking as you might expect. Instead, it’s smart and hip and even (dare I say it?) cute—making it a quirky little gem that’s well worth checking out.
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