Juno (2007)
Somewhere between the sharp satire of Election and the rich human comedy of You Can Count On Me lies Juno, a sardonic but ultimately compassionate story of a pregnant teenage girl who wants to give her baby up for adoption. Social misfit Juno (Ellen Page, Hard Candy, X-Men: The Last Stand) protects herself with a caustic wit, but when she gets pregnant by her friend Paulie (Michael Cera, Superbad), Juno finds herself unwilling to terminate the pregnancy. When she chooses a couple who place a classified ad looking to adopt, Juno gets drawn further into their lives than she anticipated. But Juno is much more than its plot; the stylized dialogue (by screenwriter Diablo Cody) seems forced at first, but soon creates a richly textured world, greatly aided by superb performances by Page, Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the prospective parents, and J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man) and Allison Janney as Juno's father and stepmother. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) deftly keeps the movie from slipping into easy, shallow sarcasm or foundering in sentimentality. The result is smarter and funnier than you might expect from the subject matter, and warmer and more touching than you might expect from the cocky attitude. Page's performance is deceptively simple; she never asks the audience to love her, yet she effortlessly carries a movie in which she's in almost every scene. That's star power. --Bret Fetzer
Movie Review
...and this is one of those films. It is both hilarious and touching. It is also one of the most realistic films about teenage life that I have ever seen. Ellen Page is amazing. I loved her in "Hard Candy" - her performance, not her character - and I loved her in this film as well. She IS Juno, and you care for this young lady and her ordeal. Ellen Page is an amazing actress, and I cannot wait to see her future films. The rest of the cast is also excellent. One thing that must be mentioned here is the writing. It is so funny and so honest, and all I have to say is that screenwriter, Diablo Cody, is a genius when it comes to words. Some people have said that this film is derivative of Wes Anderson's work, but I totally disagree. It is Jason Reitman's best film so far, and I liked this one better than "Thank You For Smoking". The music is also very quirky, and I liked it a lot... Please, do not miss the chance to see this one in the theatre! You will laugh your head off, and you will come out of it deeply moved. I loved this film! SEE IT! --By Adam (SC)
Plot Synopsis
Juno (Ellen Page) is a Mid-Western highschooler, who decides one day, out of boredom or curiosity, to have sex with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), a member of her school's track team. She likes him well enough, but isn't hung up on him. This one time encounter results in Juno's pregnancy. She and her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) decide to take control of the situation by browsing for prospective adoptive parents in the local Pennysaver newspaper, and Juno settles on seemingly the perfect, affluent couple Mark (Jason Bateman) and Vanessa Loring (Jennifer Garner) who is desperate to have a child. Junos sensitive father (J.K. Simmons) and stepmother (Allison Janney) are very supportive of her and help Juno with her decision to give the baby up for adoption. Juno and her father check out Mark and Vanessa Loring to see if they are the right couple. As time moves closer to having the baby, Juno grows more into a woman, yet she is still a teenager with all the same problems and a few more.
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