A smile-and-tears inducing wonderwork

Rating: 7/10 (6 July 2015)

A smile-and-tears inducing wonderwork full of endearing characters, emotional resonance, and, for me, inspiration for when I raise teenagers.
At first, the supposedly hip dialogue seemed overwritten and thus grating, but about twenty minutes into th e film, I realized it had a purpose other than to set forth the movie's indie cred: to establish Juno, together with all the supporting characters, as unashamedly themselves. That character trait, together with its well-acted, not-overwritten portrayal of teenagers wrestling with a complex array of emotions and relationships (what teenager doesn't feel like they're wrestling with that), is why I like it (and Juno, the character) so much.
A word about the soundtrack, which is selling briskly: It is thoroughly unimpressive, with the Kinks and Mott the Hoople samples coming across as overwrought as used in the film, and the Moldy Peaches offerings annoyingly undersung (like lots of acoustic indie music, I find). Perhaps high school in Minnesota sounds like this, but for me, it stands that the only musical highlight of the film is an affecting duet by the two main characters.
Anyway, I love this movie, and I love its characters. Juno is my favorite among the 2007 films I've seen so far, with Ratatouille, 3:10 to Yuma, and Breach coming in as runners-up.