It all started and ended in...greatness.

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2008)

The absolute "must see" Indie movie of the year, cause it has one of the most wittiest screenplays of recent times, it's so honest, so poignant, so fresh, young, original, smart and on top of that, funny as hell.
Juno is a strange amalgamate between a Jared Hess movie and a Judd Apatow movie, but, this is not a complaint, being compared to such is a great compliment, but, that doesn't mean that Juno is a movie that just takes those two formulas, the Hess movie and the Apatow movie, mixing them and giving birth to some strange mutant movie. Juno has it's own beat, rhythm, laughs, and most importantly, wit and heart.
Diablo Cody's screenplay for Juno is undoubtedly one of the best screenplays recently written. It's so rich in details, characters, situations, drama, comedy, and some of the best, most original, and truthful dialog. Diablo Cody is definitely the main protagonist of this movie's reputation as the "it" Indie movie of the year.
The other incredible protagonist is it's protagonist, Ellen Page as Juno is incredible, an acting tour De force, what this beautiful 21 year old has accomplished in the movie is truly amazing, a character so complex, rich in details and mannerisms, and as an audience member you can't help but love her, with all her inequities, she is one of the most lovable characters on film. I will certainly keep an eye on Miss Page from now on. The supporting cast was incredible, it was a casting made in heaven, and it played out beautifully, the great veterans Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons were so funny and effective as Juno's parents, Jason Bateman from Arrested Development was very effective, it was great to see Jennifer Garner take this role. And of coarse, the always funny Michael Cera was so convincing and funny as Juno's male counterpart, it truly seems like casting destiny, he was great in Superbad, and he was great in Juno.
Another element that people probably won't notice too much is the skillful direction by Jason Reitman. He made very clever choices with the film. His vision made the film even more poetic than what it already was. This movie, oddly enough was very easy to mess up, by trying to make it more funny, but Reitman sticks to the story, the characters and just let's things play out with a slight touch here and there that make the film look so effortless, which is fantastic.
Another element that was truly inspiring was the Production Design, Art Direction and Set Decoration, Steve Saklad, Michael Diner, Catherine Schroer Shane Vieau created one of the most unique and realistic looking films in a very long time, again, everything looks so honest, so lived in, which is very hard to do when Designing a film.
I know that this movie doesn't seem like the smart, intellectual Indie movie that makes it big every year, 2003 was Lost in Translation, then came Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind then Little Miss Sunshine, and now, we have Juno, which is just as great as those films I mentioned, and a lot more, trust me, it's a film experience that should not be missed.