Teen Pregnancy Comes With Belly-Aching Laughs

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2007)

"It all started with a chair," is how Juno begins, like a Tom Robbins novel giving inanimate characters equal time amongst the human actors. It is with this simple line that the anthropologist of strippers turned blogger/journalist Diablo Cody launches the perfect screenplay, full of wit, empathy, heart and comedy.
Not often enough, in a film of any genre, are movie-goers given such a treat as we are with Juno. The story unfolds itself with a rare continuity making the story as believable as it is funny. Every loose string is tied up neatly and a simple story takes on heartfelt, humorous complexity. The film's subject manner isn't that of the gut-busting comedy it becomes. Juno is the story and name of a sixteen-year-old girl (Ellen Page) who out of boredom seduces her awkward best friend, Bleeker. (Michael Cera of Arrested Development and Superbad) When pregnancy follows, she decides to carry the child to term, but offer it for adoption to a young couple of baby-craving suburbanites. (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) The performances are as spot-on as the writing, perhaps a nod to what a cast can do with such punchy dialog and a story with so much heart. Page stands out not only as the film's star, but as one who will surely rise in the business. Cera's sweetly dorky portrayal of Bleeker is subtle and effective. Garner for once proves that she has the acting chops of her celebrity status, and actually provides a much needed balance to more than one character. Bateman too seems more three dimensional than in past roles. As Juno's parents, J.K. Simmons and Alison Janney display a needed adult perspective piece to the story, while demonstrating ideal parenting skills. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) has hit a grand slam on his second trip to the plate. The ebb and flow of the film and visual portrayal of this story fit perfectly and without question. It's also nice to see a film where the indie-rock soundtrack actually compliments the story, aiding the development, and offering musical hook along the way. Though none of this properly sums up Juno, a film that will inevitably draw comparisons to Knocked Up and Waitress, yet out performs both on story, dialog and acting. --And for movie-goers who don't thrive on good story-telling, few movies short of The Princess Bride and The Big Lebowski are as quotable as Juno. While Juno doesn't officially arrive in theaters until January, advance screenings are occurring all over the country, with a special website promotion where fans can win a private screening as well as custom Gibson guitar. Not only do they offer a ground-breaking, highly creative film, but the marketing campaign seems to be at par with the product itself. Veering from witty to raunchy to heartfelt and wholesome, Juno accomplishes the impossible and works as all of these things at once. All screenwriters could learn a thing or two from Diablo Cody, and all movie goers will likely enjoy Juno, wanting to see it over and over again.