See this movie, if for nothing else, Juno's parents

Rating: 9/10 (25 January 2008)

I really enjoyed the film, both because it had some very funny moments and because it was lighthearted. Maybe it's not particularly realistic (I personally wouldn't know), but J.K. Simmons, and to a slightly lesser degree Allison Janney, make this film worth it.
Mac and Bren McGuff are the parents we all would love to have. They're funny, sarcastic, and yet at the same time supportive. While expressing their disappointment in Juno's decision-making, they allow her to make her own calls and help her through the situation, the entire time throwing in little barbs and comments. Maybe the average parent would scream and shout, but we should all strive to be like those two, able to have a sense of humor through a rotten situation. Bren's ability to support her step-daughter and call her her own throughout the film is a remarkable testament to a real family. Mac's gruff protectiveness is heartwarming. Only criticism I would have is that Liberty Bell seems almost non-existent.
Ellen Page's character brings a complexity to the pregnant teenager debate that is so absent too often. She is not acting out of some religious motivation or moral objection, at least not an overt one. This isn't a pro-choice/pro-life film either way. The religious right wouldn't trumpet it. She, after all, would give her baby to "a couple of nice lesbos." It is somewhat of a choice film, but not necessarily the one we associate with the debate. Rather, she wants to do this because on some fundamental level it's what's best for her, for whatever reason whether it's her conscience, her gut sense that this was meant to be, or whatever. But she also has no interest in the child long-term, and neither does the father. They ultimately want normal teenage lives. While the plot may seem very Lifetime, television for women, it has a richness no made for TV film ever has.
The dialogue really represents how we would like to be able to talk if we were that smart. Yes, it does get overwhelming at times, but in general it's very funny and enjoyable.
Bottom line, yay for a movie on this subject that is complex without being preachy either way.